“Tons of animals everywhere need homes. Cats, dogs, you name it.
Johnston County Animal Protection League, or JCAPL, is an organization that helps homeless animals find homes. They mainly help dogs and cats find homes. You may not have heard of them before, but if you’ve seen the adorable kittens in the cages or unbelievably cute puppies sitting outside at Petsmart, then you’ve seen their work. That’s them cleaning out litter boxes and walking dogs pretty much every Saturday.
They do a lot for the animals and host many activities to raise money for them, one of their most recent being the “Spay-ghetti” dinner at the Senior Center. When I found out how hard they work and how many animals there are that need homes and people to love them, I really wanted to help. I have a cat and dog of my own from rescue shelters and my cat is actually from JCAPL. My mom and I researched it, and I ended up submitting a volunteer application to JCAPL.
I’ve been volunteering there for a few weeks now and I have really been enjoying it. Not only am I helping homeless cats have clean bedding, litter boxes, and fresh food and water, but I also help make sure they get human interaction and are played with.
When I go to Petsmart to volunteer on Saturdays, I usually, along with some other teenagers start by cleaning the cages. We clean the litter boxes, the actual cage, make sure there is clean bedding, and give them fresh food and water. We do that for all the cages. Depending on how many cages are occupied, how dirty they are, and how many people are helping, it usually takes somewhere around one hour. After the cages are clean, for the next hour or so, you just play with all those adorable kitties! How hard is that? It is extremely fun!
Not only are you having a great time, but you are also helping the animals! You can even do it with your friends and make some new ones while you’re there. Not only is it a good social opportunity, but it’s a good way to get in some community service hours.
Volunteering for JCAPL is just a positive experience for everyone, for the animals and the volunteers. You should join me and the rest of the volunteers and submit your application today. The animals will be grateful and you definitely won’t regret it either.”
Written By: Frankie D. age 13
