Oh how we love Sarah G here at AAWL! In 4.5 years at AAWL Sarah has volunteered almost 1,000 hours – we are especially thankful that Sarah chooses to come to the shelter during off-hours. Sarah often comes during the less popular evening hours when we are short on volunteer help. She helps many of the Animal Care Technicians by getting the dogs out for one last extra long romp in the yard prior to closing. Sarah has a calming way of working with the dogs that are shy or stressed in the shelter. She has so much patience, care, and concern for them and their needs that many of the dogs that are overwhelmed or scared instinctively trust Sarah. She has not only shown care for our shelter animals, but she has recently taken to showing many of our onsite plants some much needed TLC. Sarah took it upon herself to begin to care for the many plants throughout campus and when recent remodeling threatened the habitat of many she came in to move them all to new homes around the shelter where they are thriving. Her care and concern for our shelters “Curb Appeal” does not go unnoticed and it is that respect for our shelter – and all things living – that make us appreciate her so much as part of our volunteer family.

Before we close out 2019, we would like to recognize one more special volunteer: John S

John has been volunteering with AAWL since January 2018 and has since given 678+ hours! (Wowsa!!) John has proven himself to be a vital member of our volunteer crew participating in a number of activities including dog walking, Play Groups, Mentoring, and more! One of the wonderful things about John is that he recognizes that even the smallest gesture can make a huge impact. Almost every Friday, he comes down to the shelter after work and calls it his “happy hour”. Even though he’s only at the shelter for a short time, he is able to get a couple more pups out for one more walk, or simply sit with a some of his furry buddies giving them the love they deserve.

He is quick to admit that he is more of a dog person and a people person but even so, he chose to join the AAWL Mentor team. We have a handful of volunteer Mentors who train all of our new volunteers and show them the ropes around the shelter. John is patient, kind and through in his training, always welcoming new volunteers with a smile. We are so grateful to have John in our corner, because without Mentors like him, we would not be able to continue growing our volunteer team and making the incredible impact on the lives of homeless pets and our community.

This month we would like to recognize a two good friends who are constantly giving: Cindy S and Linda M

These two ladies do so much to support AAWL it is unreal. Cindy and Linda have been volunteering for about 5 years now and have collectively put in almost 1,000 hours of service. They are go-to volunteers for events helping with roles from puppy wrangling to raffle ticket sales. They also are great members of our Helping Paws committee. Helping Paws is a group of volunteers who help us solicit auction items for our largest fundraisers of the year like our Evening to Paws gala. Last year, they hit the streets and brought in some truly unforgettable auction items, like dinner for 12 at Richardson’s. (Yum!)

Last, but certainly not least, Cindy has been helping out in the Volunteer Department with various admin tasks for the last 6 months and we cannot thank her enough! Knowing that we have a reliable volunteer to handle much needed tasks like data entry and volunteer badge making opens up our availability so we can tackle even more than we could before! We cannot imagine the shelter without these two and hope they stay with the AAWL family for many years to come.

This month we would like to recognize a volunteer who has touched just about every aspect of our shelter: Shawn W

Shawn has been volunteering at AAWL for a little over two years and has put in over 220 hours of service. He has the biggest heart and is willing to pitch in wherever is needed. He started out walking dogs, and quickly become more involved by helping with Play Groups, regularly taking dogs home on Gimme-A-Breaks, participating in our Homeward Bound program, helping our Marketing team with dog photography, always raising a hand to help at events and being open to jumping in wherever we need help. He is one of our go-to volunteers when last minute needs pop up, we always know we can rely on Shawn.

We are never surprised when a volunteer falls in love with one of our adoptable pups (it’s impossible not to) but Shawn has fallen twice! First he adopted Falkor (formerly Skellington) and a little while later, his second, Justice. Justice is a very special case who requires a very special family and Shawn fits the bill perfectly. Justice is a double merle Australian Shepherd who is both deaf and blind. Luckily, he is a sweet snuggle bug and loves everyone he meets! Shawn realized that Justice’s gentle personality would make him a perfect candidate to become a therapy dog so he teamed up with Pets on Wheels earlier this year. Now Justice can bring joy and make a wonderful impact on the community with his infectious charm. How cool is that?

We simply cannot thank Shawn enough for his contributions to AAWL. We are so lucky to have him on our team and to call him our friend as we strive towards making our community a wonderful place for pets.

