Students aid pets in need with ARF

    The Animal Rescue Foundation has been the local humane society since 1983, and is currently home to nine lively dogs and 38 charismatic cats. And, it is a great place for students to volunteer.
    “We take really good care of them and we have certain criteria for adoption,” said Bobbie Thompson, ARF president and founder.
    ARF takes in animals from the community and tries to find homes for them.
    Thompson added that most students start off volunteering at ARF because of a class service learning assignment. Some continue because they enjoy it.
    “We’re one of the organizations that encourages and invites students,” Thompson said.
    One class Thompson mentioned was Dr. Rob Viau’s honors utopia/dystopia class. Some students from Dr. Harriett Whipple’s biology class have expressed interest in volunteering as well.
    Thompson said typical volunteer work at ARF includes walking dogs and socializing cats.   “Sometimes they will do a little bit of dirty work, like keeping the cages clean. They’ve even done a little bit of paperwork,” Thompson said.
    ARF wants university students to volunteer at ARF, but not to adopt. A new adoption policy is in place that requires a potential new parent to be at least 21.  She said they are even wary of 21-year-olds if they are in school.
    “We have to feel like you’re settled down,” Thompson said.
    The reason is that in the past, college students have proven to be irresponsible parents to pets. Thompson said that the college lifestyle is not good for a pet because of the irregular schedules that most students keep. Also, many leave town for the weekend or on holidays and do not arrange for proper care of their animals while they are away.
    Having a pet is a big responsibility, and the college lifestyle often doesn’t allow for a good relationship with a companion animal. 
    “We love having the students here; we need these animals socialized,” Thompson said. “We encourage them to come in and work with us and get their pet fix. They can have fun without the financial and physical responsibility of having them.”
    Lashaundra Pierce, a sophomore biology major, has been volunteering at ARF for one year. She came to ARF because she was in Dr. Viau’s utopia/dystopia class last fall, and it required service learning hours. Now, she said she works there for fun and because she is needed.
    “I know that, not only can they use my help, but the animals can use my help,” Pierce said.
    Pierce added that there is a huge variety of tasks and her favorite is walking dogs because they have so much She also socializes cats and kittens, unfolds newspapers to line the animals’ cages and washes dishes on a weekly basis. Sometimes she will even do some desk work, like organizing volunteer folders. Pierce said that she arrives at 8 a.m. on Saturdays to clean out cages.
    Pierce puts in anywhere from six to 10 hours of work every week at ARF.
    “I’m doing it now because I like to,” Pierce said. “It’s good use of my time,” she said.
    Jeanette Horn, GCSU alumni and two-year volunteer at ARF said that they are hosting “2006 Walk for Animals” on Sept. 23 as a fundraiser for ARF. At 10 a.m., walkers meet at ARF and take a 1.2-mile walk through town with their pet.
    “We rely strictly on donations,” said Horn.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 22 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry