The Reward of Giving Back to Animals

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Created on Friday, 22 April 2016 21:22
Written by Matthew Nelson

dog Orleans- Although, Pope Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter is just outside the Northeast Kingdom their volunteers help animals from all around Vermont.  In 2015, Pope Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter adopted out 314 cats and dogs.  They hope to improve this number in 2016.

This organization has been around for more than 20 years. It first opened as The Frontier Animal Society of Vermont in March of 1993.  Their goal has been the same since it first started to provide sheltering and caring for lost and unwanted animals.  They also have spaying and neutering services for cats and dogs.  They strive to be able to place animals in a humane environment and programs to promote responsible pet ownership. 

The Pope Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter has a wide range of volunteers.  For example, animal shelters volunteer Janet Roberge, mostly works with the dogs.

“I actually walk the dogs, give them treats, feed them, play with them, and scoop out the yard, whatever they need.  I’m allergic to cats so I don’t do much with the cats but I do pat them because I can’t resist.” 

And the reason why Roberge does this is because, “it’s a stress reliever, I use to have a dog that passed away six months ago and I just love working with dogs.”  Eventually she plans on adopting a dog from the animal shelter.  Roberge has been volunteering since November and plans on staying as long as they keep her. 

Volunteering isn’t as easy as it sounds, there’s a lot more that goes to it then just walking the dogs or cleaning a cats litter box.  Just like adopting a pet isn’t as simple as people think. 

According to volunteer Karen Vogel, “There is an application process and we check to make sure that all the dogs are all spayed and neutered before they leave, they’ve all been de-wormed, same with the cats and we call the landlord too to make sure it’s okay for the potential owner to have a pet. We make sure they have a vet lined up too. We make sure that if they have other pets that they’re spayed and neutered too and all up-to-date on their shots.”

Volunteers do a lot of things around the animal shelter according to full time staff member Toni Roshlow.  “They do cleaning, feeding, walking, socializing, playing with the animals, cleaning the animals, pretty much a little bit of everything.”

Working at the shelter brings all the volunteers a sense of gratitude.  If you are looking for a furry friend or are willing to volunteer, you can visit their website at http://www.frontieranimalsociety.com.