I love to volunteer for many things.

I socialize with the cats, and walk the dogs at our animal shelter.

I bring cookies to our local firehouse sometimes.

What do other Etrainers do?

I volunteer at different hospitals, for either childcare or skilled nursing, to help patients through there hard times.

Also volunteer at homeless shelters to help keep them fed, and have a nice warm bed to sleep in.

Other than the JDRF fundraising that I have been doing since this Elliott fandom thingie (LOL) my volunteer work thruout the years has mostly been my work wtih animal rescue and the Dachshund Rescue Org of the Mid Atlantic.

I love the breed (as my username tends to indicate) and I bought my first one years ago before I knew of the pitfalls and dangers of buying a dog from a petstore. I ended up with a sickly little pup I had fallen in love with and spent so much money on surgeries and vet visits to keep her with me.

Since then I have been on a crusade to educate the public on ethical and reputable breeding practices and helping them to understand that if you DO choose to go purebred, you want to really research your breeder and make sure they health test and have preservation of the breed in mind. Most don't sadly and the little breeds like the dox and the chi are really puppy milled to death. If the petstores and mills don't have people buying from them they will have no choice but to go out of business.

I encouarge anyone who wants a dog to adopt from a shelter, or if your heart is set on a purebreed contact your local chapter of that breeds rescue org. Virtually every breed has a network of volunteers who foster and rehome the dogs. If someone MUST have a puppy from a purebred litter do extensive research. Healthy purebreeds are normally not cheap - if you find one at a bargain, it is probably no bargain in the long run. I have spent close to seven thousand dollars on surgeries and vet bills on my "bargain" petstore doxie. The reason mixed breeds tend to have fewer disorders and illness is because when you mix two purebreed dogs together, that breed normally will have a propensity and genetic predisposition for a certain type of disorder. It is 20 times more likely when you breed a dog of a certain breed to another of that same breed that they both will carry the gene and will have puppies who have it. With mixed, it is not as likely that the two are going to be exact carriers of it and you tend to see less debilitating illness.

Sorry to ramble. LOL I figured I could also use this post as a public service message. :D Every knows I am longwinded. :rotfl:

:glomp: that's quite fine Doxie, i appreciate the message. I wish that I could own a dog, but my landlord won't let us. So I fullfill my dog maternal instincts by hugging and walking the ones at my local shelter. It's my social life! LOL!

I volunteer 2 hours every week in my daughter's Sunday School class. I am one of 8 in a class of 200 elementary age kids. It gets really crazy, but it is the most rewarding volunteer work I've ever done.
In the past I have worked with an organization that distributes clothing and food to needy families. Every Christmas I donate and help wrap hundreds of gifts for children in low income areas, that otherwise would not have a Christmas.
I also visit the local shelter to play with the dogs, antagonize the cats (jk) and bring in donations of food and toys. However, this is hard to do with my daughter cause she wants to adopt them all!! If we ever buy a farm, we will have a shelter of our own!
BTW, I have a shelter dog that has cost me more money in medical bills than any other pet I've ever owned. He has also set me back quite a bit in property damage and belongings that he has eaten or destroyed. I understand that you can run into problems with purebreds, but there are also issues with abused and neglected animals at the shelter. I think there is nothing better than adopting an orphaned animal, but everyone should be warned about the risks of medical and behavioral problems. My little demon is an 18 month old Lab mix and I love him, but he gives me a migraine atleast once a week!

BTW, I have a shelter dog that has cost me more money in medical bills than any other pet I've ever owned. He has also set me back quite a bit in property damage and belongings that he has eaten or destroyed. I understand that you can run into problems with purebreds, but there are also issues with abused and neglected animals at the shelter

Of course. It would be unrealistic to think every shelter dog is a perfect match for your home, personality and lifestyle.

My point with my message was why support these puppy mills whose breeding stock lives a life of holy hell by buying that puppy in the window?

At least with your dog you were not lining the pockets of these greedy millers.

What you experienced is because dogs are not inanimate objects, which yes I am sure you know, but when you get a dog you are never sure if they will be a good match for you and your family.

I think it mroe humane for you and the dog that whenever you adopt a dog you send it back to the shelter to be rehomed if it is not working out, or try to place it in another home yourself.

I agree with you Doxie! Searching for the pet that fits your family is best. I actually wanted a Lab and that is why I chose him. AND I wanted to provide a loving and safe home to an orphaned puppy. However, because he was a stray along with his sister, the two learned how to survive and fend for themselves. He can get out of any restraint you put him in except the heavy duty runner we have set up in the yard! His rough playing has drawn blood several times, but it is not out of aggression.
It has been a long year and he needs intensive training, but I would never dream of taking him back to the shelter. To me he is like having a teenager. He misbehaves, but he is mine and we will get through this adjusting time in his life.
I will be the first to admit that I adopted for all the wrong reasons. I was grieving over the loss of my 13 yr old Aussie. I thought a puppy would help me get over her quicker. End the end, it actually did help take my mind off of grieving!
I have heard really bad things about animals from pet stores and I will never take that route when chooing a pet. However, I still love going to the store and getting into one of those booths and playing with and loving on the puppies. I think it is good for the soul! And the puppies!
Doxie I am a supporter of your cause. Thank you for all the info in your previous post.

gonoles I am very glad you are sticking it out with this boy. That is very noble of you!

