Orientation- August 16, 2017 In order to start volunteering at the Humane Society it's necessary to undergo certain requirements. Today I had my volunteer orientation and met the volunteer coordinator, Tara Davis. She spoke of what a detrimental factor volunteers play in keeping the shelter up and running. She gave us a presentation on what the humane society stands for, their history, and their goals. We were handed our name tags and we bought our volunteer t-shirts- both a requirement to wear while volunteering so that employees know who we are. Ms. Davis spoke of the different tasks we can do while volunteering. We can walk dogs, help with paperwork, laundry, or work with the cats and small animals. At first I wanted to walk the dogs, but you have to be 18 so I decided to work with the cats: training is required for cat-care. Below I've attached some of the papers that were in our orientation binders and my volunteer uniform.
Training September 24, 2017 Another requirement to start working with the cats at the shelter is to attend a cat-training class to learn how to understand cat's body language and how to work with them. We were given another presentation on cat's ways of communicating, how they express different emotions, how to report a sick cat to the vet (to avoid them infecting other kitties), and how to play with them. Additionally, we were given a tour of the different cat rooms and where we're allowed to enter and what's off limits (the cats in quarantine room). We were given pamphlets and papers to study in order to understand if there's something wrong with a cat and what to do if we're bitten or scratched by one. I plan on studying these papers in the span of the next few weeks; I want to be completely prepared and aware of what I'm doing when I start volunteering. Most of the time, when you volunteer you are alone in the cat rooms with whatever cat you decide to take out of the cage, there's a clipboard for every cat that lets you see what cats have been played with that day and which ones haven't been taken out of their cages to stretch and play. Since I will be alone, I want to know exactly what I'm doing when handling these animals in case something goes wrong. Below I've included some of the papers in the binder we were given when learning how to handle/take care of the cats.
Action/Reflections
January 14, 2018 First Day Volunteering Due to transportation issues I couldn't begin volunteering until after winter break. Today was my first day and I was very nervous but everyone at the front desk was super nice and made sure to let me know that if had any problems or needed any help they were there to help. I volunteered from 4pm-5pm and made a new friend with one of the other volunteers there: Jessica. Jessica and I were both in cat room number one and like me, she also loves animals. She's been volunteering at the shelter for a little over a year and really helped me with my first time. We checked what cats hadn't been played with yet and started to take them out of their cages. It was a lot of fun and I really felt a shift in mood and energy in the cats I played with. They seemed so much happier. I plan on buying cat treats next time I come so that I have something for them to snack on. Jessica and I also exchanged numbers to try and coordinate our visits with the cats- besides us there aren't really any younger volunteers at the shelter so it was nice to have someone our age.
January 19, 2018 Cat Treats+ Run Away Cat I bought some treats and catnip for the cats so that I could end my visit with them on a good note. I'm starting to get really fond of some of the cats, but I know I shouldn't get attached because sooner or later they'll be adopted and I don't want to be upset. During our cat-care class one of the most important things that was stressed was to ALWAYS be careful when opening a cat room door because there have been instances where a cat will jump at the sight of an escape and run out of the shelter and onto Longley Lane. The fear of this happening to me was a thought that I had behind my head and, with my luck, that's exactly what happened today. Per hour there's only supposed to be two volunteers in each cat room. The volunteer who was meant to share the room with me was late and i thought they were going to be a no-show so I wasn't worried about the door being opened or anything, but then she walked in and my cat was gone in a matter of seconds. We were told to scream "Cat out" if this were to happen so I did. The workers in the front desk heard me and one of them helped me search for the cat. Today wasn't too fun, but at least this will serve me as a lesson to be more aware of the doors.
January 21, February 13, February 14, 2018 Learning How to Groom I've been coordinating with Jessica and these past three times we've been volunteering together. It's been hard for us to find days for us to both show up because we both have part-time jobs but we're working around our schedules. Jess bring her own materials (toys, brushes, treats, etc) when she volunteers and she showed me how to groom a cat today. I knew it wouldn't be hard, but I was still a little concerned of doing something wrong and making a cat unhappy so I waited for her to show me before doing it myself in my other visits. So far, I've been volunteering for an hour every visit I attend, but I'm thinking of staying here for longer periods of time. Today Jess and I didn't spend time with as many cats as I wish we would've so I think it'll make me feel better if I did a little more during my visits and stayed here for longer periods of times.
February 18-20, 2018 More Hours These past three visits I've done for 2-3 hours instead of just one and I definitely feel a bigger sense of fulfillment and like I'm making a bigger difference. I'm starting to lose the fear I had of something going wrong. I know that the whole lesson I received about cats possibly biting, getting mad, etc was for my safety, but it really had me nervous my first visits. I kept thinking I'd get scratched or that I'd make a cat upset, but I've been really good at approaching the animals slowly and carefully if they don't know me yet and always paying attention to their body language. Every time I visit, I can't help but notice how understaffed we are in terms of volunteers. There's so many cats that need someone to help them relax and not feel so stressed, but there's only so much we can do with limited volunteers.
Recruiting
I tried recruiting some of my classmates who need volunteer hours for IB and students at Wooster High School to consider volunteering at the Humane Society. Being president of Spanish Club, I made an announcement to the club members about how much fun I've had and what a great opportunity it is to those who need service hours or just really love animals. I can't say that they promised to start volunteering, but I did find it necessary to do my part and try and get more help in the shelter.
