“Getting Off the Couch”
By Kelly Little
Larimer Humane Society, Animal Care Volunteer
It all started with a New Year’s Resolution: last year’s! Prior to 2011, I had always been what I like to call an “arm chair donor”. That is to say that I did a lot of check writing to my favorite charitable causes, but I had never actually gotten down in the trenches and volunteered my time. Please don’t get me wrong, writing checks to reputable charitable causes is NOT a bad thing, but I was ready for something more. My passion is helping animals, so my first thought was to volunteer at a local animal shelter. Larimer Humane Society was my shelter of choice as I work in Fort Collins, but live in Windsor, so Larimer Humane Society would be a convenient detour on my way home from work (and get me off of I-25 at least one day per week).
The process of becoming a volunteer was pretty easy. After completing an application, I registered for the first available volunteer orientation. It was on a Saturday, only lasted a few hours, and taught me a lot about Larimer Humane Society and how it operates. By this point I had to decide which volunteer areas interested me as there are quite a few choices. I chose the Animal Care position, mostly because it seemed like there was a lot of need for volunteers in this area. I really wanted to help out wherever Larimer Humane Society needed help most and if it involved getting a little bit dirty, so be it! The next steps were to meet my new supervisor for an informal interview and stop by the administrative offices to get my new volunteer t-shirt. Then I was ready to go! The whole process took about two weeks total to complete.
I have to admit that my first few shifts as an Animal Care volunteer were a bit daunting. There seemed to be so much to learn, not only about how to care for the animals, but how to get around the building, where stuff is stored, and what rooms were for what purpose. My supervisor was great, though, as she would give me only a few new tasks each week and then have me do something that I had already been trained to do, like walking the adoptable dogs.
I am now starting my 2nd year volunteering at the shelter. I volunteer two hours per week which is very easy to fit into my schedule. These days, there are a lot of cats and kittens at the shelter so often my shift will consist entirely of feeding the adoptable cats or the stray cats. Other things that I like to help out with are laundry and dishes(call me crazy, but I actually LIKE doing laundry and dishes), filling Kong toys with kibble and peanut butter for the dogs, and restocking shelves. My supervisor did go over how to feed the dogs and puppies, but I have yet to do that by myself. It’s one of those tasks that I am not so familiar with, so it’s easy to brush it off and do something that I am more comfortable with. Also, I have spent less time recently walking dogs or playing with the cats & kittens. This is primarily done by the Animal Enrichment volunteers.
And that’s how I got started volunteering at Larimer Humane Society. Every week is different. Some shifts are great and some are frustrating (I am thinking specifically of my shift around the 4th of July; the shelter was PACKED and it was crazy and chaotic!). But the bottom line is, I’m actually doing something to help out the homeless animals in my community and that makes me feel pretty dang good. Every time I’ve had a fleeting thought about quitting, I think of the animals. They don’t get to just “quit”. And they can use every bit of help that they can get. So I’m in this for the long haul.
By Jennifer Orme
