Volunteers are gradually returning to the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter. One at a time, they sign up to walk dogs, socialize with cats and assist with the steady stream of laundry and donations, all while maintaining a safe physical distance. But when the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria had to make the difficult decision to pause in-shelter volunteering in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19, our dedicated team of volunteers did not stop helping animals in need. Rather than coming to the shelter each day, they continued their work to help animals from home.

Foster kitten Twix inspects enrichment items heading to cats at the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter.

“We are both dog-walking volunteers and always enjoy meeting and walking the dogs, whether at the shelter or on field trips,” explain volunteers Karin Fangman and Connie McCabe. “Before COVID-19, it was fun to take the dogs to Old Town, where they would have opportunities to meet lots of people – perhaps even a prospective adopter!” 

While the AWLA had to wait until it was safe to welcome volunteers back to help shelter animals in person, those animals still benefited from volunteers’ time. Fangman and McCabe, along with dozens of other volunteers, continued to sign up for any project that was requested in weekly volunteer emails. “We’ve made a couple of batches of busy boxes for dogs, which required learning what ‘squeeze cheese’ is and enlisting our neighbors to save and share small boxes. We’ve also been making busy bags and cat treat tubes and taking advantage of Amazon Smile to support the shelter as we stock up on bulk packs of cat toys and catnip.” Each time they volunteer, their resident pup Eleanor, an AWLA alum, would supervise nearby. 

Fangman shows her work with squeeze cheese in crafting busy boxes for shelter pups.

All of the items volunteers make provide enrichment for animals at the AWLA. Busy boxes are handmade puzzles with treat rewards inside, and cat toys immersed in catnip make “catnip soup.” Animals at the shelter receive different activities each day to provide mental stimulation and time for play, which are essential to keeping them happy and healthy.  Some volunteers also sewed washable fabric masks to be used by the AWLA’s staff and shared with other essential City employees or kennel curtains to help pups feel a little more comfortable in their enclosures at the shelter.

But beyond logging hours for time spent working to help animals, volunteers at the AWLA are part of a community. They share stories from their day with pictures and videos in a Facebook group, attend special virtual trainings like the AWLA’s Polite Pups classes and celebrate when the animals they help are adopted. Though volunteers have stayed at a physical distance, they have still been coming together virtually through special Zoom sessions and extra classes that have been offered by shelter staff this spring and summer. Fangman and McCabe have been attending these video meetings whenever they can. “It was so much fun to see everyone at a recent info session, in which Eleanor participated! But we are looking forward to signing up for in-shelter volunteer activities. It will be so good to see the animals – and humans – again!”

AWLA Alumni Eleanor lends a paw while Fangman and McCabe sew kennel curtains for pups at the shelter.

Volunteers are once again seen in the AWLA’s volunteer lounge, though now one at a time, wearing masks and greeting staff from a distance.  Along with socializing cats, dogs and other pets, their daily routine now includes wiping down kennel handles, clickers and anything else they may have touched before anyone else can use them. Others continue to drop off enrichment activities each day at the shelter’s front door. Whether volunteers at the AWLA are working from home or at our shelter, one thing stays constant even during difficult times: When there are animals in need, there will be a team of volunteers ready to help in any way they can.