Volunteering at the Wake County Animal Center has been a wonderful and valuable experience that I will never forget. It has been extremely educating and eye opening. The fact that they had 7,151 dogs alone come into the shelter blew my mind and cats were close with 6,919. It makes sense after volunteering because I have seen first hand how fast most of these dogs come in and go out to homes. It is sad that euthanasia rates are as high as they are but in comparison to other counties in North Carolina they are relatively low.
Now that I have a better understanding of the everyday routines and processes at the center I see how important volunteers are. Not only can we help take pictures, cuddle the dogs, or even walk the dogs (if trained) but improve the chances of the animals getting adopted. In addition, now that I have a lot more knowledge of the ins and outs of the animal center and where to find statistics I can help educate the public so they are also more aware.
Although photographing is fun and very rewarding for the animals, it is not always the easiest task for me. I would absolutely love to continue volunteering at the animal center. I could keep taking photographs or maybe switch to walking and cuddling. Above all I would love to put my collaboration plan into action. A fitness plan that incorporated exercising dogs would combine my two passions, fitness and dogs. It would be extremely rewarding as a volunteer to accomplish a program such as I have suggested to really increase the happiness and well-being of the dogs. By having a program with the public seeing these animals it would help educate them on the staggering rates at the shelter but also help teach responsible pet ownership like we discussed in this course. Dogs need exercise (as well as humans) so by having people exercise with the dogs it would really reinforce the need for pet exercise.
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| Cuddling with one of the puppies before taking his picture :-) |
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| Cuddling a puppy before taking his picture :-) |
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| Action Shot! He was giving kisses like most of the dogs tend to do while cuddling :-) |
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteI remember you mentioning this idea in class. You're absolutely right. Dogs do need exercise, and it would be AWESOME if you made this project happen. Keep pursuing it because it will definitely be healthy for the dogs emotionally and physically, increasing their chances of getting adopted (as you mentioned). Great plans, Shelby!
I admire your enthusiasm and passion for this. You have a fantastic idea, and I truly hope you put it into action! I know you can do it, and I know the effects will be long lasting! Beautiful idea.
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