February 23-27, 2018 Tater Tot I've found it difficult to document my experience visually due to there not being a secure place for me to keep my belongings. Because having a cat out of it's kennel requires my full attention I haven't been able to take many pictures. I usually leave my phone in my car and just take my keys with me so that I don't have to worry about losing things, having things stolen, or getting distracted. Luckily for me I looked on the Nevada Humane Website and found a picture of the kitty who I've been spending special time with the past few days: Tater Tot. Although I have played with other cats during my visits, Tater Tot is the one who I always make sure to make time for. He's such an adorable little animal and I've established a good connection with him. I think I've officially learned how to effectively establish a relationship with these animals. He recognizes me when I'm there and he's always super affectionate towards me. I was looking at his profile today and realized that Tater Tot has been with us since January 20th, but I just hadn't been spending time in his cat room to notice his arrival. I hope he gets adopted soon.
March 1, 2018 Thank You Notes/Phone Calls I coordinated with Jessica today and she met up with me for one of the three hours I volunteered today for. Instead of working with the cats today, I helped the staff in the front and learned how to write up tons of thank you notes to foster families, families who have recently adopted from our shelter, and those who donate food/toys/snacks to the animals. I lost track of how many I wrote, but there were a lot. It made me happy to see how many people are engaging with the shelter and helping us with what they can. Aside from the thank you notes I also made a few follow-up calls to families who recently adopted just to make sure everything was going good; it was really neat hearing about families' experiences. I had a really fun day and Jess and I were even allowed the privilege of ringing the bell that hangs at the front desk (it's rung whenever an animal gets adopted).
March 2-9, 2018 New Cats
This past week we've had a lot of new cats come in into the shelter. I received an email from Mrs. Davis (the volunteer coordinator) asking volunteers to please stop by if they could to help transition these cats into their temporary homes. The thing about receiving new cats at the shelter is that they need to grow accustomed to being locked in their kennels for long periods of time. With limited space in their cages and with so many cats around them it's very difficult for some of them to adapt. Their body language lets us know that they're stressed, feel anxious, and sometimes they won't even eat. I visited the shelter more frequently than I regular do this week and really felt like I was making a difference. I saw so many cats change for the better. I especially saw a difference in two cats that were brought to the shelter together: sisters Lilah and Lou. We didn't know anything about these two's past, but we could all tell they weren't used to socializing. They'd squeeze into the very back of their cage and wouldn't leave each other's side. I didn't know what to do at first, but I knew that the only way to help these cats was to keep them by each other's side- they were all they knew. With the help of other volunteer who I worked with during the week, I was able to take both cats out at the same time (we're only supposed to handle one at a time, but I had help) and give them treats and pet them to let them know they were safe. We all saw a drastic change in their behavior: they began to eat a lot more and weren't as scared as they used to be of people. We're hoping to get these two adopted together.
March 11-12, 2018 Laundry/Cleaning I planned on visiting Tater Tot and Lilah and Lou these two days, but as I was walking to their cat rooms I passed by the laundry room and saw that it really needed to be done. I really wanted to visit them, but I decided that laundry was more necessary at the time. Having clean towels and blankets is very important to the shelter so that we can function properly. I did laundry these two days, waited for it to dry so I could fold it, and helped clean some cages.
March 16- April 1, 2018 Spring Break I really wanted to take advantage of spring break and put in as many hours as I could at the shelter, but I was scheduled to work over-time over the span of my two weeks of spring break at my job. With this in mind, my visits at the shelter were very limited but I still wanted to do as much as I could. At one point, I received the email below and was upset thinking that the whole shelter was closed on the one day that I was off from work, but upon further reading I was given the code to enter the building through the back door. Some time during this spring break span I was volunteering with someone else in the same cat room. I had never seen him before so I'm assuming he was new, but he did get scratched by a cat. It wasn't an aggressive scratch, more like the cat felt like it was going to be dropped because the volunteer wasn't holding him properly so the cat, instinctively, spread open his paws and scratched the volunteer. This was the first time I encountered an actual scratch with a cat, but I did remember my training and made sure the volunteer washed up and took care of it.
I also reported my first sick cat this week. Part of my training was to be able to detect illness in a cat quickly to avoid the disease to be spread to neighboring animals. The cat I was spending time (Winifred) kept sneezing a lot and I kept seeing a yellowish discharge come out of his nose. At first I though I was seeing things, but I quickly realized that this cat was actually sick. I wrote it down on his clipboard, put him in his cage, washed up, and reported it to the staff so that the vet could see him. Upon my next visit, I was told that Winifred was sick (he got a cold) and I was thanked for my quick noticing.
I haven't been able to see Winifred yet since I reported his symptoms, but he is one that I am fond of. Winifred has been at the shelter for over a year. I always get a little upset thinking of how long he's been with us.
April 8, 2018
I spent some time with Tater Tot today and Lilah and Lou, but I have to keep reminding myself to spend time with other cats as well. I find it hard sometimes to get out of my comfort zone and meet new cats. Whenever I meet a new cat, it feels exactly as if I were meeting a person for the first time and I get a bit anxious. I spend most of my time in cat rooms three and four, but I've been forcing myself to meet the cats in rooms 2 and 3. Below I've attached what a typical cat room looks like. The walls consist of stacked cages with cats in them and the cat's profile clipped on it.
Future Plans
I've really enjoyed volunteering my time at the Humane Society. I definitely plan to continue working with the cats and help them combat the stress and anxiety they feel. On April 26, 2018 I'm participating in my first group event: Maddie's Adoption Day. Because I have off-campus for my last two periods, I'm lucky to be able to make this event. Maddie's Adoption Day is one of the biggest adoption events we hold at the shelter. So many of our animals get adopted thanks to advertising and awareness that is created. I'm going to be alternating from a greeter to a cat helper (answering people's questions on our cats and making sure they're handling them correctly).
Additionally, once I turn 18 I plan on attending training classes to start walking the dogs. I also want to help animals recover post-surgery and to work with small animals.