Sooooo….today was the day! First day volunteering! I was there for three hours and all I did was clean litter boxes (lol) but I can’t wait to go back!
They lady who runs the rescue (Mary Ellen) is so nice. My regular time will be every other saturday from 2-5. That gives me time to learn the ropes, pick ME’s brain, and get to know the bunnies. I asked her a ton of questions today, trying to figure out where I’ll fit in. Of course ME is happy to have the help but I think she wants to feel me out a little first before she’ll put me to use in other areas. Not that I mind litter box duty. When you’ve cleaned as many ferret litter boxes as I have…the mess left behind by rabbits is a welcome change.
Unfortunately this rescue has had a rough couple of years. They just moved to a new shelter, the board of directors fell apart, and ME doesn’t have the volunteer base she needs. I offered to do some administrative stuff and she said she has to get a bunch of stuff in order before she can delegate it. I think that might have been her little way of putting me off until she knows me better.
They sell the best willow stuff and hay and Purina pellets. Today I bought a 6 lb. bag of hay for $6. It smells so good! I’m a little short on cash because I bought all the stuff to build a NIC cage (it’s standing but I need to cover the shelves) and this last payday was the one I pay the mortgage out of. There’s not much left after that…lol! But at least I can pay the mortgage and still have a little left over, I’ve never had that luxury before. Being a single mom homeowner rocks!
Anyway, I met lots of bunnies and luckily none of them called out to me to adopt. I always had that problem with the dogs, there was always someone I wanted to bring home. There was a bunny there named Bob who has head tilt. He belongs to a volunteer who wants to get him a mate. They were doing introductions with a 4 year old female named Tracey. I loved Bob and if he would have been available for adoption I would have snatched him up in a second. If I could figure out how to pay for his monthly acupuncture that is.
I’m not working with any dog rescues now. I resigned from the latest one earlier this week. So now all I have going on is the rabbit rescue for three hours every other week. Usually I live and breathe rescue but I think I might be getting burned out. I think this arrangement will suite me for a while. Let me take a much needed rest from rescue politics, spend time with my own animals, and stop to smell the roses. It’s going to be strange to not constantly be running to rescue related stuff but maybe in a few months when ME knows me better I’ll get more involved. Until then I’m just going to enjoy being a worker bee .