This month’s volunteer of the month is Mona Riddle, who has been volunteering with P.A.W.S. for a little over a year. She read on Facebook that P.A.W.S. needed volunteers, and she had always loved animals. She currently has one dog, and has always had one dog growing up.
Mona runs our retail store two days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from four to seven in the evening. She also helps with events like Pins for P.A.W.S., the P.A.W.S. Pool Party, and Pet Photos with Santa. On top of all that, she also does a lot of paperwork for P.A.W.S. She’s very passionate and excited about our very first Purse Bingo, which will be on March 13, 2025 at 6:00pm.
Despite working with an animal rescue, Mona doesn’t do a whole lot with animals. This is because P.A.W.S. has volunteer roles that aren’t all about working directly with animals. She occasionally sees them come in or get adopted, but otherwise, she works to support the animals without actually working with them.
Mona’s biggest struggle she faced was figuring out who did what in the organization. Since we’re volunteer based, things tend to change pretty quickly. She also noticed a need for more active volunteers and fosters.
One of her favorite moments with animals came when someone entered our retail store with their dog. A pink tutu style dress had been up for about six months, and the owner purchased it for their dog. Mona luckily got a picture, which we’re happy to share with you as well!
Mona now spends a lot of time thinking about our monthly sewing circle. She helps out with that by making kennel quilts, catnip bags, and cat pummels. She’s learned a lot about cats, including just how much fun they can be! When asked if a particular lesson or experience stayed with her, Mona said, “The experience of volunteering at an animal rescue has had a big impact on me. I didn’t realize everything P.A.W.S. does to get an animal into their permanent home. There’s a lot of steps.”
Mona suggests that when you choose to volunteer with an organization like P.A.W.S., you don’t overdo it to the point you get burnt out. She said to keep it fun. When asked how to stay motivated on bad days, Mona was happy to announce that she hasn’t had a bad day yet. She does suggest that if you volunteer, you need to be personable and willing to be successful.
Mona hopes to see our retail store become a more well-visited and talked about spot in town. You can buy a lot of things for your pets there, a lot of which are brand-new and some gently used. She said that the more people that know what we do at P.A.W.S., the bigger an impact we can have on homeless animals in our community. Mona wishes to share with you all that P.A.W.S. is a wonderful way to give back to your community, and that you can volunteer as much or as little as you want. From one hour a week to one hour a month, everything helps.
Thank you for all you do for P.A.W.S., Mona!
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