As a vet tech student, I am in my final clinic rotation at a wonderful veterinary hospital called Paws and Claws Animal Hospital. They are also partners with a non-profit society called Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) that is a municipally ran animal shelter. And this is my volunteering journey with LAPS.

In my weeks at Paws and Claws I would see animals come and go- ones with homes and ones without. So, that got me asking about the shelter that took in these animals.

Asking around about this shelter I continually heard great things and so of course I was building in anticipation about volunteering at LAPS. Needles to say I was quite pleased with what I have seen and learned so far.

Upon arriving I met with the head coordinator of LAPS and from there I was given a safety orientation and a tour of the facility where I then met the staff and other volunteers that help to keep LAPS in tip top shape.

This facility houses dogs and cats. There are multiple rooms and wings dedicated to the animals and why they are brought in. For the cats they have "cat condos" for individual cats with an outdoor area attached. There are also "cat communal rooms" where multiple cats can be housed together. And for the dogs it is broken up into whether or not the animals can be adopted or they were brought in as a stray. Needless to say, this facility was built with the animals in mind first and foremost.

Once the orientation and tour were completed, I was put to work! You learn real quick that no job is too big or too small when it comes to caring for the animals. I started out by washing dishes, bowls etc. then I moved on to cleaning other areas of the facility that are easily forgotten when you have a shelter full of animals to care for. I then finished up the day by preparing "dinner" for all of the dogs.

All along the way I got to hear a lot of stories of how all of the animals came to be at the shelter and how everyone there is making a difference to help these animals find new homes. And I was happy to see the patients that I had assisted with caring for at Paws and Claws were being taken good care and looked after properly.

I look forward to next week's adventure at LAPS, stay tuned and thank you for reading!