The following was written by Penny, one of Friends of BCAS's coordinators, as the first monthly email to our volunteers.
Friends of BCAS volunteers,
Friends of BCAS volunteers,
The weather has been awful so far this winter, so we truly appreciate those of you who have been coming out to the shelter to warm an animal's heart. If you have not been able to come out to the shelter, please try to find some time in your schedule. We know the animals enjoy your visits. We are beginning to see the volunteer program impact the number of animals finding homes vs. the alternative none of us likes to think about.
If you are not comfortable with the dogs or cats because you just don't know what to do. Contact us and we can set up some hands on training.
We now have a couple cat tents in the conference room with plenty of cat toys. The tents are a great way to allow the cats to play and move around more freely. Also there is a bright orange Volunteer Activity sheet with each animal's paperwork that is clipped onto their kennel. Please log your activity for each animal. This allows us all to know the last time the animal has received attention from a volunteer, so we can make sure every animal gets some attention from us.
We desperately need more 'yellow' dog walkers. The majority of the dogs at the shelter are marked yellow because they are strong and pull on the leash not because they aren't friendly. If you feel you can handle 'yellow' dogs, please contact us.
Please let us know if you are interested in the following activities we need help with at the shelter:
- taking pictures of the dogs & cats to post on the Petfinders website
- taking videos of the dogs & cats for our new youtube account
- assisting the groomer
We have been working hard trying to make the Friends of BCAS a positive experience for every volunteer. Please provide feedback on the volunteer program. We look forward to the opportunity of making improvements to our program.
We have a forum for volunteers to communicate with the entire group: http://fobcas.proboards.com/. Please visit the forum and join.
We also have a blog explaining our program: http://fobcas.blogspot.com/. Please spread the word about our volunteer program. We never have enough volunteers for the number of animals at the shelter.
Program items we are actively working on:
Program items we are actively working on:
- distributing a weekly email with pictures of the dogs & cats adopted, so everyone can see the animals they have helped get adopted
- discussions with shelter management so we can have pet adoption events
- dog handling training sessions
- volunteer gatherings to mingle with each other and recognize the efforts of some volunteers
Thank you all for caring about the wonderful animals at BCAS!!
Penny, Linda & Jenn
Friends of BCAS Coordinators
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