At the recent Craft for Your Shelter Day, dozens of children used their creativity to make artwork and custom chew toys, catnip balls and other items to entertain the dogs and cats available for adoption at Arlington Animal Services.
Craft for Your Shelter Day is just one way Arlington residents can partner with the shelter to help animals in need. On Saturday, Aug. 13, pet owners can come to the shelter to celebrate Responsible Pet Ownership Day, where they can have access to free microchips, pet vendors, tour the city facility and ensure owned pets are up to date with their city license. Rescue Readers, a special event for kids ages 8-14 years old, will also be held that day. During the event, children will read books to shelter animals for 20 minutes as an exercise to practice their reading skills and provide companionship to the pets waiting for their furr-ever homes.
Michelle Patchett, marketing and social media administrator for the shelter, explained her mindset when coming into the office.
“Every day when I come to work, when I walk in the door, I’m going to make a difference in the lives of the homeless animals in our community. We don’t want to be known as the city pound,” Patchett said. “We want to be known as Arlington Animal Services. I love being able to change people’s mindsets about the shelter. We’re not a scary place we all love animals and want to be here, and we want to find the best homes for them.”
Patchett also discussed her goal of building for the future through the youth of Arlington.
“I also love inspiring the young generation, so getting the kids involved today with a fun thing, crafting for your shelter, they’re talking about ‘do they want to be a veterinarian,’ or maybe ‘I want to work for an animal shelter’ and I think yes! That’s exactly what you want to do!” Patchett said.
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