Who lets the dogs out?

Angie Nunn opened the door to the kennel and the room exploded with sound. About a dozen dogs all sounding off in unison. The more you listened, the more you could make out each individual voice among them. Nunn casually walked over to a cage door, knelt down and put her hand to the cage. Shamu, a 7-month-old mixed black male with a white spot on his belly, reached his nose out to sniff. Nunn opened the cage door, looped a leash around Shamu, and walked the dog down the hall and out to what was marked "Yard A." Shamu is one of the dogs currently available for adoption through the Humane Society & SPCA of Hancock County. Nunn is a Pet Pal, a type of volunteer for the agency that has several volunteer opportunities available after a year of not being able to work with volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pet Pals, one such volunteer opportunity, is a dog care program in which volunteers take time to let the dogs outside. Should the weather be bad, the volunteers instead take the dogs into what the shelter calls the serenity room. Either way, the dog is allowed time to play and interact with a human. "You work with them to wait, to sit, give them time to run around and be dogs, throw a ball, play with toys. "These animals look forward to that human contact and they become more adoptable by that human contact," said Paula Krugh, executive director of the humane society. "Ninety-nine percent of the dogs are happy to see you," said Nunn. "They appreciate you coming, and they look forward to you coming back." "You coming back" is a big piece of the puzzle, according to Krugh. "There a lot of people who volunteer and then never come back, because 'Oh I got busy', or 'Oh this ... Oh that,'" Krugh said. "A lot of people love being around the animals. The hardest thing is to find consistent volunteers." Krugh offered some basic criteria she feels make for a good and consistent candidate: someone who comes once or more per week, spends an hour or two with the animals, and truly cares about the animals. Other volunteer opportunities listed on the humane society's website include Cat Cuddlers, Happy Tails and pet photography. Much like the Pet Pals program, Cat Cuddlers is billed as a program where a volunteer can "engage cats in play" or "just relax in their kennel." "The cats wander around and kind of lead you," said Krugh, describing what someone might expect during a Cuddler session. Happy Tails, another cat-focused program, is designed to help keep kids reading during the summer months. Kids come in and have 30-minute reading sessions with the cats, intermingled with some play time, to keep the felines active. Animal photography is exactly as it sounds: a volunteer photographer comes in and takes photos of the animals. "It's about getting something more candid, showing the personality of the animal," said Krugh. "The more personality shown in the photo, the quicker that animal is adopted." The opportunity is available for at least semi-professional photographers, preferably someone who has a love for animals. A volunteering form can be obtained by emailing Ashley Mason, the humane society's volunteer coordinator, at ashley@hancockhumanesociety.com. The same form may also be picked up at the shelter. Applicants must be at least 12 or older to start volunteering, and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian until they turn 16. Volunteers begin their time working with staff, most often the kennel supervisor, to get acclimated to the process of working with the animals. Larger group projects are available as well. "We bring in a limited number for groups to help with the weeding and the trimming, the mulching, those types of things," said Krugh. "Most of the time, those are 4-H groups, Girl Scouts, or even some companies." Krugh noted that while these projects are removed from dealing with the animals, they are in no way less important. The Hancock Humane Society is open for volunteering during regular business hours: 12:30 to 4 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.