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Animal Services Ramps Up Its Volunteer Program

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By SHERRI LONON IN THE LOOP

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 11, 2009

Pasco County Animals Services has long accepted the help of volunteers to assist staff in the mission to care for creatures and protect public health. Until recently, however, the agency kept its efforts pretty low key.

Thanks to a reorganization of its volunteer program, the county agency is now poised to accept and train volunteers in a number of different capacities. And, with budget cuts always looming over head, the agency is seeing a greater need for extra hands.

The redesigning of the volunteer program was undertaken for a number of reasons, said John Malley, assistant manager of Animal Services. Not only will the new program enable better utilization and training of volunteers, it will help assure that volunteers get to work in the areas they are comfortable with.

"We want them to have fun and enjoy their time here," said Malley. Volunteers are "very important."

While most of the volunteer opportunities now available have always been available, orientation and training are now handled in a more uniform fashion thanks to the appointment of lead volunteers, said Rosemary Lyons, the agency's education coordinator. She is charged with educating the public about Animal Services and animal-related issues. She also oversees volunteer efforts.

The new training program enables the lead volunteers to work directly with incoming helpers who are interested in a variety of different nonpaid posts at Animal Services, Lyons said.

Potential spots for volunteers run the gamut, she said. Opportunities include walking dogs, socializing cats, bathing animals, answering phones, taking pictures of animals for the Web site and even helping train dogs. Other opportunities include working with the Friends Of Animal Services or joining PART, or Pasco Animal Rescue Team. The team responds to animals' needs during crisis situations, such as hurricanes.

The need for both hands-on and clerical assistance is always high, Lyons said.

"We get 300 calls a day here," she said. "You can be here every day" or just on an available basis and make a difference.

Volunteers are expected to fill out an application form, which is on the county's Web site. They must then submit to a background check and undergo an orientation and training program before they can begin.

For lead volunteer Carol Comer, helping out at Animal Services has become a labor of love. She is a professional trainer and has offered her services without charge to the agency for about two years.

"You do it for the animals," Comer said. "Animals are social creatures. They need to interact with people. It's hard for staff to find the time to take (a) dog for a walk or sit down and clip a cat's nails. These are very important."

Comer said maintaining socialization while an animal is up for adoption is essential for helping them find homes. This is one of the functions volunteers can and do help with, she said.

"It's important for them to have some human interaction," Comer said. "You'll get a dog or cat that's a lot more likely to fit into a home environment."

While she loves volunteering at Animal Services, she said working directly with animals might not be for everyone since Pasco County is not able to operate as a no-kill shelter.

"To go into an animal shelter, you've got to have a heart for animals," she said. "You've got to be committed to just going and working with the animals. It's not always a cheery environment."

Fellow lead volunteer Vonnie Mikkelsen said she stumbled into the opportunity to help out about 18 months ago.

"I think it just found me,' she said. "I saw I could be of help and I kept coming back. Now, we're at a point where we're getting more organized for more volunteers, (but) there can never be enough."

From her perspective, Mikkelsen said the more volunteers the agency can get, the better.

She, too, admits it can be hard work, but maintains the rewards make it very worthwhile.

"It's a try it and you'll see (thing)," she said. "You can't really explain it unless you get out there and try it yourself."

Since she often works with animal adoptions, Mikkelsen said she does get her share of good days.

"I've done some adoption counseling on Saturdays when the shelter gets really busy," she said. "When I go home that day and I've been able to spend some time with people and watch them go out the door with one of those animals that's like payday."

Mikkelsen said ideally she would like to see a large enough group of volunteers to make sure that every animal can get some exercise and attention at least a few times a day.

"We're heading in the right direction," she said.

For more about volunteering, contact Animal Services at (813) 929-1212 or go online to portal.pascocountyfl.net and follow the prompts for Animal Services. PART has its own information listed separately on the Web site. More information about Friends of Animal Services can be found online at fpcas.org. Animal Services is located at 19640 Dogpatch Lane in Land O' Lakes.

Adoption Day And Pet Fair

Friends of Animal Services will host the Have a Heart Pet Fair Feb. 14 from noon to 4 p.m. at Pasco County Animal Services, 19640 Dogpatch Lane, in Land O' Lakes. The event will include tail painting, vendors, a kissing booth and an opportunity for owners to have photos taken with their pets. People who adopt an animal from the county agency that day will receive $10 off courtesy of the friends group. Money raised during the event will help the nonprofit group assist the shelter throughout the year.

Editor Sherri Lonon can be reached at (813) 948-4287 or slonon@mediageneral.com.

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