Volunteer Highlights

My name is Catherine McClelland;

I am 17 year old and attend the Goshen High School. My favorite subject is English. I enjoy horseback riding, playing the flute and hang out with my friends.

I volunteer at the Goshen Humane Society about 2 hours every week. I started doing this because I felt that I really needed to do some community service and I really liked animals.

I prefer cats because of their grace and poise, and the way the look so cute even when they’re begging for food, getting into trouble or sitting on your lap.

My favorite animal right now at the shelter is Friday Girls, a torie cat, because she always in a good mood and ready to appreciate anyone who picks her up. Even though Friday Girl is well cared for at the shelter it is no the same things as having a home.

My name is Jonathan Buhler my friends call me jon, I am 14 years old, I
attend the Goshen High School. I am in 9th grade, I like to play soccer. I
started to volunteer at the shelter when I was in 7th grade to help me
with community service, after the first week I loved it then I started to
go since then but there was a period of time that I stopped going, I
started back up again about the beginning of September. In a week, I
probably put in about 10-15 hours.

I like dogs better than cats. They are more affectionate. Buttercup right
now is my favorite animal at the shelter. She is the calmest dog I have
ever been with and she loves everybody. If I was buttercup, I would say to
the adopters," I am housebroken, I like walks, and I like attention."

Katie Mills

I started volunteering after the club I was president of, the Interact club, did a love pets week pet supply drive. I got the supplies we collected loaded into the back of my car and set out to find the Goshen Humane Society. When I got there I immediately wanted to spend more time there. I have always loved animals and the animals are always willing to give you as much love as they can. No matter how bad a day I am having I always feel better when I am with the animals. I had never been a cat person but now I love them. One of my favorites is Bebe. While most people are quick to go look at the young, energetic felines, they overlook this beautiful Calico. She never fought for my attention like some of the other but instead would wait and happily accept my scratch behind the ears. She is the perfect companion for someone that wants a cat that loves giving and receiving affection. I was so happy to receive the scholarship from the humane society. I will never forget the wonderful animals and people I have met and of course plan on visiting all my fury friends during my breaks from college!

Denise Bambinelli. 

I am 13 years old and I go to C. J. Hooker Middle School. Currently I am in the 8th grade. My favorite subject is English because I love to read books. Some of my favorite sports are tennis, softball/baseball, soccer, and track. I became a volunteer at Goshen Humane Society Inc. by my friends telling me how much fun they had there and about all the work that they needed help with. That was when I decided that I would love to help. Before I came to the shelter, I did not like cats that much, but after a few hours of coming and working I came to like them even more. Right now I would say that I like cats and dogs equally. I volunteer about 7 or more hours a week at the shelter. My favorite animal at the shelter right now is Peanut. She is the cutest cat ever! If I were Peanut and I wanted you to adopt me, I would say, "I love to be pet, play with toys, and cuddle up with people!" So, if you adopt me, I'd be so delighted! Working at the GHSI is so much fun because I have made new friends, animals and people. This has been a great experience for me!

Matt Garnett

"I am 14 years old and go to Goshen High School.  I am in the 9th grade.  I started volunteering at the shelter in June of 2004 and have been here ever since.  My neighbor, Marcia, who was already volunteering told me about the shelter and I decided to come down and see what it was all about.  I volunteer between 10-14 hours a week.  If I have off from school, I will volunteer more.  I like the dogs better because the dogs offer more affection than the cats.  However, my favorite animal right now happens to be a kitten named Jack, who needs a home.  If I was Jack, I would tell adopters that: "I'm very playful, I like baths (no joke) and I desperately want a home!"

Ericka Labrada

I am 13 and I volunteer at the Goshen Humane Society. When I was in seventh grade, I met a boy named Matt Garnett in advisory at Goshen Middle School. He was already volunteering at the shelter and would tell our advisory about it. I thought it sounded interesting, so in March of 2005, I went there. Matt was there, and he showed me around and introduced me to everyone, including the animals.

“Since then, I’ve been volunteering, and I’ve made new friends, helped other volunteer people start out, and adopted two cats and have learned a lot in general at the shelter. During school weeks, I volunteer 8 hours or so. When I’m off from school, I volunteer at least 25 hours a week. I go to C. J. Hooker Middle School, and this is my last year. My favorite subjects are math and science, and I like to do track, play soccer, badminton, and football.

“I like the cats and dogs equally, but when a dog favors me, the scale begins to tip. My favorite animal right now is Cassie, a black and white cat. She is cute, loving and fun. I hope she gets adopted soon, maybe even with her friend Johnnie. So come by the shelter some time. You can donate all kinds of items, your time, your love and maybe even take one of our animals home.”

Selina Dziewic ans her Dad Stan Dziewic

Hi, my name is Selina Dziewic and I am 13 years old. I’m a seventh grader at C.J. Hooker Middle School. My favorite subjects are math and science. I play the cello in the school orchestra as well as in the Orange County Community College Orchestra, and I also play the piano.

In September of 2006, my cat Chestnut passed away and my other cat Cuddles became depressed and lonely. Within two weeks of having lost Chestnut we were out looking for a new kitten for Cuddles to take care of. We looked in all the humane societies in the area, but we couldn’t find the right kitten. My mom went to the Goshen Humane Society to check out the cats and that’s when she saw him, Caramel, and she knew immediately that this was the kitten I was going to bring home. Whenever I had free time I went to visit Caramel, who we later renamed Eddie after my grandfather. The shelter manager, Monique, told me that I was at the shelter so much that I should just start volunteering, so I did. My dad also volunteers with me. Every Saturday and sometimes Tuesday, my dad is at the humane society walking the dogs. He takes them for rides in his car as a treat and he walks them on the trail.

Almost every Saturday, I am at the shelter cleaning litter boxes and playing with the cats. If I don’t have too much homework, I go to the shelter to volunteer on Tuesdays. I made two new friends while volunteering at the humane society -- Matt Garnett and Ericka Labrada. They guided me through the first couple of weeks that I started until I got the hang of how things were run around the shelter. As volunteers we love and take care of the animals as if they were our own.

Cats have always been my favorite animal. My dad used to tell me stories about all the cats he had growing up. I got my first cat, Cuddles, in first grade. I love all the animals at the humane society, but my favorite would have to be Poppy. Poppy is a friendly, affectionate, and playful cat and he loves attention. Poppy reminds me a lot of my cat Chestnut and I would bring him home if I didn’t already have two cats. Whoever adopts him is a very lucky person.

All of our animals are looking for forever homes. They are scared and confused at the humane society. Next time you are looking for a pet, please come down to the Goshen Humane Society and look at the wonderful cats and dogs that are here waiting to go home with you.