Labs are rambunctious and high energy when pups even WHEN from a good breeder! I don't envy you !! I can only handle the little tiny dogs lol. My doxies are stubborn but even when they have high energy days they can tear thru the house and nothing gets broken!

I volunteer time as a humane education coordinator for local schools where a few others students and I give presentations on pet care and bite prevention. I also volunteer at a local spay/neuter clinic. And at this very moment my fiance is volunteering his time getting yet another bird out of a gutter at our apartment. :blink: We really don't sleep at night between animals getting stuck in the gutters and stray cats crying outside ... I sometimes wish I didn't care so much because this stuff can consume me.

I have done a lot of volunteer work with people too (I don't want to seem like I only do good for animals), but currently because of school I don't have time for much else.

And along the lines of puppy mills: http://www.stoppuppymills.org/
PA is the puppy mill capital, and I've seen so many clients come into the vet hospital with extremely sick puppies from Amish farms. Unfortunately a lot of people still are not educated about puppy mills/pet stores.

I personally feel that all breeding (dogs, cats) should be outlawed until we can get the overpopulation problem under control. Only then should we legally regulate who can breed - so all breeders would have to have a license and pay yearly dues and follow strict guidelines. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I see the effects of breeders everyday. Even aside from puppy mill situations, just take a look at german shepherds - they have been bred for a specific conformation and as a result many suffer from hip problems, or brachycephalic breeds such as bulldogs who actually only breathe normally when they are intubated. I usually try to be PC and say that there are reputable breeders, however I have never met one.

I'm a different volunteer - in the cause of affordable housing. I volunteered for two years for the Richmond affiliate of Habitat for Humaniy, then went to work as their executive director, then 12 years employment with Habitat for Humanity in a US Regional capacity. I left Habitat for employment last year, but still volunteer as a board member of the Virginia State organization.

I love pets though - have tons of them and just went through a summer of fostering a ton of kittens born to two feral cats that we feed. We have finally been able to have the feral cats spayed through the SPCA and have found homes for all but 1 of the 21 kittens that were part of our household at one time or another this year. Please have your pets spayed or neutered! We are now left with one Lab and 3 cats of our own, plus one hanger on from the spring/summer litters. :)

:rocker: HfH rocks

Thanks, I think so - it was my life for over 15 years. Now I am volunteering on a less involved level - I think I needed a break. It will always be close to my heart though - some of the biggest heros I have ever met were Habitat homeowners.

I'm a junior docent/historian at this park called Heritage Village that is full of late 19th-early 20th century buildings that represent that era in the Tampa Bay Area. I even have some pioneer girl costumes that I wear, it's pretty cool.

http://i11.tinypic.com/43rodbb.jpg

Here's a pic with me (in the front in purple) and my friend Cash (the kid with the blond hair) there last summer during the little kid summer camp.

Cute! It's good to see young people interested in preserving history - I don't hear a lot of that from young people - good for you!

Thanks :D It's a great job, plus I learned to make palm leaf fans and rope!

I donate blood. And I give money to the ASPCA.

But, this year I have been doing this.
http://soldiersangelsnetwork.org/

writing letters to soldiers who don't have families and are stationed over seas. They love it. And I love them.

Thanks for the link alysoup. I've heard of this before, but I've never looked into it. I'll check it out.

thanks aylsoup, many of them were raised in the foster care system. That's a great ideal!

All such wonderful causes! Elliott fans are so altruistic! :grin:

Same here! :glomp:

and remember...soldiers ALWAYS need socks

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

I've volunteered dog walking at the Humane Society but had to quit due to a recent surgery. I really enjoyed it and hope to get back at it again. I'm training to become a Certified Dog Trainer. Needless to say, I LOVE dogs and it was a lot of fun except I wanted to take them all home with me!

Hi everyone, so many good causes here! I volunteer for the local chapter of the Special Olympics, my teen sons, my husband and I have worked on qualifying events each yr and the State festival. It is a wonderful time and I am so blessed to have met wonderful athletes, families and other volunteers.

I am also a volunteer for cooperative extension and the Wic program and assist young mothers and their families with parenting and nutrition, Sometimes I do home visits and the folks are so welcoming to me, I am reminded to appreciate what I have and how much people struggle in their own lives.