Volunteer Spotlight: Amy O.

We first met Dolores at AAWL when she was dumped through our front door as a 6 week old kitten. Terrified, she ran everywhere on a dislocated foot trying to hide. After a lot of coaxing and treats, we were able to catch her and start tending to her injury. During her exam, our veterinarian knew something else was wrong, proved by a very scary x-ray: Dolores’s stomach was full of trash! In the weeks of surviving on the streets, she had eaten plastics, sticks, and other pieces of garbage.

Mike M. has been a volunteer at AAWL for the past 4 and a half years, logging more than 3,550 hours of volunteer time! He started out as a Dog Walker, and still does that almost every visit to the shelter, but he really found his place volunteering in our shelter clinic helping animals get ready for adoption. Since volunteering in the clinic, Mike has regularly logged between 80 – 100 hours each month helping prep and recover animals during their surgeries.

Black Dog Syndrome: The mysterious, impossible to prove, totally true problem afflicting shelter dogs across the country.

Charlie and Caleb had a tumultuous life before coming to AAWL. A gentle man living in rural California provided a safe haven for dogs he found dumped in the desert near his house for years. As they wandered to his property for food and water, he invited them into his ever-growing pack of abandoned animals. Charlie and Caleb were two of those abandoned animals. They became friends at the small house and looked out for each other like brothers.

Susan has been a foster volunteer at the Arizona Animal Welfare League longer than any other staff member has been around. We didn't even have electronic reporting at the time she started so our reports are a bit off, but we estimate that in the 14+ years she has been a foster volunteer she has fostered more than 600 dogs/puppies with us!

MichThere is nothing we love more than when we get volunteer duos! Duos can be siblings, friends, or in this case, a husband and wife team volunteering at the shelter together. Sherrie M. started volunteering at AAWL in 2014 and 2 years later she convinced her husband, James M., to join the AAWL volunteer family.

Erin has been a volunteer with the Arizona Animal Welfare League for more than 8 years, logging more than 6,000 volunteer hours. She is one of our early morning volunteers, often arriving at the shelter before the sun is up and most of us have even had our first cup of coffee. Erin spends much of her time assisting our staff by yarding dogs for potty breaks – a welcomed sight for our pups first thing in the morning!

Seeing a Mexican hairless dog isn’t terribly rare in shelters, but a full size, not a chihuahua size? Now that’s rare. With his thin fur coat, rubbery skin, and pointy ears, Bolt may be overlooked for his “unique” looks, but people may not know some amazing facts about Bolt’s lineage as “The First Dog Of The Americas.”