It’s Christmas Eve as my adult children and I put on old clothes, nothing formal, just embracing the season of giving to head down to the Lawrence County Animal Shelter for the annual dog walk-a-thon. Not the usual holiday ritual, but certainly one that makes you feel warm inside.

The volunteers greet us and a myriad of others from all age ranges. “Are you okay with a puller?” they ask those who appear able-bodied or strong, as the goal is to have every dog 

in the shelter walked before the holiday. You might get a larger dog or one that isn’t used to a leash. 

 

My first dog is a sweet brown female, retriever-like dog. She’s a super-nice gal who appears to have had pups. “This is normal,” my daughter, an avid volunteer to the shelter, says. 

“She likely was recovered with her pups, and puppies are easier to find homes. It’s the older dogs that sit in the shelter a while,” she says. The female canine looks up at me with a knowing look that I’ve just given her a respite from her crate and she can be a dog again, feeling grass under her paws and sniffing every scent she encounters for the next 20 minutes or so of our stroll. At the end, I pet her head and tell her she’s a good girl, which my daughter insists I should do. I realize the volunteers have 

broken me in with a gentle one. 

 

The second candidate is a tan-and-white pit bull, Big Boy. “Can you handle a puller?” they asked. “Of course, I can,” as I have three Labradors of my own. He’s not only stealthy; he’s 

smart. He would comply with my control, and then I’d let him sniff and loosen my grip. Then, he’d test I still had hold of him as he’d try to bolt for whatever caught his eye in the 

distance. It was obvious he needed this walk to run off some energy. I told him he was a good boy, too.

 

We wrapped up our under-two-hour effort having walked collectively about a dozen dogs. My youngest daughter spent most of her time comforting a timid new dog that had been rescued from under a house trailer with a dozen pups. This dog surely needed a gentle soul like her. The favorite of the day was Franklin, a spirited newbie. My son got the honor of naming him for the shelter. Dogs get names and notes taken about them to display on their crate so other volunteers will know what to expect. Franklin was most playful and had the cutest distinct wrinkled face.

 

Volunteering at the shelter that day required little effort. Since my daughter returned home and has been volunteering, I get swept up in her stories about the rescue dogs. What I’m 

even more dismayed by is how much help these shelters need but don’t get, and how easy it is to offer help.

There’s always the offer of monetary contributions for endless needs. However, you can literally just show up, sign a waiver and walk a dog or two. If you come back and do it again, 

great. If you don’t, no one is expecting you to. Even better, maybe you encounter a dog that is quite adoptable for someone you know. 

 

Most people don’t realize they can check out a dog for a few days or weeks. This can give the dog a break from the shelter, socialize it, or maybe test the waters to see if the dog is a match. My daughter matched a nine-year-old dog with her grandfather who said he didn’t want another dog because of his advanced age. This rehoming story is one of many with a beautiful outcome.

 

While these stories are the highlights, Lawrence County dog warden Denise Paulas is no stranger to the challenges. She first started on a volunteer basis, then became the director, 

but was doing so much work herself they made her dog warden so she could see some compensation. “People don’t realize our facility runs almost entirely on dog tag sales. The majority of county residents don’t bother to register or buy dog tags for their dogs, even though they are supposed to.” She went on to explain shrinking county budgets really put the squeeze on her facility, and volunteerism through the Lawrence County Humane Society is paramount to keeping the dogs socialized and provide some exercise. “Without the 

volunteers, many of these dogs would never get walked.”

 

The Lawrence County Animal Shelter is one of many area no-kill shelters. They work with a host of other organizations to rescue and rehome dogs but overcrowding and resources 

are always an issue. If you’d be interested in helping one of these worthy animal facilities near you, many websites have volunteer pages, and it is super easy and incredibly 

worthwhile.

 

Below is a list of area organizations you can volunteer with. Your help is needed! 

Organization Location Website / Primary Link

Lawrence County Animal Shelter Ironton, OH irontonshelter.org

Lawrence County Humane Society Ironton, OH lawrencecountyhumane.com

Ashland Animal Rescue Fund (AARF) Ashland, KY aarfatthehouse.org

Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter Huntington, WV hcwanimalshelter.com

One by One Animal Advocates Huntington, WV onebyoneanimaladvocates.com

Little Victories Animal Rescue Huntington, WV https://littlevictories.org

Perfect Pet Adoption Center Proctorville, OH perfectpetadoptioncenter.com

Misfit Paws Rescue (Cats) South Point, OH facebook.com/misfitpawsrescue

Sierra’s Haven for New and Used Pets Portsmouth, OH www.sierrashaven.org

Friends of Greenup Paws Greenup, KY Facebook.com/friendsofgreenuppaws