Sometimes things on the volunteer road have a strange way of working out. This past month I was slated to volunteer in Haiti. My second attempt to work in the impoverished Caribbean country was timed to coincide with the one year anniversary of Haiti's tragic earthquake. In coordination with Ecoworks International (www.ecoworksinternational.org), I planned to help teens create a community newsletter/journal at a small youth center in the town of Ganthier. Sounds like the perfect volunteer task for a journalist and all-around creative gal, right? Plane tickets were booked and ground logistics were locked and loaded until a pesky Presidential election gone awry and the subsequent response of gunfire, barricades, riots, police confrontations and a run off election slated to take place during my stay deemed it unsafe for me to go. Yes, I was disappointed, but I've encountered enough close calls over the past many months of volunteering to recognize that safety must come first.
Left without a volunteer project for January, the eighth month of service in my year-long project, The Global Citizen Project, I scrambled to find a replacement. A travel writer friend recommended that I meet her in Guatemala to volunteer at ANIMAL AWARE, a no-kill shelter that focuses its efforts on the rescue and rehabilitation of domestic animals (www.animalaware.org). ANIMAL AWARE also takes a proactive approach to population control with its spay and neuter programs - refreshing initiatives to see in Latin America, where stray cats and dogs rampantly roam the streets.
Animal welfare is a cause that means a great deal to me - my almost 8-year old Boxer mix, Gus is an SPCA death row doggie rescue. Primary volunteer duties at ANIMAL AWARE included cleaning a dozen or so kennels in the clinic three times daily, an area where special needs animals were kept, medicines were dispensed, wounds were attended to, and incoming beasts were processed with initial vaccines, de-worming, de-fleaing, medical evaluation, etc. Volunteers also fed and watered the beasts and walked the dogs that needed a little more one-on-one time. Most of the time, I was covered in muddy paw prints, slobbery licks, pee and poo - all badges of four-legged love. Thankfully, I packed my waterproof BOGS boots and invested 9.25 Quetzales (approximately $1 USD) in a pair of latex gloves. Volunteers are on-call from 7a.m. to 4 p.m., five days a week, with breakfast and lunch breaks. For me, work was emotionally and physically draining (in a good way) and each night I fell asleep to the cacophony of 300 barking dogs. Believe it or not, after the third night, I no longer needed to wear ear plugs.
If you're an animal lover, there are few things that will make your heart melt faster than finding 10 puppies, each no bigger than a fist, in a basket (in the middle of the road, no less) or seeing a beaten dog learn slowly regain its trust with humans. It's difficult to see so many animals abandoned and abused, but ANIMAL AWARE gives hundreds of animals each year a second chance at happiness with its shelter and weekly adoptions.
I fell hard and fast in love with one of the puppies, a 5-month old seemingly Greyhound mix named Manchas ("Spots" in Spanish). Manchas was brought in by some kids in the local village of Sumpango after their grandfather had been kicking her and wanted to poison her. Something in her timid stare reminded me so much of my rescue dog, Gus. Day after day, I'd visit Manchas in the outdoor pen she shared with nearly a dozen other dogs. She warmed to me slowly, first allowing me to rub her head and ears. Within a few days, she'd run to the fence whenever I walked by. I'd enter and she'd sit in my lap, like a little lamb, while all the other dogs played and barked raucously. I ended up adopting Manchas (we're now calling her Manita, or "Little Sister" in Spanish slang) and brought her back to Seattle. It's been a bit of culture shock for the frail pup, but she quickly adjusted to sleeping indoors on a warm blanket, not having to fight for food and having a big brother to play sidekick to. And here I thought I would only bring back a few pounds of coffee from Guatemala.
In life, I try hard not to attach myself to any particular outcome. I believe things sometimes happen for a reason and although my initial January volunteer plan got completely derailed and rerouted, volunteering at ANIMAL AWARE ended up being a life-changing volunteer experience. Ironically, I never did meet up with my friend who recommended this project as she took off for quieter environs before I arrived. Another disappointment, but that's life I suppose.
How can you help? If you're looking for a new four-legged friend in your life, consider adopting from ANIMAL AWARE. They can fly animals to many places in the world, and the process is much easier than you might imagine. Another option is to sponsor a cat or dog. For $20 a month, AWARE will provide food for your adoptee, pay for their flea treatment, and take care of all normal vet bills. AWARE also accepts monetary and in kind donations. For example: $100 will pay for a pen for 4 dogs or spays 5 (female) animals, $85 feeds all the present inmates for 2 days, $70 will provide flea treatment for all the animals for one week and $40 provides 2 multiple vaccinations.
