Jessica Collier

Journal Three: 2/12/07-2/17/07

This week was terrible! When I got there they told me to go into the back and bathe some dogs. I did this but it was terrible because there is no heat back there. I felt bad for the dogs because they were soaking wet and cold. I bathed them as fast as I could and rushed them to the special dryer they have. After that I cleaned out nine puppy cages that were in the back. While I was cleaning out the cages a woman came out from where the full grown dogs are cussing up a storm. I wasn’t sure why she was cussing until she threw a dead dog on the floor in front of me. I didn’t know what to do so I tried to ignore it and continue cleaning. She finally went and got a trash bag and threw the dead dog in it. I guess the dog had died during the night. After I finished cleaning the puppy cages they had me do laundry. My hands were so cold by this point because I had gotten them wet bathing the dogs, using a rag and soap water to clean out the cages, and now putting wet laundry into the dryer. I am not supposed to get cold because I have raynauds (poor circulation in my hands and feet) but I did not want to complain because I wanted to help as much as I could. They had a little space heater so I would go stand by that for a few minutes every half hour or so. I could not imagine how cold the dogs were tough because they were getting their kennels hosed out and they were soaking wet. This shelter needs a new building and heat really bad.

The whole time I was working this one woman that works there kept saying that she needed this man to get back from Pet’s Mart because they were running out of room. This is the man that puts the animals to sleep. It bothered me that she kept saying that. I didn’t want to think about which ones they were going to choose to put down. I asked her how they decide and she told me that after a week they decide whether a dog is adoptable or not. If they decide that they are not adoptable then they get put to sleep. A week is not a long time.

I was talking to my mom about all of these problems after I volunteered and she told me that I should write to the Joplin Globe but I guess the city of Joplin already knows about these problems. I found an article online that the Joplin Globe had written about the shelters problems. Apparently, around 70 percent of the animals they receive get put to sleep. Here is the link to the article: http://www.joplinglobe.com/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_040231822.html

Jessica Collier

Week Two: 2/4/07-2/10/07

This week was very interesting for me. I actually got to do some dirty work at the shelter. I went with Crystal Boles this time and we got to clean out the puppy cages. This was a very messy job. A lot of the dogs have problems because they eat different foods all the time since their food is donated. So, you can imagine what we had to clean up. They didn’t really tell us how we were supposed to clean the cages so we kind of had to figure it out on our own. We made quite a mess with the shredded paper that we put into the kennels. We probably cleaned about ten puppy kennels. After we did that we held some puppies and decided to explore the back part of the shelter. In the back they keep the full grown dogs and puppies that are not up for adoption yet. There is no heat back there and it is not really clean. Some of the walls are falling down too. Crystal and I saw a mouse run into the wall. I hate mice so it was very difficult for me not to scream. This made me sad. I can understand putting full grown dogs back there because they have big coats to keep them warm but the puppies don’t. They do not even put blankets or dog beds in their cages. All they get is shredded paper for warmth. They have blankets and stuff but they do not but them in their kennels. They keep them on shelves so I do not understand why they don’t put them in with the dogs.

When we were getting ready to leave we asked one worker if he liked his job. He said that he didn’t like it that much because he is the one that has to put the animals to sleep. I do not think that anyone could do that job and be a happy person.

Jessica Collier

Week One: 1/28/07-2/3/07

I am volunteering at the Joplin Humane Society. I went there a week ago to sign some papers and set up my volunteering schedule. My first impression of this organization was not very good. Before I even walked in the front door I could smell the stench of dogs and cats. It did not appear to be very clean to me when I went inside but I was only there for a minute so I did not want to start judging too much. The next afternoon I went back to start volunteering. When I first got there they asked me why I was volunteering. I explained to them that I was there for a class at Missouri Southern. It seemed like they wanted to make sure I wasn’t there for other reasons such as community service for getting in trouble. I was told that I could take the puppies out and play with them in a small room. The room was tiny, dirty, and there were bugs crawling around. I was not too impressed but after a few minutes I forgot all about that because the puppy I had out was so scared. I immediately jumped into action and tried to comfort him. After a few minutes of me holding him I put him on the floor to explore. Of course, he had to do his business all over the floor so I had to clean it up. I soon realized that all of the puppies do this when I sit them on the floor. I played with the puppies for two hours that evening and I cleaned up a lot of their messes.

That night I thought about how the volunteering had gone. I wished that they had given me more to do. I don’t mind cleaning or doing dirty tasks. Doing more activities actually makes the time go by faster. I decided that the next day I would try to talk to the people who work there to see if there was more that I could do.

The next day when I arrived I was surprised to see so many people stopping by to drop off donations. I did not realize how many donations animal shelters get. They received newspapers, dog and cat food, and bedding for the animals. I was also surprised to see so many people cleaning. I thought that no one cleaned there but I realized that the animals are just really dirty and it is hard to keep the shelter clean all day long. I talked to the people that work there more and I realized that all they really want me to do is play with the puppies. I did that some more but this time I took the puppies out of the little room they had me go in before and I visited with some people looking to adopt. I was so proud of myself because I actually convinced one couple to adopt a puppy. I told them that I had played with it the day before and that it is really sweet. I did have the problem though of people thinking that I worked there. They would start asking me questions and I would have to explain that I didn’t know anything because I am only a volunteer.

This experience has been pretty good so far and I am looking forward to going again. One man at the shelter said that I was probably looking forward to getting all of my hours in as soon as I could so I didn’t have to come anymore. I told him that I actually enjoyed coming and that I didn’t mind getting messy. I am not sure he believed me but hopefully I will be able to prove that to him in the next seven weeks.