September's Volunteer of the Month

Karen

This month we salute Karen, who spends most of her volunteer time helping out in the office. Every time I take an overanxious, intestinally-distressed dog for a long walk on a hot day, I start to think that she might have the right idea. Thanks for all your hard work Karen! And please try to make sure that I don't keep walking out of the shelter with a key around my wrist!

What do you do when you're not at the shelter?

I spend time looking for a job, which leads directly to...

Why did you initially decide to volunteer at BACS?

Since being laid off from my job as an administrative assistant at the state Public Health Lab in Richmond, I now have the free time to volunteer. I've always wanted to do this, but full-time work didn't make it easy. Now, however, I have lots of time available and I love volunteering at BACS so much that I often forget that my main "job" should be looking for another one!!!

While I do spend most of my volunteer hours in the office, I also visit the cats and dogs frequently, and have been helping out lately with taking the staff's dogs out for walks.

What are your favorite things about volunteering?

The incredible job the staff does with handling so many different animals, people and situations! I have a lot of respect and affection for these wonderful staff members and they've made me feel very at home at BACS. This also applies to the many other volunteers I've met these past months. And even though I'm frequently on a computer or updating the lost & found books, the bonus is that the whole time I'm in the office, I'm surrounded by the staff's marvelous dogs (constant puppy love!) and those 3 fabulous kitties (Squirrel, Wilma, and Madu). If I ever get another job, it'll be tough to give up the wonderful perk of being with loving animals all the time! Volunteering at BACS has given me tremendous appreciation of the hard and challenging work people do to save and protect and find homes for our animal buddies. Being a part of this community is a priceless experience and I'm very grateful for it!

I wish the best to everyone who is associated with BACS!!