Alpha Chi at Work: Lauren Cartmell

Read all about Lauren Cartmell's volunteer work with the Greenhill Humane Society!

Being a huge dog lover—we’re talking made-my-dog-a-facebook dog lover--it only seemed natural to start volunteering at Greenhill Humane Society my sophomore year of college. It may have started more as a way to fulfill community service requirements, but I quickly found myself driving across town every week or two just to see those loveable animals.

While in the process of training to become a dog walker, I worked as a “cattery companion.” It didn’t sound like my ideal job at first, but I was amazed at how quickly I came to like spending time with the cats, getting them used to human interaction and making sure they had a clean, safe place to stay at the shelter.

After my brief stint in the cattery, I moved on to the kennel, where I started by simply sitting with dog after dog, petting them, feeding them treats, and acclimating them to collars, leashes, and the human touch. I was in heaven. “Is this really community service?” I thought. It was too much fun to be deemed “community service.” After this first level of training in the kennel, I upgraded to dog-walker, which I have been doing to this day. It’s a simple concept: you put a leash on, take the dog to a fenced in yard to play, then walk them around the shelter’s grounds, and yet the dogs are just ecstatic every time they get to go on one of these 15-minute walks. It’s the highlight of their whole day. And it feels so good to be able to give them that simple pleasure.

I’ve also spent time as a “kennel runner,” where I help visitors find dogs that may be good matches for them. This is a rewarding job, as I am directly involved in finding these dogs new homes.

Volunteering at Greenhill has been a wonderful experience. Not only does it put a smile on my face, but it really changes the lives of the animals there. I hope to continue volunteering there as long as I am in Eugene!

I don't know about all of you, but I am definitely jealous of Lauren's job! This sounds so fun and rewarding! I don't know how she's able to resist adopting them all!

LITB,

Chrissy Hardesty