The sound of dogs barking and cats meowing reaches the girl’s ears. She smiles as she opens the door and greets every coworker she sees. The brown haired girl makes sure her nametag is on and goes straight to the laundry room. A few hours after she is found with Minnie Mouse, a young calico, sitting in her lap. That was when I was working at the SPCA this summer. Being around animals is my quiet time and also a way of calming my mind of my troubling thoughts.

During my time at the SPCA I learned that animals seemed to sense that I loved every one of them. I was licked on, slobbered on, meowed at, and I nuzzled with every one of the animals I had contact with. The SPCA teaches me that animals that come from unfortunate backgrounds have sad stories. For example Midnight, one of the black cats, had an owner that passed away. Many times sadness leads to happiness. Another example would be Gina (aka GiGi,) a pitbull was found in Puerto Rico and was shipped from a shelter there to the SPCA over in New Jersey. When she arrived she was a stray dog and didn’t think or know what dog toys were. It was heartbreaking to see her look at a squeaking toy and her not knowing what to do. Over time as we bonded, she realized she was cared for, I learned that through providing love and care.

The SPCA selects a few to be volunteers and I was one of the chosen ones. One would think this opportunity would provide all joy. However I learned it wasn’t all fun and games, I learned how to do the laundry, how to form work relationships, how to ask for help, and how to help out other coworkers as well. These new lessons I’ve learned will help me when entering the world after high school. One experience that was quite interesting was when I was taking care of the cats. As I was going to leave the cat room, one kitten ran out from under my legs. I tried getting her on my own but realized I needed assistance. A coworker distracted the kitten for me while I grabbed her from behind. Luckily, I found that when help is needed, ask!

I was a helpful addition to the workers at the SPCA and worked very hard to the best of my ability. Not only did the employees benefit, but also I benefited from this experience. If you asked any of my coworkers or my boss, they will say I was very eager to help out and I was a very hard worker.