Connecting the PSPCA with the classroom

I think that volunteering at the PSPCA had a particularly strong impact on how I read Timbuktu. Because Timbuktu is a novel about a companion animal, it was easy to relate what I saw in the shelter to what I saw in the pages of Auster's book. Timbuktu offers a lot of great insight about dogs in general, such as the way they perceive sight and smell. By questioning how Mr. Bones experienced the world -- how smelling the neighborhood was akin to reading the newspaper -- I was able to then apply that same line of questioning to the dogs and cats at the PSPCA.

Reading, in turn, influenced how I felt about volunteering. Volunteering made me feel good because I felt like what I was doing mattered, like I was truly making a difference. Reading philosophically-based works about animal welfare, and reading poetry that looked at animals in a more artistic light, reinforced that good feeling. Not only was I helping, but I was living a life that fell in line with my values, and I was experiencing first-hand what I was learning in the classroom. I think the combination of community service and classroom learning struck a very nice cord, and above all, it will make future volunteering a lot less daunting and unfamiliar.

-Shannon P. Kelly