Volunteer Spotlight: Mike McGuire

This month, we’d like to feature Mike McGuire as our volunteer of the month. If you’re a volunteer at P.A.W.S., you likely know him from volunteer orientation. Mike has been with P.A.W.S. since April of 2016 and has served on our board since 2019. He originally started volunteering thanks to Renee Schmidt, former P.A.W.S. President. He started by helping with the 2016 Bikes and Blooms event. Mike has several animals of his own. He and Renee currently have Renee’s dog, Daisy, and their cats Raven, Mack and Harlequinn. 

Mike runs many of our fundraisers and always volunteers at them.

Mike is a jack of all trades for P.A.W.S. He currently serves on the board, meets with all new volunteers for volunteer orientation, helps at adoption events and our center, helps with spay and neuter transport, fundraising, grant writing, and some bookkeeping. With all Mike does for P.A.W.S., it’s no surprise that no day looks the same. “I try to focus on making sure we have things ready for the next event or project,” is what Mike had to say about it. Mike feels most passionate about the spay and neuter project, as well as ensuring that P.A.W.S. has a place in our community as long as we’re needed.

The most memorable moments of volunteering for Mike is when he watches Renee nurse a sick or injured animal back to health. “It is incredible to see someone put their heart and soul into caring for another living creature.” When asked about what he sees as the biggest challenge he’s faced while volunteering, Mike said the need for volunteers and funding never ends. There was a crisis in mid-2022 where P.A.W.S. needed more volunteers and funding to continue operating. Thankfully, a plan implemented by the president at the time, Renee, allowed P.A.W.S. to continue operating and improving.

Mike plays Santa for P.A.W.S. every year and Renee makes a perfect elf!

We asked Mike about his favorite animal or rescue story. He said he didn’t have one, as he and Renee loved all 201 animals that they’ve fostered for P.A.W.S. Secretly, they would have kept them all if they were able to.

Mike’s life has forever been changed by volunteering. Not only has he made lasting friendships as the result of volunteering, but he has gotten to meet some incredibly smart and caring people. He likes to think he’s kinder as a result of volunteering. Mike has learned that animals are incredibly smart when it comes to sensing what people need at any given moment. “They know how to warm our heart and lift us up when we really need it.”

A particular lesson that has stuck with Mike is what one volunteer (and the founder of P.A.W.S.), Nancy Rubino, said to him. She said that volunteering should be all about the animals. Mike tries to remember this every day, and that the phrase can mean different things to different people.

Mike loves each of the animals and it shows.

We asked Mike about what advice he would give to someone who wants to volunteer. He said to be patient, as a lot of rescued animals are coming out of bad situations and need time to adjust. If you’re patient, you’re bound to see some amazing things. To stay motivated on rough days Mike says, “I remember the animals we found furever homes for. I thought that I had saved my dog Reggie when I adopted him but I realized he saved me by opening my heart to new things when I really needed it. I want everyone to find their Reggie. In his honor Renee and I started the Reggie McGuire Scholarship at P.A.W.S. The scholarship pays one adoption fee a year for a family who needs financial assistance on the adoption fee to get their Reggie.”

Mike says that skills like patience and love are important for those who want to be great volunteers. He said that rescue and volunteering are not for the faint of heart. Tough decisions have to be made. But seeing an animal find their furever home makes it all worth it.

Mike has a goal for P.A.W.S. “I want to see P.A.W.S. have its own forever home, the Nancy Rubino Animal Welfare Center. It is my dream to see it open in the next five years and then do everything in my power to eliminate the need for it by solving the overpopulation problem in Hancock County and Central Indiana.” He hopes for P.A.W.S. to impact the community by bringing in a new generation of P.A.W.S. leaders, who share the goal of eliminating pet overpopulation.

Mike wishes to share these words with you in closing. “Take a chance and spend some time with our animals as a volunteer, I don’t think you will regret it.”