Today was our first day at the Animal Rescue New Orleans!!!!! We were all somewhat surprised by what we saw, and we realized how much help they really need. There are so many daily tasks between cleaning dog and cat cages, walking dogs, and daily needs- with the 12 of us there was plenty to be done.
We walked all of the dogs around the block while their cages were being cleaned. Some of the dogs were in training to be better walking dogs and more adoptable. There were also puppies, grown dogs, and those dogs that were in isolation for illness or being a new arrival. It was really upsetting how negative some of the neighbors and businesses around the area were—when girls were walking dogs around the neighborhood, they overheard comments about how the dogs were dangerous or nasty. It's such an amazing organization, that it's sad they have Negative Nancy neighbors.
The other volunteers that we worked with were very helpful, and they are very passionate about what they are doing. One lady told us that "no matter what the animals come first."
Jayme and Kourtney remembered some of the dogs from last year and noticed some changes in those that had been feral. They thought it was interesting how, even though the progress was apparent, it was so small. Little things like Saphire finally coming close enough to people for them to touch her. It made all of us wonder how these feral dogs (who need intensive socialization to become even remotely adoptable) were ever able to make progress with the small amount of volunteers they have when we aren't here. One dog in particular who showed a lot of progress was Pepper. When she was first in the shelter she was terrified of people because she had been mistreated by some very mean teenagers, but she has now gained weight and is more people-friendly. Duke was a dog that also pulled some heart strings, his owner had recently passed away, so that's when he came to the shelter.
Two of us helped clean out cat cages, and pulled all of them out to clean behind them. We all found some favorite kitties, and they love all of the attention that they can get. There were a few with ringworm that we were not allowed to touch, and that was hard because they really wanted attention. Ringworms take 6 weeks to completely cure, so it is very important for the shelter to keep everything clean and sanitized.
We are very curious about how ARNO came to be as well as what happens when they only have a couple of volunteers each day, so we definitely plan to ask sometime this week—answers coming soon J
Our host, the amazing Elliot, gave us a grand tour of Tulane University. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we visited the famous "bead tree." While taking very sorority-like photos, we came to the awesome realization that we needed to create our own sorority. Hence, Alpha Sigma Beta was born-- Alpha Beta for short J We are the Nu Omicron chapter—founded in New Orleans, chartered in Columbia and our mascot/sweet symbol is the crawfish. Pictures to come soon!!!! We rocked out a human pyramid—jumping pictures, overall an awesome afternoon.
After showers and dinner we joined the other New Orleans ASB group for movie night bonding!
Also P.S. Birmingham—we plan to make a rock awesome music video soon—watch for it and don't be upset if it rocks yours!
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