BRANDON - It doesn't take much to get a dog to wag its tail - a pat on the head, a kind word, a run or a walk in the fresh air.
The dogs that end up at the Hillsborough County Animal Services shelter on Falkenburg Road don't always get those little extras. There's only so many staff members to care for the thousands of abused, neglected or abandoned dogs and cats that stay at the shelter each year.
Its operators hope caring animal lovers will help. Under a new program, volunteers are being welcomed to the shelter to help care for the animals.
Using a combination of resources from animal support organizations, recruits are trained to walk dogs, socialize with cats, clean animal cages, launder blankets and escort people interested in adopting a pet through the maze of cages.
The program, which is in its sixth month, is improving the animals' quality of life and their chances for adoption. Previously, about 10 percent of the shelter's animals were adopted each year and the remainder euthanized. During the first three months of the volunteer program, adoptions were up by 51 percent, in part because volunteers help the animals become more attractive to prospective owners.
About 200 volunteers have signed on to help and contributed more than 6,000 hours so far at the shelter, which houses about 500 to 800 animals on any given day.
Karyn Ringhaver of Apollo Beach volunteers at least one day a week, walking dogs, cleaning cages, laundering animal blankets and performing other duties.
"I love animals. That is why I am here," she said. "There's so much work to do, and they are so understaffed here. I would come every day if I could."
The recent bout of cold weather meant the animals needed more blankets, and there were large piles that needed washing in the hallway of the wing where Ringhaver volunteers.
"Have you ever seen so much laundry?" she asked. Working with two other volunteers, Sue Green and Alyce McCathran of Apollo beach, Ringhaver said by the time the volunteer team wraps up its shift, each dog has enjoyed a walk and has a clean cage, a clean blanket, a treat and a toy.
Marti Ryan, coordinator of community relations for Animal Services, said more volunteers are needed, especially on weekdays.
Money to pay the salary for volunteer coordinator Cathy Carr and other efforts to increase adoption rates comes from a grant from the ASPCA's Mission: Orange and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Other agencies working with Animal Services are the Animal Coalition of Tampa Bay and No More Homeless Pets, a coalition of individuals and animal welfare groups.
The ASPCA has committed up to $200,000 to the county for three years with a goal of increasing the homeless pet adoption rate to 50 percent by 2010.
Volunteers can help in a number of ways, Ryan said. They can photograph new arrivals and post the pets' pictures on the shelter's Web site, bathe and groom them, feed them, match animals at the shelter with descriptions of lost pets, assist with veterinarian services and walk and socialize dogs and cats.
"A dog that is clean and well-fed and exercised is happier and will show much better to prospective new owners," she said.
"Having a volunteer who knows the animals and who can escort families looking for a pet to the right one is a big plus," Ryan said. "This is a huge place with hundreds of animals."
Jackie and Joe Osborne and their son Jake, 14, of Valrico, are regular Saturday volunteers at Animal Services. Jackie Osborne, a dog obedience trainer for the past 15 years, supervises Joe in handling larger dogs. Because of an injury, she can't handle the large animals.
The family got involved in animal volunteer work when the older son, Robert, 18, volunteered at a no-kill animal center while the military family was living in North Carolina.
Robert Osborne works with a veterinarian, but the rest of the family has taken up volunteering at Animal Services.
"Jake does the escorting of civilians to the back areas. Because he has been around dogs his whole life, he knows what kind of dog a family might like," Jackie Osborne said. "We do this because we love animals and because we feel it's important to help the communities we live in," she said.
"People need to give Animal Services a chance. They are not the old dog pound. And they are doing the best they can. There is so much work to do, and they are understaffed."
The dogs that end up at the Hillsborough County Animal Services shelter on Falkenburg Road don't always get those little extras. There's only so many staff members to care for the thousands of abused, neglected or abandoned dogs and cats that stay at the shelter each year.
Its operators hope caring animal lovers will help. Under a new program, volunteers are being welcomed to the shelter to help care for the animals.
Using a combination of resources from animal support organizations, recruits are trained to walk dogs, socialize with cats, clean animal cages, launder blankets and escort people interested in adopting a pet through the maze of cages.
The program, which is in its sixth month, is improving the animals' quality of life and their chances for adoption. Previously, about 10 percent of the shelter's animals were adopted each year and the remainder euthanized. During the first three months of the volunteer program, adoptions were up by 51 percent, in part because volunteers help the animals become more attractive to prospective owners.
About 200 volunteers have signed on to help and contributed more than 6,000 hours so far at the shelter, which houses about 500 to 800 animals on any given day.
Karyn Ringhaver of Apollo Beach volunteers at least one day a week, walking dogs, cleaning cages, laundering animal blankets and performing other duties.
"I love animals. That is why I am here," she said. "There's so much work to do, and they are so understaffed here. I would come every day if I could."
The recent bout of cold weather meant the animals needed more blankets, and there were large piles that needed washing in the hallway of the wing where Ringhaver volunteers.
"Have you ever seen so much laundry?" she asked. Working with two other volunteers, Sue Green and Alyce McCathran of Apollo beach, Ringhaver said by the time the volunteer team wraps up its shift, each dog has enjoyed a walk and has a clean cage, a clean blanket, a treat and a toy.
Marti Ryan, coordinator of community relations for Animal Services, said more volunteers are needed, especially on weekdays.
Money to pay the salary for volunteer coordinator Cathy Carr and other efforts to increase adoption rates comes from a grant from the ASPCA's Mission: Orange and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Other agencies working with Animal Services are the Animal Coalition of Tampa Bay and No More Homeless Pets, a coalition of individuals and animal welfare groups.
The ASPCA has committed up to $200,000 to the county for three years with a goal of increasing the homeless pet adoption rate to 50 percent by 2010.
Volunteers can help in a number of ways, Ryan said. They can photograph new arrivals and post the pets' pictures on the shelter's Web site, bathe and groom them, feed them, match animals at the shelter with descriptions of lost pets, assist with veterinarian services and walk and socialize dogs and cats.
"A dog that is clean and well-fed and exercised is happier and will show much better to prospective new owners," she said.
"Having a volunteer who knows the animals and who can escort families looking for a pet to the right one is a big plus," Ryan said. "This is a huge place with hundreds of animals."
Jackie and Joe Osborne and their son Jake, 14, of Valrico, are regular Saturday volunteers at Animal Services. Jackie Osborne, a dog obedience trainer for the past 15 years, supervises Joe in handling larger dogs. Because of an injury, she can't handle the large animals.
The family got involved in animal volunteer work when the older son, Robert, 18, volunteered at a no-kill animal center while the military family was living in North Carolina.
Robert Osborne works with a veterinarian, but the rest of the family has taken up volunteering at Animal Services.
"Jake does the escorting of civilians to the back areas. Because he has been around dogs his whole life, he knows what kind of dog a family might like," Jackie Osborne said. "We do this because we love animals and because we feel it's important to help the communities we live in," she said.
"People need to give Animal Services a chance. They are not the old dog pound. And they are doing the best they can. There is so much work to do, and they are understaffed."
