Cheryl Girard
As a certifiable Dog Lover, helping homeless animals is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. Animal welfare organizations have always been my “charities of choice”
for providing donations of money, supplies, food, and treats; but I always knew there was so much more I could do. I decided that contributing my free time and talents to help these wonderful animals find their forever homes was the perfect way to help!
So, I signed up to be a Shelter Volunteer at the Teton Valley Community Animal Shelter here in Teton Valley, ID.
Some of the tasks involved are helping with the animals’ daily care such as cleaning stalls, feeding, watering and taking the dogs for walks. I have also offered my administrative, organizational and project management expertise to assist with Shelter operations and upcoming fundraisers. I am currently assisting with entering donor and adopter information into the Shelter’s new database.
I have also organized two pet drives at the local grocery store as a Shelter volunteer. At each event, I handed out a wish list to the shoppers as they approached the store entrance. People were more than happy to “add something to their cart” for the animals. Folks also stopped to tell stories about the great dog or cat they adopted from the Shelter and how much they love them. I could talk all day to people about their pets, so I had a wonderful time chatting it up about “Buddy’s antics” and “Max’s new-found home,” to name a few. It was also such a great feeling to load up the back of my truck and drive to the Shelter with all the cat & dog food, treats, kitty litter and cleaning supplies donated by the community! Not to mention, we also received well over $250.00 in cash donations between the two events!
This past Christmas, I worked on a really fun, “secret” project. I filled a large box with dog and cat toys and treats. I wrapped up the box and included a note to the animals from Santa Paws. I secretly dropped the package off early on Christmas morning before the Shelter opened. I wanted to make sure all the animals that haven’t found homes yet would have treats and new toys to play with on Christmas from Santa! My plan went off without a hitch as you can see by the attached photo from the Shelter’s Facebook posting on Christmas Day!
My goal for this volunteering effort is to make a valuable contribution, on many different levels, to help the homeless animals who are in the Shelter by no fault of their own.
My dream … that every homeless animal gets the opportunity to jump into their new family’s car with their head sticking out the window and their ears flapping in the wind on their way … home! J
