Dedicated volunteers keep Swansea animal shelter running smoothly

SWANSEA — There are so many things to do to take care of the animals at the Swansea Animal Shelter, and the animal control officer and her assistant can't do them all

But a dedicated group of volunteers fill in the gaps. Volunteers do all of the cleaning at the Animal Shelter. They give food to the dogs and cats, bring them to the veterinarian, bring the animals for walks, play with them, take them to training and bottle feed kittens.

“We literally couldn’t run without them,” Animal Control Officer Lisa White said. “That’s important. I love the volunteers here. There isn’t a time I’ve asked someone to help with something and they’ve said no.”

White said the volunteers get to the shelter before it opens at 9 a.m. She said volunteers arrive at the shelter at 7:30 a.m. and different volunteers come in during the day until 4 p.m. She said some of them sometimes close the shelter at night. While the shelter closes at 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, she said the volunteers can be there until 7 p.m. in the winter and 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. in the summer because dogs have to be taken out for walks before they are put in for the night and the shelter has to be cleaned. People sometimes make appointments to see animals at night if they can’t come to the shelter during its regular hours. White said there are always volunteers on call. She said they do work on the weekends. White said some volunteers pick up donations at Target for the shelter.

“We have a great group, they are like an extended family,” White said. “We worry about each other, we laugh and cry together. The shelter and myself are extremely fortunate to have each and every one of them.”

White said people volunteer their entire day on two days during the year when yard sales are held as fundraisers for the Animal Shelter. They bring animals that are up for adoption to special events to see if anyone is interested in them. White said if a foster home is needed for an animal, the volunteers provide that, as well.

Some volunteers help to maintain the play yard for the animals, as well as the garden, and fix things around the animals shelter. White said the volunteers do about five loads of laundry every day at the shelter. White said the volunteers are like the housekeepers of the shelter.

White said there are about 30 people who volunteer at the shelter. She said some people volunteer more time than others. White said she and her assistant put in more than fulltime hours. White actually started out as a volunteer at the animal shelter in April of 2011 and then got hired to work there every other Friday, while she was volunteering all of the other days during the week.

The shelter has six cat cages and can house up to 12 dogs. White said a litter of kittens can fit in a cage and they have also had a couple of litters of puppies at the shelter. She said she does not like to turn away animals, especially when residents need to surrender dogs or cats after someone passes away or has to go into an assisted living center.

“It’s not a lot of space, but we make sure we use every bit of it,” White said of the animal shelter.

Those who want to volunteer at the Swansea Animal Shelter can fill out an application. Volunteers have to be at least 18 years old to handle animals. New volunteers are required to do training with the animal control officer. When they have enough training, they can come to the shelter when the animal control officer is not there. Joan Stuart, the assistant animal control officer, said they get a lot of people who want to do community service at the Animal Shelter. Court appointed community service has been done there as well as community service to fulfill requirements for high school graduation. If someone is under 18 years old, they can do work not related to handling animals, like making flyers for the Animal Shelter.

Betty Marsden has been volunteering at the Animal Shelter since November of 2007 when the shelter had just a few volunteers. She used to clean cages. She donated a washing machine and stainless steel cat cages to the shelter.

“I volunteer here because I love cats,” Marsden said as she stood in the Animal Shelter. “I love animals. I need to have something to do everyday.”

Marsden brings cats to the veterinarian’s office, which she said can be time consuming. She has also organized the shed at the Animal Shelter and makes sure that they recycle. Marsden, who is a retired child protector/investigator for the state of Rhode Island, said she has taken home four or five cats that were unadoptable.

“It’s a good camaraderie here of people working together,” Marsden said. “It’s a good cause. We all love each other and we all work together.”

Amy Weisburgh has been volunteering at the Animal Shelter since last year. While she was adopting a cat there, she asked if they needed any help and so decided to volunteer. Weisburgh spends most of her time walking dogs, but has also done laundry, washed dishes and tidied up the animal shelter.

“I love animals and wanted to help,” Weisburgh said. “The shelter doesn’t have a lot of resources from the town, doesn’t have a lot of paid help.”

White said the dogs and cats are walked three to four times a day and are socialized. She said the volunteers make it possible to do that.

White said there are people who volunteer at the shelter who work in a wide variety of careers. Weisburgh is a pharmacist.

Molly Anthony has been volunteering at the animal shelter, off and on, for 3 1/2 years. She walks dogs and does whatever needs to be done at the shelter when she is there. Anthony had been thinking of going to veterinary school when she first started volunteering at the shelter. She is now thinking of going to medical school.

“I love animals and just wanted to help out,” Anthony said.