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Pinal Animal Control to train volunteers on Sat.

By ALAN LEVINE
Staff Writer

Published: Friday, January 27, 2012 11:13 AM MST

ELEVEN MILE CORNER — Pinal County Animal Care and Control has scheduled its second introductory training session for its newly formed volunteer program at the main shelter on Eleven Mile Corner Road, just south of the fairgrounds.

The orientation session will get under way at 3 p.m. this Saturday and should last two to three hours, according to PCACC volunteer coordinator Faye Valenzuela.

The volunteer program was initiated last year by PCACC Director Kaye Dickson, and with the aid of Valenzuela, the first orientation session took place on Oct. 29, with more than 30 people in attendance.

Like the first session, Saturday’s event is primarily an orientation program aimed at animal lovers, compassionate individuals who, at the least, might be able to devote a few hours weekly helping to care for the animals at the shelter or, at most, perhaps some folks who have a lot of time on their hands and wouldn’t mind spending a portion of it with some four-legged furry friends.

Dickson said that anyone who has thought about volunteering or has been curious about volunteering at the shelter should make certain to attend, because they will find out everything they’ve always wanted to know about what volunteering at the shelter entails.

She also wanted those who attend to understand that the program is not all about walking around the dog runs with a shovel and a mop; furthermore, Dickson said most tasks are fun jobs such as walking the dogs, giving them baths or simply sitting with the animals to allow them to have human contact, which they desperately need.

And that’s precisely what the first wave of volunteers are doing. According to Valenzuela, the couple dozen original volunteers that have stayed with the program have done a wonderful job seeing to the needs of the animals above and beyond what the short staff of kennel technicians are able to accomplish.

“By attending to the animals as loving pets,” Valenzuela said, “the volunteers are providing much-needed human-pet relationships that, in the long run, make the animals more adoptable.”

Dickson added, “We would not have had so many successful adoptions at the adopt-a-thons that we’ve held at places like PetSmart and Pet Club were it not for our volunteers.”

According to Dickson, the list includes: socializing adoptable animals; spending time letting them out of the kennel and walking them, brushing or petting them; spot-cleaning kennels and cat room cages; guiding potential adopters through the adoption kennel; bathing animals; photographing animals; updating photos on the Web; writing bios on adoption animals; preparing paperwork for rescues; and following up calls with adoption families.

Other duties include: assisting at special adoption events; typing; filing; stuffing envelopes and making copies; making reminder calls; comparing lost and found reports; assisting with kennel inventory; washing dishes; doing laundry; establishing collection sites for old newspapers, sheets, blankets and towels, and general cleanup of the shelter grounds.

Dickson noted that working with animals at the shelter, especially for anyone who loves animals, can be very rewarding, but she cautioned that the county does take in a number of rescues and warrant seizures of dogs and cats that have been mistreated and malnourished, and the sight of these animals can be difficult for the experienced animal control agent let alone a volunteer.

“Other than those unfortunate occasions, this can be a fun and rewarding place to work,” she said, adding that she invites people to come on out and see for themselves.

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