My Nonprofit Reviews

I started volunteering for this shelter in August 2023 I have been retired a few years and wanted to find a cause that I thought was a good fit and one that really needed me. I was sure that it would be something connected to animals. I found out about this shelter and checked it out. It didn't take long for me to decide this was the 'cause'. And, something that is very important to me is that this is a no-kill shelter. I do what I can with various forms of donations and helping as much as possible at the Adoption Fairs in Colorado Springs. I have developed many friendships with other volunteers including the Executive Director and the Facilities Manager. We are ALL volunteers with the exception of one person who cleans at the shelter. I love all of of the dogs, the ones who come to the Adoption Fairs and the ones that basically live at the shelter. I was impressed with this shelter when I visited in August and I'm even more impressed with the Director and the Facilities Manager. They are good people and genuinely care about all of the dogs. This is not easy as they have quite a number of dogs to care for. If I lived closer to the shelter, I would definitely go and help them there. However, it is prohibitive for me to travel that far. I have much admiration for all of the people working with the shelter. I have learned a lot about what it takes to do this work and it's not easy. What the average person sees when they come to an Adoption Fair is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more!! There are questions that our Director asks the potential adopters and there are very good reasons for those questions. Some dogs have been returned for whatever reasons the people give - and not all of them are realistic and good reasons. Being returned to the shelter is tremendously difficult for the dogs. I can see the confusion in their eyes and I'm sure they wonder what they did wrong to get returned. I hate it when that happens because I want to take all of them and give them the true love they deserve. And, of course, that is not realistic! I love on them when I can. The Director tells us on a regular basis how much she appreciates all of us. Even if she didn't mention it, I know she does. Some things just don't need to be said all the time The dogs are well cared for by a trip to the vet, being spayed or neutered, getting vaccines and becoming microchipped. So, I totally disagree with the negative reviews. If we as volunteers feel that a certain adopter isn't the right person or something is off, the Director welcomes our input. There have been a few potential adopters that just didn't feel right and I'm sure there may be a few more in the future. I don't think some of the items contained in the negative reviews are required now. As far as changing leadership, I don't feel that it needs to be changed. I think we already have the best!!