Caring for animals at a shelter: Louisville, KY
On April 16, 2023, members of the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Louisville, KY, made their annual visit to the Animal Care Society, Founded in 1984, it was the first non-kill shelter that rescued neglected, abused or senior pets, and any pet that needed medical attention and gave them a second lease at life. Seventeen volunteers were present, including nine Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) students. When they arrived at the shelter, they were warmly welcomed by the staff and given a brief tour of the place and introduced to the animals. Then everyone was assigned a task. As children were limited in what they could do, they spent their time in two rooms, playing with and caring for the cats who needed loving, and attentive care. One group began making interactive treat puzzles for the dogs to keep them mentally stimulated and not fall into a state of lethargy. The adult volunteers helped wash towels and bowls, wiped the doors and helped clean the area around the shelter. They also filled Kong dog toys with peanut butter.
A young adult shared her experience of being at the shelter, “It was fun to play with the cats and interact with them. I enjoyed all the tasks we carried out, knowing they would make the animals happy living in a clean area. I really love pets and seeing all the cute animals there made me very uplifted.”
The Sri Sathya Sai Center of Louisville carries out this service annually. The members also collect and donate food and toys to the shelter. Everyone who serves at the animal shelter has a lot of fun. But they also feel gratified and fulfilled in taking loving care of the animals and, more importantly, heeding Sai’s message of expanding our love and compassion to all living beings, especially these little hapless creatures at the shelter.
One SSE student who is very passionate about animals remarked, “I love to care for animals and spend hours with them - dogs, cats, bunnies, fish, horses and even hamsters. At this shelter, I was able to spend time with cats and dogs. I tried to learn how best to care for them and even looked up music that I could play to make cats happy! The animal shelter is one of the places that I never want to leave after the service!”
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