Joy and belly rubs
By Lynn Weisberg

I am often asked by other pet lovers how I can volunteer at the SPA without wanting to take home all of the animals. Well, truthfully, I do want to take them all home, but since that is not possible, I have found that giving time to as many as I can each week and seeing them get adopted into loving homes is a happy thing!

Some of our dogs come in with issues of trust and it is incredibly rewarding to see them respond with wagging tails to volunteers who have patiently sat in cages with them giving treats, speaking softly and teaching them to enjoy petting. Our kitties also may never have known a human touch but within a few days, thanks to the cat folks, they are jumping on laps and purring loudly.

In the more than two years that I have been volunteering at the SPA, I have seen many great changes. These include the new training program, which benefits kids as well as the dogs, a new open space where volunteers and potential adopters can play with the dog of their choice in a quiet and secure area, a large new indoor area with a pass-through to the outside for the kittens and changes to the diet for the dogs which has improved their health. New, state-of-the-art cages have been built to replace some of the old ones and many more improvements are in the planning stage.

Two of the animals who need and deserve permanent, loving homes are Alegria and Brandi. Alegria is a medium-small, taffy-colored young female who brings us joy with her sweet face and kisses. She was brought in with her pup and wants nothing more than love and food.

Brandi is a gorgeous white, brown and black part-Siamese male cat who craves attention and loves belly rubs, highly unusual for a cat. In fact, he doesn’t care what position you put him in, as long as you are petting him! Sad as it is to realize that there are so many homeless animals, the ones at the SPA make us smile and, truly, the volunteers feel they get even more than they give! New volunteers are always welcome, as are donations of food, toys, towels, blankets, paper towels, collars and leashes.

Please stop by the Sociedad Protectora de Animales to see all of our great animals. We are open 11am–2pm for volunteers and visitors. We are located at Los Pinos 7, right off Calzada de la Estación. Visit www.spasanmiguel.org  to learn more.