ROCKDALE, Texas (KRHD) — The Rockdale Animal Control Shelter is in need of more volunteers amid an expected increase of stray animals this fall.
- The Rockdale Animal Control Shelter only has two volunteers.
- The volunteers handle responsibilities — walking and bathing dogs — that the animal control officer and her staff don't have time to do in a normal work day.
- But the volunteers are starting back school in August, forcing to staff to look for more volunteers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"It's a 40-minute drive," Izzy Orton, a volunteer at the Rockdale Animal Control Shelter, said.
"Yeah, it's a 40-minute drive for us," another volunteer, Dru Kimball, said.
To Hutto natives, Dru Kimball and Izzy Orton, it's a drive that's worth the time
"It's worth it, especially because we get to come and we get to play with dogs," Kimball said.
And one that Rockdale Animal Control Officer Karen Janes depends on.
"We don't have much of a volunteer-base," Janes said.
They're the only volunteers amid an expected increase of stray animals this fall.
"While we're out on calls, it's hard for us to get the cleaning and feeding done at the shelter," she said.
— and they need more.
"All of it is really needed," Janes said.
Dru and Izzy typically volunteer once a week.
"Well, you get to clean like kennels, bathe the dogs. We can walk them, play with them, pretty much anything," Kimball said.
While Karen can focus on answering calls and getting adoptions.
"It's a lot of work to do with just a few employees and so volunteers really make a huge difference in how heavy our day is," Janes said.
But there is a possibility that Karen could lose most of their help once school starts —
"We're about to be seniors in high school," Orton said. "We still want to try to make time. It'll probably have to be like differently scheduled."
Making her search more crucial.
"Without them, the dogs just don't get out quite as much," Janes said.
