Stray Thoughts Summer 2018
Volunteer Spotlight
S
top by the kennel early on a Saturday morning and you
will find the every other Saturday “Saturday1” morning
crew hard at work, feeding, medicating, cleaning the
kennel runs and socializing all of the 20 or more WSHS
dogs. It’s a big job, but shift coordinator Melina Puruncajas
says they work well as a team and that “everyone knows
their own roles and are always willing to help each other
out when things get overwhelming.” Shift mate Kristin
Trevino agrees that they are like “a well oiled machine,
very efficient.” It helps that the team has been together
for some time, with Summer Seligman being one of the
newer members of the crew, having started volunteering
at the shelter in September of 2016. Melina started in
December 2012, and Kristin has
been at WSHS for five years. Also
on the shift are Malorie Young,
Kristin Trevino Policky, Hailey
Rathnow, Nikkie Boehm and Jaime
and Lucas Martin.
Besides playing with their dogs, other interests for these
volunteers are wide-ranging. Summer is interested
in environmental studies, and plans on majoring in
environmental science after finishing her classes at
College of DuPage. Melina is studying to be a veterinary
technician, but loves to watch baseball, play video
games and go to the movies when she can. Exercising
and being outdoors when the weather gets nice is how
Kristin relaxes, as well as “playing tennis, reading, going to
concerts and watching home improvement shows.”
It is clear that while the volunteers on this shift work hard
on behalf of the animals, they also enjoy themselves. They
It’s no surprise that, for most
of these volunteers, working
with the dogs is what they most
enjoy about the shift. But Kristin
also likes “working with a great
group of people” while Summer
appreciates “knowing I’m making a
difference.” Melina notes that she
enjoys working with many different
breeds of dogs. She explains, “They
all act differently and it causes me
to think of new ways to handle
them and their needs, which is
helpful knowledge for when I
become a ve