In the beginning...

Volunteering for my hometown Humane Society (HS) is not merely showing up one day and declaring that you are a volunteer.  There is a 2 hour intro to volunteering class you must attend.  If after you hear what it entails you still want to volunteer, you need to attend a 6 hour training class the next week.  After deciding what you want to volunteer for you may need to attend more training.  Once you complete the training you need to interview with the Volunteer Coordinator.  The Humane Society realizes they could not operate  successfully without hundreds of dedicated volunteers.

I have been a dog walker since May of 2010.  I have volunteered over 100 hours since then and wish I could do more.  I understand if I don't walk on my chosen night, it may mean a dog doesn't get to go out to potty until the next morning.  Or it could mean the walkers that are there don't get to spend any quality time with the dogs because they are too busy trying to get all the dogs out.  Our doors lock at 8:00pm so we do have a time limit.

I have had a lot of great experiences and met a lot of great people because I walk dogs.  This diary will attempt to convey some of those experiences.