Centre County PAWS Animal Shelter

The first pet related activity of the semester that I participated in was as a volunteer at PAWS Centre Country Animal Shelter. As a volunteer, my role was in dog care. I walked the different in-house dogs, played with them, and fed them. The shelter can accommodate about 25 in-house dogs and relies on volunteers to run the organization. At PAWS,  there is a specific schedule to be followed for each volunteer shift. First, the dogs are taken on "first walks" which last between 10 and 15 minutes. Then they are fed dinner. After a short break, the dogs are taken on longer 25 minute walks. Once all dogs in the kennel are walked, some are taken out individually to play pens and others are taken to meet-and-greet rooms for individual attention.

Liono

The dog I spent a lot of time with was named Liono. (See picture to right of him!) It is surprising that this guy did not have a home at the time because he is so sweet and loving. He jumped right up on to my lap even though he is like a giant meatball! Liono was so happy to have some affection that it seemed like he was smiling!

Another dog I walked, named Luca, was a little spitfire!  She was only a couple months old and had tons of energy. She loved using her puppy teeth on my hands and was quite the trouble maker. Puppies in PAWS are quickly adopted.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering at the shelter. It felt good to feel like I was making a difference in the dogs' lives. The shelter was organized, well run, and took great care of the animals. Volunteering at PAWS was a great way to destress from the fast paced life of college and I definitely would like to do it again!

This experience relates directly to what we learned about in Pets in Society. One of our topics discussed in class was animal shelters. There are two main types of animal shelters: open-admissions and "no- kill." An open admission shelter is a traditional shelter that accepts any and all dogs regardless of health, behavior, or temperament.  In this type of shelter, animals are euthanized if they are unable to find a home. The other type of shelter, "no-kill" is what PAWS Animal Shelter is.  This means saving all healthy and "treatable animals" and only euthanizing those that cannot be rehabilitated.

In class we also learned about why dogs are surrendered to shelters. The number one reason is behavior problems, followed by the fact that the animal requires too much time, and thirdly that the owner is moving. Although I do not know the reason Liono or Luca were surrendered, I could imagine that not having time for a rambunctious puppy might be the case.

In conclusion, I loved volunteering at PAWS and would love to do it again! It was interesting to see how what we learned in class applied to shelters in society.