Written by Honey Souza, volunteer coordinator

Jane came to BHS in May of 2014 with a whirlwind of awesomeness. Guided by her intense love of animals, she fearlessly jumped in, spending an average of 30 hours a month with our cuddly canines.

We all felt her absence throughout 2015 when her job demanded more of her time and she was forced to set aside her volunteer work. But then at the beginning of 2016… she came back, and we felt whole again! “I was actually glad when I lost my job because it meant I could volunteer more”, Jane says. “I just really love helping the animals. I love spending time with them.”

In the six months she’s been back, she’s climbed the ranks of volunteers here. She was among the first Volunteer Adoptions Counselors, she’s participated in the challenging play groups, she’s been appointed to the Volunteer Advisory Council, and she’s trained to handled the more rambunctious dogs.

In fact, earlier in May, when Jane was handling one of our most notorious dogs, he got a bit too playful and wounded Jane’s arm enough to need bandaging. As shook up as she was, most volunteers would have gone home to decompress. Not Jane. Jane, in her glorious easterner accent, insisted on staying to walk other dogs. Nothing gets her down. In fact she’s made it her goal to devote more time working with the dog that wounded her.

For her determined care and concern for the well-being of our more challenging dogs and for her triumphant return, we name Jane May’s volunteer of the month. Thank you for all you do, Jane!

Written by Honey Souza, volunteer coordinator

Christmas came a couple of weeks early for us in 2015 when Bill C. stepped through our doors. Quiet and courteous, we never would have taken him for the type to tend to our most challenging dogs. And when I say “tend to”, I mean that he casts his magical spell on our most fearful and boisterous dogs and turns them into puddles of mush.

“I would trust Bill with any of our dogs, any time,” says BHS Behaviorist Meagan D. “He has a HUGE positive impact on our dogs and we are very grateful for him. We love him.” His continuous smile is infectious, especially when you see him and a dog jogging to and fro, no matter the weather.

Bill volunteers two-three times a day, every day. The only time he doesn’t is when he goes home to Oregon for the weekend. And wouldn’t you know…he takes one of our dogs with him and works with them up there. Recently he and his wife adopted one of our hardest cases to a family in Ashland.

In the few months that Bill has been volunteering with us, not only has he donated much needed items like leashes and quality toys, but he has donated over 330 hours of his time. That’s almost two months of full time work!

Since Bill’s been with us, the dogs are happier and operations are running more smoothly. Now that we have him, we don’t know what we’d do without him. Thank you Bill!