Volunteers’ Pet Projects

Debbie Srigley usually greets her good friends this way: with a kiss, a scratch behind the ears and a biscuit.

Srigley regularly visits with dozens of retired racing greyhounds that are housed in an Irvine shelter, where employees rely on the Orange woman and several other volunteers to make sure that every dog has its day, and those days begin with a W-A-L-K.

Srigley, 40, who began her Thanksgiving Day holiday by walking the dogs, has adopted one greyhound and has her eye another named Misty--if she could only figure out how to persuade her husband.

“They don’t know it’s Thanksgiving; they’re ready to go for a walk every day,” she said.

More than 10,000 dogs and 12,500 cats were destroyed at Orange County shelters last year, according to the California Department of Health Services. A growing number of animal shelters in Orange County--and across the nation--have adopted “no kill” policies. But that creates a new set of problems, including finding ways to give animals the exercise they need.

For animal shelter operators, volunteer dog walkers are crucial, and always in demand.

“I would lose half my staff, they would be overworked if we didn’t have the volunteers,” said Jason Barnhart, operations manager at Hemopet, an Irvine and Garden Grove-based shelter that rescues abandoned greyhounds and tries to place them for adoption. “It’s a lot of work trying to walk 60 to 85 dogs, and spend individual time with them.”

Animal rights activists predict that as policies opposing euthanasia and creative shelter ideas become more common, volunteers will be called upon like never before.

“The smaller shelters who are utilizing the volunteer walkers are setting the trend here. You’re going to see more and more over the next several years,” said John Gonzales, animal services supervisor at the Mission Viejo center, which was one of the first public shelter’s in Orange County to introduce a no-kill policy.

Hemopet is one of nearly 1,000 racing greyhound rescue shelters in the United States, and one of four commercial blood banks for dogs in the nation, Barnhart said.

Until about a decade ago, roughly 60,000 greyhounds were destroyed each year after their racing careers ended. Animal rights activists became involved, rescuing the animals after they were pulled from the racetracks. Last year, about 10,000 were destroyed, but nearly 50,000 were placed in homes, Barnhart said.

At Hemopet, greyhounds are used for blood donations for a year, then are eligible for adoption. Greyhounds are uniquely suited as blood donors because they have large veins and nearly universal blood types, Barnhart said.

Many of the adoptions from Hemopet are by volunteer dog walkers.

That’s what happened to Jim McCracken, 68, of Orange, who is retired from sales work.

He first began walking dogs two years ago, and it wasn’t long before Caesar, a retired racer from Phoenix, found his way into the McCracken home.

“The trouble is, if you walk ‘em for a month or so, you can’t help but get one,” he said. “They’re just wonderful dogs. They’re very calm, not what people think. They do a lot of sleeping actually. Maybe they’re tired of running.”

Others do it for the workout, and the canine companionship.

“I get my exercise when I walk the dogs,” said Trish Horwart, 55, who was Volunteer of the Year at the Mission Viejo center last year. The center’s shelter has two “pet parks” where their dogs can romp, and a long, grassy walk overlooking stunning views of undeveloped southern Orange County chaparral.

Horwart said she always dreamed of having a lot of dogs when she was a child.

“For a few hours, I get to pretend I have a lot of dogs,” said Horwart, who volunteers five days a week.

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How to Help

Many animal shelters and animal rescue services need volunteers to walk dogs. For information on a specific shelter near you, check the phone book, or call a nonemergency number at your police station for animal rescue information. Among the shelters seeking help are:

Coastal Animal Services Authority (San Clemente): (949) 492-1617

Hemopet (Irvine and Garden Grove): (949) 252-8455

Irvine Animal Care Center Volunteer Hotline: (949) 724-7747

Mission Viejo Animal Services: (949) 470-3045

Source: Times reports