A Humane Society Starts With You

I did something today that I have been wanting to do for a long time. I volunteered at the Humane Society in Starkville. I worked from 10 am to around 1:30 and now I seriously want to quit my job and go there every day!

It was such a great experience and it changed some of my preconceived notions about an animal shelter. The dogs are not mangy or mean or downtrodden... just really wanting to have a family and their own bed.

The first thing I did this morning was help another volunteer bathe a couple of tiny puppies that we were going to bring into a humane education class with 5 and 6 year old Girl Scout "Daisies." The shelter really needs a room specifically for this activity where the kids can sit on the floor and let the animals run around. It is such an important thing - to teach little kids (and people in general) about how to handle and treat animals.

Anyway, so all the little girls and their mothers came into the cat isolation room where we were holding the class and they all immediately wanted to hold the kittens and the two puppies. There were about six or seven kennels with cats and kittens and mama cats with kittens. There were two I really wanted to bring home -- two little rambunctious orange and white kittens so we'll see if they are still there the next time I go. Most of the little girls knew how to hold the animals and they were all really sweet with them and it was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.

Then after they left we cleaned up the cat room and some of the kennels. Those kittens are messy... and fast -- we chased a couple of them around the room for a good 20 minutes haha! For the last couple of hours the other volunteer and I went out to the backyard where there were seven kennels opening up to the yard. There were three to five dogs or puppies in each and kennel by kennel we let them out to play.


In the yard, there were a couple of half eaten shells of tennis balls, one tug rope and one heavy rubber chew toy -- not much to work with, but I will never forget the excited faces of those dogs. Dogs can be so complex and insightful but they have such simple needs -- to be fed and played with and loved. It was such a joy to just run around with them, tug the rope and throw it for them, and love on them. They wore me out but I could have done it all day

At the end of the day, I checked in the office and one of the puppies we had used for the class had been adopted and a cat had also been adopted that morning. It just made me so happy!

Even if you can't adopt a pet, every charitable effort counts. For example, pick up an extra one of the items below when you go to the grocery store. These unexpected gifts are what keep most shelters running and are essential in providing the best possible care for the animals. The Starkville shelter also collects and recycles aluminum cans for extra funds so now I know where to take all these Coke Zero cans I've been saving.

A small effort by a lot of individuals makes a big impact -- be one of those contributing to the good. I promise it will change your outlook on life.

Humane Society Wish List
Bleach
PineSol
Paper Towels
Disposable Latex Gloves
Purina Dog Chow
Purina Puppy Chow
Purina Cat Chow
Purina Kitten Chow
Non-clumping kitty litter
Fabric softener dryer sheets
Liquid laundry detergent
Dishwasher detergent
Dish soap
Dog chews and chewy treats
Assorted sized dog collars
Leashes
Quality flea and tick spray
Germ-X hand sanitizer

You can go to the Oktibbeha County Humane Society's website and read about other ways to help or browse some really sweet adoptable pets.

Or find a local shelter near you and start doing good right where you are. www.hsus.org