HSNEGA’S 5 Weeks of Thank Yous: Volunteers

In the spirit of giving thanks, the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia would like to take this week to say, “Thank you!” to its volunteers. HSNEGA has more than 275 active volunteers, and in speaking with them you will quickly learn they are some of the most dedicated, passionate, and kind-hearted people you will ever meet. In the month of October alone, volunteers gave more than 730 hours to HSNEGA operations, administrative tasks, events, and animal care. That means that for nearly every hour of the month of October, a volunteer was giving selflessly of him/herself to HSNEGA animal rescue and welfare efforts.

As stated in an earlier blog post, more than 1,000 HSNEGA rescues have found forever families this year. The Humane Society of Northeast Georgia could not make these incredible adoption statistics possible without its volunteers. You might be wondering how exactly does a volunteer get a rescue adopted. Volunteers are some of the strongest advocates for HSNEGA rescues. Sometimes a volunteer gets a rescue adopted by leveraging his/her network to help place rescues with loving families. However, the number one way volunteers help to get HSNEGA rescues adopted is through hands-on interaction with the animals.

When volunteers are able to spend just 15 minutes with a rescue it helps to socialize the animal. Animal socialization is critical to getting rescues adopted. When rescues receive one-on-one time with a human it improves the rescue’s confidence, adaptability, and overall well-being. Dogs, in particular, can benefit tremendously from time with volunteers by learning manners such as leash walking. These brief interactions with devoted volunteers add up and help to make HSNEGA rescues more adoptable.

Volunteer work is sometimes tedious and can go unseen, but HSNEGA wants to let its volunteers know that we see the work you do and the many hours you put in. Volunteers help to make HSNEGA’s mission of creating a community recognized for responsible pet ownership and humane treatment of animals a reality.

~Olivia Paul, HSNEGA Volunteer Coordinator