February 2011 Volunteer Newsletter - 03/02/2011

The following was written by Penny, one of Friends of BCAS's coordinators, as the second monthly email to our volunteers.

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Fellow Friends of BCAS volunteers,

We've seen a big increase in the number of times volunteers are coming out to the shelter, so THANK YOU!!  In January we had 57 visits to the shelter by our volunteers.  In February we had 106 visits.  That's an 86% increase with 3 less days in February.  An extra note of gratitude to:

Christian DiPonziano - over 12 hours playing with cats in February

Bernie O'Keefe - over 7 hours walking dogs in February and Bernie did not become a volunteer until 2/10

 Even with our improving statistics, there are still dogs who only get out of their kennel ONCE a month.  And cats who have NEVER been taken out of their kennel to play.  Please make every effort to come visit the shelter and spend time with these wonderful animals.  

Other volunteer opportunities:

• Animal photography &/or videography to showcase on-line
• Creative writers to create and post a bios about animals on-line
• Grooming
• Fostering kittens

Please send an email if you are interested.

Dog related items:

1. Volunteers cannot come to the shelter before 10:30am to walk dogs.  Shelter management had to adjust the hours to accommodate the length of time to clean the kennels.
2. We now have four British Slip Leads for volunteers to use.  The leads are stored in our volunteer cabinet in the conference room.  Please return them when you are done.
3. We still need more 'yellow' dog walkers.  If you think/want to handle 'yellow' dogs, please contact us.
4. Please focus on walking dogs from all three sections.  The blue/first section is the initial section upon entering, followed by the brown/middle section and lastly the yellow/back section.  FYI - The colors represent the clipboard used to hold the dog's paperwork.  We, me included, have a tendency to focus on the blue/first section because it's closer to the exit door and the kennel latches are easier to open/close.  Trust me the more you use the other latches, the easier they are :o)
5. If you are walking dogs in the yellow/back section, you can ask a staff member to remove the padlock on the gate outside the yellow/back section exit door.  That way you don't have to parade your dog through the entire kennel to get outside.  Make sure you DO NOT leave that gate open when walking a dog because another dog could escape the shelter should they get out of their kennel by accident.
6. Our dog handling classes for 3/7 nd 3/14 are full.  If you are interested in attending a class on 3/21 or 3/28 @ 6:00pm, let me know.

Cat related items:

1. Volunteers cannot come to the shelter before 11:00am to play with cats.  Shelter management had to adjust the hours to accommodate the length of time to clean the kennels.
2. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize, we cannot say it enough.  Cat illnesses spread very quickly, so please sanitize your hands, carriers, tents, toys, etc. If you are in doubt, sanitize it!!!
3. A special THANK YOU to Carol Ingham who donated another cat tent!!  With the weather getting nicer, I'll ask shelter management about bringing tents outside to play with the cats.
4. We are still working on setting up a Cat Handling Class.  In the meantime if you have any trouble removing a cat to/from their kennel or to/from a carrier, please ask a shelter staff person for a hand.

We know the shelter environment is physiologically difficult for us animal lovers.  Therefore we must focus on the positive impacts we are making to the lives of these animals.  Every time I feel like I'm not making a difference and I get overwhelmed with hopelessness, I think of 'Moose'.  I walked Moose, a hyper 80lb Sheppard/Bernese mix, at the shelter several times.  After Moose was adopted, one Sunday I was at Freedom Dog Park in Medford and from a distance I saw a dog that kinda looked like Moose.  I yelled 'Is that Moose'?  Moose immediately recognized me and came running over to give me one of his trademark body slams.  'Moose' keeps me motivated!!!

We have a forum for volunteers to communicate with the entire group: http://fobcas.proboards.com/.  Please visit the forum and join.

We cannot save every animal in Burlington County, but we can make a difference in the lives of many.  Thank you all for caring about the animals at BCAS!! 

Penny, Linda & Jenn 

Friends of BCAS Coordinators 

609-784-8740