Fostering and volunteering with the shelter is a very rewarding experience. It is also a place for some to connect with other likeminded people. I have met some people I absolutely adore, a few others not so much. I am noticing a lot of new names and faces and I have noticed that the shelter has become cliquish. I personally don’t care for cliques and will shy away from them. I don’t see a problem unless the cliques start turning people off volunteering and or fostering. I have heard some people weigh a person’s contribution by how much time is spent at the shelter, or by how many fosters they have in their home.
This is unfair. Unfair to the fosters, unfair to the volunteers, and mostly unfair to the animals. Every person’s contribution no matter how small or how big is important to the animals. They will take every second, minute, or hour of our time if it increases the odds of them going home.
The one thing about this nonpaying, highly demanding, always wanting more job is that it is stressful. Stressful and for a lot of us, we bring it home. It is living in our homes, eating up our food, sleeping in our beds. There is no escape but our hearts won’t let us stop even when our brains and pocket books tell us to back off for a bit. I am noticing more and more that we are taking the stress out on each other. Some can handle and understand that it just comes in cycles and people need an outlet but new volunteers, new fosters, and new people to our cause won’t always understand. We need to encourage them, help them, grow them, and not treat them like outsiders. The more people we can recruit, train, enlist, it will lighten our load. We can’t save them all by ourselves but we can save them if we have an army.
The next time we are frustrated with sick clinic and the wait, remember other shelters do not have this. The dog or cat won’t be treated and it will be put down. The wait is inconvenient but it is better than no care at all. The next time someone does something differently than you and it aggravates you, remember that they just saved a life too. The next time you see someone at the shelter remember your first very overwhelming day when you decided to volunteer. That person just walking around looking, smile it might be what brings them back to help. The next time you read something and you want to react, remember that people have bad days and hopefully they will understand if you do.
We are all in this together; we all want the same things. We can’t do it alone but the difference we can make working together is huge.
Nancy
Volunteer/Foster
This is unfair. Unfair to the fosters, unfair to the volunteers, and mostly unfair to the animals. Every person’s contribution no matter how small or how big is important to the animals. They will take every second, minute, or hour of our time if it increases the odds of them going home.
The one thing about this nonpaying, highly demanding, always wanting more job is that it is stressful. Stressful and for a lot of us, we bring it home. It is living in our homes, eating up our food, sleeping in our beds. There is no escape but our hearts won’t let us stop even when our brains and pocket books tell us to back off for a bit. I am noticing more and more that we are taking the stress out on each other. Some can handle and understand that it just comes in cycles and people need an outlet but new volunteers, new fosters, and new people to our cause won’t always understand. We need to encourage them, help them, grow them, and not treat them like outsiders. The more people we can recruit, train, enlist, it will lighten our load. We can’t save them all by ourselves but we can save them if we have an army.
The next time we are frustrated with sick clinic and the wait, remember other shelters do not have this. The dog or cat won’t be treated and it will be put down. The wait is inconvenient but it is better than no care at all. The next time someone does something differently than you and it aggravates you, remember that they just saved a life too. The next time you see someone at the shelter remember your first very overwhelming day when you decided to volunteer. That person just walking around looking, smile it might be what brings them back to help. The next time you read something and you want to react, remember that people have bad days and hopefully they will understand if you do.
We are all in this together; we all want the same things. We can’t do it alone but the difference we can make working together is huge.
Nancy
Volunteer/Foster
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