Atlantic County Animal Shelter
As a part of the honors program, I was given the opportunity to volunteer at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter in Pleasantville on September 27. It is a service project done once a semester, but we have the option to do it more often; the shelter is always looking for more volunteers.
When we arrived at the animal shelter, we were given consent forms to fill out and we introduced ourselves. I told Terry, the volunteer director, that I had previously worked in a veterinary office, so she asked me to help in the feline infirmary. My friend, Josh, offered to be my partner and we headed towards to back of the building where the sick cats were located. Terry told us that the cats all had colds and were being treated for their illnesses; therefore they had to be kept away from the healthy cats. Our job was to clean out each of the cages especially well since they tend to sneeze all over the cages. Once we finished cleaning, we were to feed them lunch.
Josh and I started by taking each kitten and moving them into holding cages while we cleaned their original cages. We sprayed the cages with a mixture Terry gave us, we waited for 5 minutes, and then we wiped them down with water and dried them. Next, we placed newspaper, a blanket, and a litter pan in each cage. While we waited for the mixture to take effect, we played with the kittens and gave them love, since most of them did not come out of the cages very often. This was the best part because we were able to give the kittens attention that they do not normally receive, and we had fun because they liked to climb up our backs and run around the room, which was very entertaining. Once we finished cleaning all sixteen of the cages, we scooped dry and wet food into their bowls, which my other friend Nancy came in to help us with. We made an assembly line where Josh put in the dry food, I put in the wet food and water, and Nancy placed a bowl in every cage for the cats. After we finished in the infirmary, we said good bye to the kittens and went to play outside with some of the dogs. Again, it was really nice to give the dogs some attention and exercise; they jumped up and down and ran around the enclosed area.
Overall, I really enjoyed volunteering at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter. I love animals and helping others, so this was a great opportunity for me. I benefited from it not only because I felt good that I was helping others, but because it was extremely satisfying and entertaining to play with the kittens and see them run around having fun. Moreover, I gained a sense of appreciation for the veterinarians that care for those animals every day; it took me and Josh about two and a half hours to clean sixteen cages, but the shelter has hundreds of animals that need to be cared for. Because of the great experience and the impact it had on me, I definitely want to go back and help at the animal shelter again!
By: Lauren Roesch