Walk The Blog

Dog Person Confession: I LOVE my cat!

This week's posting is by guest blogger Shelly Brouwer, Supervisor of Animal Training and Behavior at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley...

As a self proclaimed “dog person”, I figured with June being Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month, now is as good of a time as any to come clean: I have discovered that I like cats.  In fact, I LOOOOVE my cat. 

When I entered my relationship with my husband, I came into it with a dog…HE came with a cat.  She was a nice cat, and it was with much sadness that she passed away several years later.  I missed the cat, my husband missed the cat, and even the dog missed the cat (probably?), so naturally I went to my local humane society “just to look” at the cats.  

As I visited the adoption cats, I came across a cat who, I will admit, was not textbook gorgeous.  But here’s the thing...she was so sweet!  When I opened the kennel door to pet her, she flopped over (yes, flopped!  practically melted!) and actually WANTED me to rub her tummy (didn’t just sucker me into it and then grab me).  I brought her into the meet room for more get-to-know-you time, and she immediately was in my lap.  It was a done deal, and the rest is happy history. 
I adopted a shelter cat, and I am so appreciative of that shelter for housing this little creature until I could find her.  I am so thankful that this special individual had a place to go where she could wait for me.  Shelters allow for these “meant to be” opportunities.  Please visit your local shelter today if you are thinking about bringing a shelter cat into your life!  This “dog person” is so happy she did!   

Maybe you should stop by "just to look" at our cats!  http://boulderhumane.org/hsbv/go.asp?mode=adopt_cats

  

Unleashing Inspiration...

This week is a huge celebration at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley as we pay tribute to National Volunteer Week.  To say that our volunteers make our mission possible is a huge understatement.  Volunteers touch every aspect of our organization and they donate tens of THOUSANDS of hours of their time every year.  You just have to spend a few minutes in our building before you see dozens of animals and people being assisted by one of our volunteers.  Their dedication, compassion and love for the work truly saves the lives of the animals we serve.  For the homeless animals in our care, our volunteers are often the friendly face and kind heart that gives them hope and trust in people once again.  Our volunteers are amazing advocates for animal welfare throughout our community, providing the link between the need and the solution for countless situations. 

I am so inspired by each of our volunteers.  The energy, ideas and passion they give to us drives our team to new heights, able to expand what we can offer and to ensure our continued success.  We are humbled by their support, thankful for their friendship and in awe of their talent and dedication.  In 2009, our volunteers generously gave us a total of 53,374 hours of service -- an increase of 12 percent from the previous year...and the equivalent of 26 full-time employees!  WOW!  More than 600 people proudly call themselves Humane Society of Boulder Valley volunteers, and we greatly appreciate each and every one of you.  Thank you so much for all that you do! 

This year the staff put together some fun video clips to let you all know how much our volunteers impact our work and the animals every day. Click here to see the video footage: