Progress At The MSPCA

Today was another day at the MSPCA. I worked with the girl who I had showed what to do last week, and we made a lot of progress working as a team. I improved a bit, as I transfered almost every single cat, even after I got scratched by one. There was one cat who was new, who was very shy and didn't want to be touched, so instead of taking her out of her cage, I left her there, and worked around her. Although I was a bit nervous of what she was going to do, I continued doing it and realized she wasn't going to hurt me. I think that I have definitely been gaining a lot fromt his experience at the MSPCA, and I am meeting my goals. I'm definitely stepping out there and doing things I wouldn't typically do, and I'm actually having fun doing it. I'm really glad I chose this as something to do, and I can't believe I actually benefitted from it. I thought it was just going to be some sort of thing that I would dread going to every week; but its not that at all. I'm gonna miss it when I don't come back anymore. I wonder how my next week will go. I hope I can say that I compeltely acheived my goals.

Leadership at the MSPCA

Today was an amazing day, progress-wise, at the MSPCA. A new lady came in, and I got the priveledge of training her and showing her what to do in the cat room. It was so wonderful, she was a rally sweet woman, and we got along very well. I felt as though I had to take a lot of responsibility in my duties, and complete them correctly. She asked me questions about what to do, and I was the one who had to answer them. It was kind of neat because I remember when I used to be the one asking questions.

We cleaned the cat room, like usual, and I took a lot of responsibility with the cats. I did the majority of the transfering, and I was proud of myself. There was even one cat which I managed to transfer, which I never would have before. I used to be afraid of this cat because she was very timid and would always claw people. But I did it, and I didn't get clawed.

I feel as though I am definitely growing and developing new skills by working at the MSPCA, and I'm glad. I'm going to msis it when it's over...

I won't be able to work at the MSPCA the next two weeks, because of college visits, however, I plan on going back on August 21, and I hope that I still have as much confidence as I did this week.

Frustrating Day at the MSPCA.

Today, I got put to work in the holding room for cats, rather than the usual cat room that I work in. This is generally a job for one person, but today, two people did it. I felt like I was doing a lot of the work, while my partner just sat around and didn't do much, also our ideas kind of conflicted, because the way I was trained to do cat cages was different than the way she was. This kind of forced me to open up my mind to her ideas, and try to compromise so that we could get things done in time, while keeping all of the cats calm. This was difficult at first, but by the end of four hours working there, I discovered that a huge part of working at the MSPCA is relying upon eachother for hep. I also found out that you must be open to new ideas and accept them as they come. I think I grew from this experience, even though it was slightly frustrating at first.

More Responsibility at the MSPCA

Today, I feel as though I made a lot of progress working at the MSPCA. I feel as though my independence and responsibility as an individual grew a bit, because I didn't rely on my partner as much as I usually do. I think that every week, my role helping out grows a bit, because I am starting to feel more comfortable in my surroundings, while realizing that I have the capability to help out. I enjoy going there, and showing love and affection to the cats, while before I simply couldn't wait to get out of there. I used to hate holding the cats, because I was afraid, but today I felt a certain love for them, where I knew they weren't goin to hurt me, because I knew I could transfer them on my won without the help of my partner. I hope that next Friday I will feel even more accomplished, and I'm hoping that soon I will be able to go work with the dogs, and take on new positions there, although the cat room is quite difficult, because it takes more time than doing dishes, etc. I think that the MSPCA is definitely helping to increase my awareness of what I am capable of, and I'm very happy for that.

A Good Day At The MSPCA

Today was another day at the MSPCA, I cleaned the kitty room again. I think I showed a lot of improvement, as I transfered almost all of the cats on my own, without asking for help from the other person who was doing the room with me. I was a bit nervous at first, that I would drop one, or I would get clawed, but I let them warm up to me and was able to do it easily. I'm really proud of myself because I see it as a huge accomplishment. We also finished the asics of the cat room about a half hour early, so we were able to spend time cleaning up some of the fur that was on one of the cat-climbing things. I worked from 8:15-12:00, like a normal day, but I feel as though we were able to get a lot done because we worked together more than usual. We helped each other out a lot, and it allowed us to get things done in time before the shelter opened.

An Inspiring Day at the MSPCA

Today, I went into the MSPCA to volunteer, as usual. I did my usual duties: cleaning the cat room and their cages. For some reason things seemed to be going a lot slower than usual, probably because it was a hot day outside. However, there was a group of men outside who were powerwashing the outside of the MSPCA, to make it look more presentable to the public. These guys were amazing, they volunteered all of their work, and they didn't get paid a dime. Then, they noticed that everyone was a bit down at the MSPCA and they brought over donughts and coffee for everyone. It was so sweet of them, and it definately got everyone's mood up. While I cleaned the cat cages, I tried my best to show love to all of the cats, rather than just throwing them in and out of their cages. I'm not a big animal person, but I really think that this experience has made me become more attatched and caring towards animals. I also think that I have grown a bit as a person, because usually, I hate getting dirty. And every week, I walk out of the MSPCA, covered in dirt, and gross things from the cats. It makes me feel good about myself that I can actually do that, because normally I would be like "ew, this is discusting. There is no way I'm doing that or getting sweaty."

Also, I cleaned the cage of a cat who had gotten sick and thrown up everywhere. I think this was a big step as well, because I had to push myself to do this. Normally, I would have asked another volunteer to do it, but I wanted to do it myself and prove to myself that I could.

Another Day at the MSPCA

Today, I had another day of volunteering at the MSPCA. I was put in the same kitty room as I was the first day, and I sort of trained another volunteer in the cat room. But then, another lady who works at the MSPCA came, so we worked on the cat room together instead of the new volunteer. It was kind of neat to be able to show someone else what to do, because it made me feel as though I had learned something, and had the authority to do that. So, I spent four hours working and cleaning the cat room, and I felt very accomplished in the end. there were much more cats today than there were last week, and several new ones. I did a lot more handling with the cats that I had been nervous to touch last week, and I realized that they were actually nice and loving cats. I also cleaned a cage while the cat was still in it, because he didn't want to come out. Last time that the cat didn't want to come out, I had another volunteer clean it for me, but this week I did it on my own. I felt accomplished, and I was glad I could help the cats. Maybe next week, I will improve my skills even more.