I've been going into Animal Haven a couple times now, and I am already a really big fan of the place. The people are very nice and motivated. The animals are adorable and very well taken care-of and I'm really happy that I get to be surrounded by such loving dogs for a few hours each week.
On Monday I spent a couple hours of my Columbus holiday volunteering, I didn't know what I would be helping out with that day, and I was ecstatic when I was placed on "Puppy Duty." A staff member brought me upstairs and I literally yelped with delight when I walked into to find a pen of SIX puppies, all about two months old.
The puppies were brought up to Animal Haven from down south - they weren't sure if they were all from the same litter, but they all seemed like best friends. I thought I was in heaven, but was very quickly put into my place when I realized that my sole purpose that day was to clean up puppy poop and pee. Since the animals were all in one pen, it was important that someone was there to clean up after them so that their space wasn't dirty for when potential adoptive parents came to check them out -- and so that the puppies didn't stumble into their own waste and get themselves smelly and dirty.
In between mopping up a ton of messes (honestly, these dogs went to the bathroom 20 times each), I did get to spend some one-on-one time with a few of the pups. I fell instantly in love with a small little white and tan girl named Christine. She was so sweet and soft and licked my cheek when I held her.
After two hours of play time, lunch time and clean-up time, the puppies FINALLY fell asleep. The picture above happened when they all passed out.
I'd say it was a day well spent.
