How I Began Volunteering.

WRITTEN BY: JULIE MURRAY, STAFF WRITER

We all know Charleston as a vibrant, historic town with so many different things to do, full of restaurants, parks, museums and much more. But when you are new in town without any friends or family members close by AND blessed with extreme introversion, it can also be a lonely place. Any other time I moved to a new town, I had been in school and making friends was pretty easy. This time, however, I was at a loss. I knew I had to do something - I tried running clubs (turns out “a casual jog” meant something MUCH different to those people), and going to bars (not my scene at all) and book groups (they actually wanted to intensely discuss the book and not drink wine and chat). Finally, my office had a Volunteer Day and I signed up to help at a local shelter. We went to the old Pet Helpers on Folly Road and helped with some cleaning. I loved being around the animals and the people who worked there were so welcoming and truly grateful to have our help. This one day completely changed my life in ways that still benefit me to this day. One of them is currently sleeping on my leg as I type these words.

A few months after our work outing to Pet Helpers, I finally built up the courage to sign up for the Volunteer Orientation. I was so nervous to show up by myself and be in a room full of people I had never met but as usual, I was worried over nothing. The volunteer coordinator was amazing and I found out there were so many ways to help. The other volunteers and I already had one thing in common, our love for animals, so it was easy to strike up a conversation. I signed up to come in on Saturday mornings and walk dogs and the first day I was hooked. I would walk as many as I could and even just sat in the kennels for HOURS, especially with my favorite dog at the time - Willie - who looked like a cross between a wizard and a Fraggle. I made friends with the other Saturday morning dog walking crew - friends that I still have over ten years later - and learned so much about the rescue community.

Eventually I gained enough confidence to start volunteering for events. This led me to places I never would have gone by myself - the Coastal Carolina Fair, the Sea & Sand Festival, and the Farmers Market. I would load up a dog, a table and some flyers, drive out to the event and spend all day talking to people about animal rescue. This was such a change from my weekends, pre-Pet Helpers, when I would hole up in my apartment and watch tv or take my beach chair out to Folly and try to avoid people by finding the most secluded spot on the beach and sticking my nose in a book.

Now that I think about it, I probably wouldn’t even be writing for this magazine if I hadn’t signed up for Volunteer Day at work. I met our publisher, Brian Foster, when we were assigned to work at an adoption event at Petco with Pet Helpers’ newest litter of puppies. That wasn’t the only thing that made it a memorable day - I also had my first experience with discrimination against pitbulltype dogs. A man came up to our table and started saying horrible things about the puppies and the breed in general. I didn’t even know that was a ‘thing’ until that day. Ever since then, I have been advocating for pitbull-type dogs, making sure I tell anyone who will listen how loving, kind, sweet, gassy and snuggly they are.

I have now been in Charleston for sixteen years and almost everything that I cherish most in my life today - my amazing friends, dogs I’ve fostered and adopted, memories of all the fun events I’ve been a part of - I have because of overcoming my fears and forcing myself to go to a volunteer orientation at a local animal shelter. I am confident that it could bring many wonderful things into your life, too.

If you would like to learn more about how to get involved with animal rescue - volunteering, fostering, donating, and more - goto lowcountrydog.com/thinkoutsidetheshelter and find an organization that is just right for you. ■

photo by Jeanne Taylor Photography