All kinds help out

PALMER — At the Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation Shelter, care is reciprocal.

The shelter is run by a full-time staff, but the animals depend on a crew of more than 100 volunteers to get the individual attention they deserve.

“The volunteers fill in the gaps. With our new building, we’re two-thirds times bigger than we were before, but with the same staff,” coordinator Sue Fujimoto said. “They definitely help make ends meet. They are just saviors a lot of times.”

Types of volunteers run a wide range, she said. There are a lot of 17- to 20-something girls, a lot of moms who come with their sons or daughters, a few retired people and some professionals who come on the nights and weekends.

There is Brunhilde O’Brien, a retiree who started at the shelter at the beginning of July. She has had pets all her life, but her husband is allergic now.

“I get all my pet-wanting out of the way here now,” O’Brien said, “And there is just so much to be done here.”

There’s Ellen Deiman, a high school level homeschooler who has volunteered for the last four months.

“Being homeschooled allows me to come here more often,” Deiman said. “I just love helping the animals. It just makes me feel so good.”

Ashley Kjelland has volunteered so much, she was given the Presidential Volunteer Service Medal, an award started by the Bush Administration to recognize exemplary community citizens.

Fujimoto went through a laundry list of the things volunteers like O’Brien, Deiman and Kjelland do at the shelter. They take care of cleaning the cages, washing the blankets, walking the dogs and socializing with the cats. They pull pets when people are interested in adopting them, and prepare the paperwork to finalize the process. They help with adoption events — like the one this Sunday at Pet Zoo in Wasilla — and a contingent of 30 walked dogs as part of the Fourth of July parade.

But, for as much as the volunteers do for the animals, it’s what the animals do for the volunteers that is truly incredible.

The pool of over 100 volunteers includes many people with special needs, young and old. Fujimoto recounted some of the more remarkable cases.

The shelter has a program with schools in Palmer. Two or three students with special needs will come in with their caretakers to interact with the animals.

“I had a teacher tell me about one autistic boy who you could not even touch,” Fujimoto said. “Since he started coming to the shelter and dealing with the animals and people here, he hasn’t been showing any sings or symptoms in class.”

Fujimoto said the shelter has similar programs with groups that help adults with special needs. By spending time in the shelter, people learn social skills that could help them secure jobs.

One woman comes in just to hold the cats, getting joy and therapy from just hanging on to them, Fujimoto said. Another woman who volunteers has Alzheimer’s disease.

“She was a great animal lover before. She was known for her work with horses,” Fujimoto said. “Working here keeps her stimulated, keeps her connected. I don’t know how aware of it she is, but when she’s here and doing it, it’s a good thing.”

Asked why she thought the animals had such a therapeutic value, she said they offer a sense of companionship, companionship but without the messiness of human interaction.

“Animals just accept them how they are,” she said. “They just accept whether a person has special needs or not.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.