Ali Schwartz enjoys volunteering at Centre County PAWS so much, that she decided to join the Pet Partner Program to help train animals with behavioral issues.
The recent Penn State graduate has trained a few dogs through the program, which began two years ago, because her apartment complex doesn’t allow pets. She’s currently three weeks into training Gator, an overly excited Pit Bull mix who tends to jump on people and is a little forceful on a leash.
“He’s pretty good,” she says about Gator, who’s laying on his side and enjoying a nice belly rub. “He’s very smart, so he’s learning commands very quickly and he’s starting to walk better on a leash. He’s just a very sweet, playful dog and he just needs some extra training.”
There are currently 10 volunteers who are Pet Partners to cats and dogs. Numerous shy and withdrawn cats have become friendlier and dogs, like Gator, have improved their socialization skills with humans through the program. The purpose is to make the transition from the shelter to a home easier for the animals and adopters.
For an animal shelter like PAWS, located at 1401 Trout Road in State College, volunteers are essential. They give their time because they simply love animals. More than a hundred volunteers clean animal bedding, give medication, walk and play with the animals, process adoptions, foster animals and make sure they all have food to eat.
The volunteers join PAWS for many different reasons. Jim Hermann, a volunteer for six years, came to the organization after a friend said the shelter needed someone to help lock up at night. Now he’s on multiple planning committees and even counsels potential adopters. Linda Johnson began helping out five years ago after she retired, and now she’s a regular face on Tuesdays.
“The environment here, when you’re working with so many people that just plain love the animals… there’s an honesty and a feeling that comes with these animals that makes you feel really comfortable with the people,” Hermann says.
“What strikes me the most, is just how absolutely dedicated the volunteers are to caring for the cats and dogs,” says Christine Faust, director of development and marketing for PAWS. “They really, truly go above and beyond anything I’ve ever experienced in the non-profit world.”
While it originally began with a few people concerned over a growing population of stray cats, by 1980 Centre County PAWS was officially created to help find permanent homes for abandoned cats and dogs. The organization works to end the overpopulation of pets by educating people on responsible pet ownership and providing spay and neuter assistance.
PAWS helps find homes for more than 500 cats and dogs yearly. A majority of the cats are strays, Faust says. In some cases, dogs arrive at the shelter because their owners died and no one was left to take care of them. Changes in the family dynamic can also make it hard to care for an animal, Faust says, or a family member might develop allergies. PAWS even takes in some animals from other shelters that run out of space.
Then, there are the neglect cases.
Faust remembers a specific case when puppies were found living in a backyard breeding facility among terrible conditions in Huntingdon County.
“The dogs were filthy and in really awful conditions,” she says. When they arrived at PAWS, the puppies were covered in gnats and feces. Volunteers cleaned the puppies and found foster families for them. Fortunately, they were quickly adopted. There have also been cases of “breeder dogs,” which are kept specifically for breeding and abandoned when they aren’t able to give birth as frequently as they once did, coming to the shelter and walking on grass for the first time.
It can be heartbreaking to see neglected animals, Faust says, but the good outweighs the bad thanks to PAWS and organizations like it.
“I like that when [the animals] come here, they’re safe indefinitely,” says Lisa Bahr, director of operations for PAWS.
Bahr, who has been with the organization for six years, runs much of the day-to-day operations. However, it’s a constant challenge finding more volunteers and raising funds. The average stay for a dog at PAWS is 52 days and costs the organization around $250. Cats usually stay for about 120 days before finding a family and cost the shelter around $180. Faust says the shelter’s goal is to raise $350,000 a year to pay for everything from building expenses to medical care to food for the animals.
In addition to the fundraising, it’s also a challenge making sure adopters will be able to take proper care of their animals. Volunteers like Hermann counsel visitors and check veterinary references to make sure people are responsible with pets they already own.
And finding each animal a forever home is the ultimate goal for everyone involved with PAWS.
“The bottom line is that we really just try to make sure it’s a good fit,” Faust says.
Centre County PAWS is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday from 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Wednesdays 5 to 7 p.m. (beginning June 26, 2013). Click HERE for more information.
