To Clean a Cat
By: Emmanuel Perry
March 7, 2011
To be honest, this site was actually my second choice. I was going to be at the Boys and Girls Club of America, but they never called me back. Day after day I called, until I realized I would have to move on. It was getting pretty close to the date where I had to have some appointment set up. Thankfully, I had some back up places, and one of them was the Westerly Animal Shelter. What was interesting was that the Boys & Girls club kept putting me off, and the Animal shelter accepted me and we assigned a date on my first call! I guess it was meant to be so. When I went there to look around the place, what surprised me the most was that the place was very spacious inside and had a very big main hall; however, it was somewhat narrow in the corridors. In addition, it did not smell of animals, which surprised me. As I looked at it, I knew I was going to have a blast!
There were some problems that came up as I went through my visits. For example, they told me that since I was under 18 I could not handle the dogs. In addition, I couldn’t work with some animals in the isolation zone, due to their unstable behavior. A physical challenge on my first day was cleaning the cats’ cages. What you have to do is pick the cat up by its scruff and chest then place it in an empty cage so you could clean it’s original kennel. The first cat I did was a big black tom with a snow-white belly. I petted him first, so I could gain his trust, and then slowly grabbed the scruff on his neck. One thing I should mention is that while held like this, the cat goes temporarily limp. However, the cat will start to struggle if he is in the air too long. Just like the previous sentence suggests, I left the cat out too long. It started fussing so hard I had to cradle it, shuffle to my left, and dump it in the new cage like a bulldozer. I learned that you should have both cage doors open when you are switching cats.
Despite these challenges, I still feel I did my part by being a volunteer. Tom ____, the head of the shelter, was very grateful that I could help. Now that I think about it, being too young to help the isolated animals might have been a good thing. When I did the little things, the older volunteers could worry about the bigger things. I was also reluctant help when some of the older volunteers couldn’t make it. In conclusion, my work with cleaning cages also made the pets look more attractive to adopters, which is what all the volunteers want for the animals.
During the week, I studied more about the animal shelters in Connecticut and the problem with animal cruelty. One thing I didn’t know was that there were different kinds of shelters. Some do not euthanize (put down) animals after a certain amount of days while on the contrary, some do put down animals after a certain amount of weeks (wikipedia.com). I did some more research and found that most places that euthanize animals after periods of time are in places that have pet/stray overpopulation or don’t have enough room in the shelter (CThumane.org). There is a group of people called humanitarians. ASPCA, or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is one of the many that help set up state laws to prevent animal cruelty. It started in New York in 1866 and is now America’s largest humane society. They support animal shelters and police when facing animal abuse. There is another group of people called animal activists. These people hold rallies or protests against animals in distress, somewhat like humanitarians. Activists don’t buy cosmetics or other store products (toothpaste, skin creams, etc) that were tested on animals. In addition, some Activists don’t eat meats from ‘factory farms’; places where animals are held in stressfully small spaces and painfully are killed. Instead, they eat animal products that came from animals that roam on a farm or large expanse of land.
As I worked I started thinking about how my work at the shelter was similar to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. What came to mind was how Tom Robinson could not talk in his own defense. This is just like how animals cannot speak to those who abuse them. We must be like Atticus Finch, a lawyer, a speaker for the Animals. I was not so excited about this project the first few visits, but close to the end I really felt bad about leaving. This is similar to how Jem and Scout had to spend their free time with Ms. Dubose. They did not like it in the beginning, but missed her when she died.
I really wish I did not waste so much time calling the B&G club. I was continuously calling them, but we never got a solid date. I also would want to be more assertive. I was really shy and didn’t go for every opportunity to do something new. Next time I do community service, I will be more assertive in my work. There were some rabbits and cockatiels the first three visits. I wish I had asked if I could handle those small critters, because I had some experience with birds (I had two as pets).
These visits have really changed me. One example is really interesting. I feel more willing to help others without pay. I have also become more devoted to helping this cause for animals. I have been inspired by the other volunteers that this problem is not a small one.
In conclusion, this experience is one I will never forget or won’t forget easily. I now have a strong urge to not only help animals all over the world, but to help critters in my own neighborhood. I felt great doing something for my community; it made me feel like I was actually a part of it. I hope this spurs you to do something that will benefit the people around you. It doesn’t just make them feel better, it makes you feel better too.