Happiness Through Animals 2900

I want to start off by saying that I am very happy to have a chance to take this class. Having never volunteered at an animal shelter before, I was a little unsure of what it would entail. However, last weekend I learned just how important the work of the PSPCA is. With so many animals in need of a home, their work is never-ending. I attended the cat-handling class last weekend and was surprised at how many cats were waiting to be taken home. As a cat-lover who has multiple cats at home throughout my life, I was irrationally tempted to take all of them with me. We learned how to properly handle the cats and how to determine their temperament  and although a few of them were quite moody, all of them deserve a good home with people who will love them and treat them as animals are supposed to be treated, with respect and care. I realized at the shelter that just like people, animals have very distinct personalities and I hope that in time I will be able to better connect with the animals at the shelter. Although I was not able to handle the dogs, it was also clear that the same was true for the them. There were quiet ones, happy ones, and ones that looked quite sad. However, even the sad ones lit up when approached or talked to. One dog that sticks out in my mind was a put bull mix that looked up sadly at me when i passed by its cage. I stopped and began talking to him and his face slowly warmed up and his tail began to wag. Things like that prove that human interaction with shelter animals really is important. Another thing that I noticed was how huge of an impact something as small as a toilet paper roll can make on the lives of the animals in the shelter. There are so many things that people can do to help out that takes minimal effort and costs next to nothing. I can't wait to go back and hopefully make more connections with the animals.