Service Project Reflection

For the past couple weeks, I have been putting hours in at the Dubuque Regional Humane Society, a place that I can honestly say I get excited to go volunteer at. Although sometimes it is just me being lazy and not wanting to get up and go somewhere, when I'm on my way to go volunteer I always feel myself getting pumped up about getting to make some animals happy- the energy and extreme, pure happiness they seem to experience whenever I take one out to go for a walk makes me wish I could feel that happy every day about something so simple such as walking around in nature. At the Humane Society, I primarily take dogs out of their kennels (where they would otherwise be all day) and give them exercise, be it walking around the property or playing with them in an enclosed play pen. I also assist in any jobs that need to be done around the shelter, such as cleaning, helping with deliveries, etc. I have also started to become involved in such activities such as birthday parties for kids, with assisting with the animals that are at the party and childcare games.

This encounter provides a challenge to me in that I have to accept I cannot help all of the animals. As weird and bleeding-heart as that sounds, I always feel guilty leaving because I know there will be dogs that did not get to go outside and just be a dog as other dogs. It really does make me sad when I think about it. This experience with volunteering has made me decide that in the future, I plan on rescuing a dog from a shelter and give it a home. I also want it to be a dog that might not otherwise be adopted--for the dogs that dont get adopted will live a life locked up all day, and that seriously breaks my heart. Or maybe I'll just live alone and adopt every single animal I come across and they can give me company- a less mainstream version of a cat lady, I guess. Either way, I have taken a lot out of these experiences, if not mainly just to try and appreciate the little things in life and realize how happy they can make me, just as a dog gets so excited about the chance to go for a walk.