Our Chandler Mall Adoption Center has some truly incredible volunteers, one of whom we would like to acknowledge today: Paula D

Paula is simply a joy and one of the most devoted cat moms of all time. She is always warm, friendly and quick to smile. She cares deeply for animals and helps us take exceptional care of our furry friends while they wait for their furever homes. Many of our Chandler volunteers focus their time giving the dogs extra walks and attention (because let’s face it, dogs are needy), instead Paula dedicates the majority of her time at the Mall Adoption Center to our cats. She has a knack for bringing out the best in them and takes her time to really get to know each individual. She will be able to tell you straight away each of our cats’ favorite things and what they don’t like so much. Fun fact: Paula is from Ireland and when she moved here to Phoenix, she brought her cat, Puddy, with her! Talk about dedication! Since arriving, she has adopted three fabulous felines: Lola, Wolfie and Clarice. The Chandler Mall Adoption Center would truly not be the same without Paula and we are honored to have her as a part of our AAWL family. 

This month we would like to recognize Patty & Thomas L., an unstoppable mother/son duo! Combined Patty and Thomas have given more than 1,800 hours to our shelter animals over the last 3 years. These two are some of our most dedicated week day volunteer crew who spend their afternoons each week at the shelter helping our pups with exercise and socialization. The afternoons are tough for volunteers, especially when its 100+ degrees outside, but the heat doesn’t stop these two! They come to every shift with a smiles on their faces, ready to take on the day. They always seem to fall for our more challenging pups and spend a great deal of time with our long timers who need the most love and attention. They are constantly looking out for our dogs whether it is teaching them basic obedience so they can impress potential adopters, enrichment time in the yard to give their brains a workout or giving them a break from their kennels in our volunteer work room.

They are also a huge help at our various events throughout the year, plus Patty is not only a Volunteer Mentor, she gives her time as a Volunteer Adoption Counselor as well. We are blessed to have Patty and Thomas on our AAWL crew as dedicated advocates for our animals who we can always count on and trust.

What can we say about Lisa B. She has been with the shelter for almost 8 years and while she has logged more than 2,500 “volunteer hours” her hours of fostering kittens far exceeds that. Lisa helps in all areas of the shelter from our Chandler location to our various fundraising events, but her true home lies with our foster department. Lisa fosters just about any animal that needs to spend time in a home but her specialty is with mama cats and their kittens and/or bottle babies. Bottle baby kittens are some of the hardest animals to foster because they require not only a huge time commitment but they are also extremely fragile – that has never stopped Lisa. She charges into any situation like a foster warrior ready to fight tirelessly for her underage kittens. She has saved more lives than we can count.

Lisa also helps hands on in the foster building – you can find her almost every Wednesday answering the phones, providing resource information to the community, restocking food & litter, doing laundry, and even outside in the hot summer afternoon heat sanitizing litter boxes and carriers. One little touch that Lisa provides for our foster department is that she takes great attention detail when prepping kennels for new kittens and puppies. She will head into the laundry room and curate the cutest blankets and toys so that each kennel is setup with everything an incoming foster baby could need…while ensuring everything is perfectly color coordinated! Lisa is such a valuable asset to the our AAWL family and we are so thankful for everything she does to help not only her kittens thrive but to also see AAWL expand and thrive.

Today we would like to spotlight a volunteer who has supported AAWL for well over a decade and is an incredible advocate for animals in general: Ashsuire F

Ashsuire F is a true animal lover. She has devoted so much of herself to helping animals in need in a variety of ways. She has given her time to AAWL for over 13 years and has touched pretty much every aspect of our shelter. She helps at events, walks dogs, socializes kitties, plays match maker as a Volunteer Adoption Counselor and list list goes on! She has opened her heart and home to countless cats and kittens who needed a safe place to heal and grow through our foster program. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience so we are grateful that we can place our toughest cases with her and she will do everything in her power to help them thrive. She also agreed to star in our new Cat Foster Orientation video so she could pass along her great kitty cat knowledge to our new fosters who are just starting out. On top of everything she does for AAWL, she volunteers at Maricopa County as well! Plus she is an amazing cook and always brings a delicious dish to our Staff & Volunteer food competitions. Nom!

Ashsuire is a one of a kind, truly amazing human and we are so incredibly lucky to have her as a part of our AAWL family. Thank you Ashsuire!!!

This month, we would like to recognize a volunteer who has stuck with us at our Chandler Mall Adoption Center since Day 0: Nancy P

Nancy P is an inspiration to us all. She began volunteering at our Chandler Mall location about 6 and a half years ago and has since given over 1,650 hours to our Mall Adoption Center. Nancy was one of the elite crew who helped us set up our shelves and get the store up and running all those years ago. Since the beginning she has given as much of herself as possible to our adoptable animals and is a regular figure at the mall each week. Nancy’s great work has helped save the lives of nearly 9,000 dogs and cats! Thank you Nancy! We know the Chandler Mall Adoption Center would not be the same if it weren’t for your love and dedication to our animals!