I felt last week’s Tail Talk needed additional explanations because I left something out, something so very important that if I didn’t get it said some very good people would walk away without understanding there is a place for them and the animals in the shelter would suffer because of it. There are many, many people that can’t deal with going in to the shelter and seeing the suffering of the animals that have no one, and if you are one of those people that’s okay. You don’t have to volunteer at the shelter to be a viable part of the Humane Society. I am one of those people. I cry like a baby when I see the animals in the shelter. I want to take them all home with me, and I can’t do that. From my first visit to a shelter close to 50 years ago to today my reaction hasn’t changed, from the moment I hit the door I turn into a huge blubbering idiot. When I was a little girl growing up in O’Fallon, IL animal control was a cage back by the sewage treatment plant. My best friend and I found a mama dog and her puppies locked up in the cage so we set them free and took them to my house, much to my mother’s chagrin. She had to call the police department to tell them who had robbed the animal control facility and I was sent to my room for two weeks. So I stay away from the shelter itself and do as much as I can from afar. If you are able to help them at the shelter they need volunteers there more than anywhere, and if you offer your help there make sure you follow through. If you find it’s not for you, you won’t be the first, just tell them but don’t abandon them by not showing up for your appointed shift. But otherwise you can volunteer for things like our upcoming rummage sale October 1, 2 and 3rd. They desperately need items donated and they need volunteers to set-up, to work the sale, and tear down. We aren’t able to have one of our most enjoyable fundraisers this year, the wine tasting at one of the local wineries, due to a lack of volunteers. We have a presence at most of the local fairs during the summer so call the shelter to see if you can volunteer when it’s time for one in your town. Be proactive. You don’t have to suffer to be of service. You can actually have a good time. You’ll make new friends, you’ll forget your problems, and you’ll walk away with a feeling in your heart that you helped the least of them among us, the shelter dogs.
October 1, 2 and 3 is the Annual RCHS Fall Garage Sale. Times are 8 am to 4 pm on the 1st and 2nd and 8 am to 1 pm on the 3rd at the St. John’s Church Pavilion on N. Market Street, Sparta, IL. Call the shelter at 618-443-3363 to donate or volunteer. And never forget, it is only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives, one by one.
