Be A Volunteer

A Volunteer's Experience

By Courtney Becker, student at UND's School of Communication

As I walked into the building of the Circle of Friends Humane Society, the usual sound of dogs barking filled my ears and as my heart began to sink, I already knew there were animals in need here. The memory of when I adopted my dog at the Humane Society in Bismarck automatically came back to me and made me realize that I felt good about what I was about to do...I was here to become a volunteer.

I had always told myself that I would become a volunteer for the Humane Society especially after I adopted my dog from them in Bismarck around this time two years, but my goal of this article is to give people exactly that; the little push and shove it sometimes takes to get someone to volunteer. That is why I decided to write about my experience as a volunteer at the Circle of Friends Humane Society here in Grand Forks.

I'm currently enrolled in a media writing class at UND and we were all assigned a project due at the end of the semester that consisted of volunteering at a non-profit organization and getting something of our own printed or aired in the media. So I chose to finally take what I had always told myself I would do and actually do it; I was going to volunteer at the Humane Society. The first step to becoming a volunteer is to go through orientation of the actual building of the Circle of Friends Humane Society to get to know the surroundings and how to properly take care of the animals, so I signed up.

The day of my orientation was really exciting for me although when I walked through those doors the sounds of the dogs barking began to break my heart once again. You can jus tell in the pitches of their barks that they aren't vicious dogs, they are just animals who want and need a second chance. Giving these animals a second chance is what the Circle of Friends' main priority focuses around. One of the posters hanging on the walls that I read during orientation said, "They aren't second-hand, they just need a second chance." That poster really hit home for me as an adopter because my family gave our dog a second chance and he brought so much joy to my family in a time of sorrow and we love him just as much as we lvoe our first dog that we didn't adopt. The rest of orientation went by real quickly and I found myself as an official volunteer of the Humane Society in no time at all. I had finally accomplished a goal I had postponed for so long! But wait, I hadn't even volunteered yet and I already felt as though I had accomplished somehting...that was very interesting to me.

Well, that high only lasted about a week so I decided to go and take a couple of dogs for a walk between my morning and afternoon classes one Thursday afternoon. As I walked through those doors and heard those heart-breaking sounds, I actually didn't feel sad or sorrowful for the first time ever; I honestly felt anxious and excited to make the day for a couple of animals. I first went into the room that the smaller dogs and puppies stay and took out a lonely looking dachshund and took him to the "Get Acquainted" room and attempted to play with him. I could tell he didn't know if he could trust me, so I got a little toy rope and played a little game of tug-of-war with him until he got used to me. After that, he got real friendly and started licking me and I was actually able to hold him and pet him. Although I felt pretty good about myself by that time, I didn't want to stop there so I went to get a bigger dog to take for a walk.

At first glance I chose to take a chow chow by the name of Chuckie out for a walk. I guess I sort of favored him becuase the dog that my family adopted from the Humane Society in Bismarck is part chow chow so I was automatically drawn to him. Chow chows are these big, furry dogs that have a lot of energy and when I took him outside for his walk, I could see charactyeristics of my own dog in Chuckie. I had a lot of fun taking him for his walk even though it was just around a little gated area and he made me realize that I had honestly made his day a little brighter just by taking him outside and letting him walk and run around with me. I can tell just by the way he acted on our walk that he is going to make a great comparnion for someone sometday just as my dog has been for my entire family.

And that's how I look at all of the animals at the Humane Society. When I went into the cat and kitten room, I could see in all of their eyes that all they wanted was someone to curl up with. So I took a kitten out of one of the cages and actually just stood there and held it for awhile and it seemed to make all the difference to this one kitten. The kitten started purring and just laid there in my arm and I could tell that for those few moments, I had made the kitten feel wanted, loved and maybe even given it a little hope. I can't imagine that these animals have much hope after seeing so many animals come and go while they are still here and that is the most heart wrenching thing I think about when I go and volunteer.

Adopting almost has all of the benefits that volunteering does...almost. When you adopt an animal it is, for one, way less expensive than buying an animal from a breeder or a pet store, and two, you end up giving the animal you adopt a second chance at having a good and happy life. The one thing that adopting lacks that volunteering has is the fact that instead of just helping one animal in need, you have a chance to make a difference in many animals' lives. Whether you help one or ten animals in need, you are making a difference.

After this experience, I don't find it at all hard to go back to the Humane Society and volunteer again whenever I get the chance because of how great it makes me feel. Walking into the Humane Society can sometimes be heartbreaking, but if you volunteer even for only twenty minutes I can guarantee that you will feel a world of difference walking out th there.

Volunteer…Be A Pet Pal!

Volunteers are one of our most valuable resources. They are very special people who give of their time and their talents to benefit equally special pets.

Here are some important ways volunteers can help. At the bottom of this page you can access a printable list of volunteer positions and descriptions as well as the volunteer applications for adult and youth volunteers.

Pets

Playing with and walking pets may not seem very important, but it is! Domestic pets need human contact to eliminate fear and confusion in a kennel environment. The more interaction pets have with volunteers the more adoptable they become. What’s more important than that!

Walking dogs, socializing cats, dogs and small mammals, grooming/bathing pets are all an essential part of reducing stress levels.

Be A Volunteer

A Volunteer's Experience

Volunteer…Be A Pet Pal!

Pets

Education/Fundraising/Community Events

Buildings & Grounds Maintenance

Becoming a Volunteer… Adult & Youth Volunteers