A Piece Of My Heart

Volunteering

I haven't had a long history with volunteering, but through my GreenCorps service, time was allotted to civic engagement, so I took the opportunity to become involved in something I had always admired from afar, but hadn't had the chance to be a part of.

I am blessed to be able to volunteer every other Friday at a service dog training facility as a dog exerciser!

This particular place trains five types of service dogs - Hearing Assist, Mobility Assist, Autism Assist, Seizure Assist, and Diabetes Alert. The dogs are either raised from puppy-hood in volunteer's homes, or spent their puppy days in minimum security prisons where inmates can learn work and life skills through partnership with dogs in training. Then, the young adult dogs are brought to the training facility where they receive in-depth, targeted training and eventually choose their "major" based on what aspect of assistance they are good at. Dogs typically stay in the kennels at the training facility for 6-10 weeks while they are training and eventually get paired with their new humans and continue training in the home.

But! While the dogs are in the kennels during this time, they need regular walks and interactions with humans other than the training staff. That's where volunteers like me come in. I spend about an hour and a half walking dogs-in-training, playing fetch, or just giving them some pets and attention every other Friday. I love it so much! It is right up my alley, and it is so fun to work with such well-trained dogs (they even push the handicap button on the door for me!)

I'm interested in potentially taking on a larger volunteer role such as a puppy-raiser, or short term foster. Or, if particular dogs aren't confident in their assistance abilities, they can be "career changed" and adopted. This is something I may want to do as well, but there is a l-o-n-g waiting list.

I could never see myself working full time at a place like this. I love animals, I love making a difference, but it just isn't for me career-wise. And to me, that is the beauty of volunteering. It is an opportunity to become a part of a community doing something you are passionate about, but not necessarily keen on spending your whole life doing. Especially for young people, volunteering is a way to explore career options and spend time doing good in your community without the pressure or timeline of an actual job.

Aaaannd! Today is FRIDAY! So I'd better get going!

Talk soon!