Saturday, April 19, 2014

New Volunteer Experience

 
Some of my readers may recall that Grace started volunteering at the local animal shelter a few weeks back. As much as we wanted to make that situation work it just wasn't. The dogs were very big and very strong and not something she could handle. Plus it was not a no kill shelter so the circumstances were very sad and stressful. We took a month off and Grace decided she wanted to try again. This time we moved to another shelter in another county to try again. Charles Smithgall Humane Society seems to be a much better fit for us.

 
There is an adult cat room set up almost like a real home. There are cages to the left that are not in the picture. A certain amount of cats are let out for the mornings and then the others are let out for the afternoon. Plenty of toys. Volunteers can go in and sit down and visit with all of them very easily.

 
Another area we worked in yesterday was the kitten and puppy room. Currently on two puppies in resident (one in the first pic). After the morning cleaning is accomplished they too are let out to play most of the day. We can sit on the floor and play with all of them.
 
Next week we will show up during cleaning time so that Grace can learn the system of cleaning all the cat cages before letting everyone out for play time. She will  learn all the cat rooms well first before we move onto the dog section.
 
Luckily they have many small and medium dogs that Grace can handle and walk. Plus these dogs will either be adopted or stay at this shelter until they are. This is a no kill shelter. The dogs have a fenced in area where each is allotted 1 1/2 hours of outside free time everyday. All in all it is just a much better situation for Grace to volunteer in. She is looking forward to many precious moments of helping out. This is not to say that the other shelter doesn't need help and is doing everything they can to save the unwanted animals in our community. It just wasn't the right situation for a very tender hearted young person to work in.