I was lucky to spend almost 3 weeks on the Outer Banks working at the OBX SPCA/Dare County Animal Shelter in Manteo. I found an awesome townhouse to rent via AirBnB.com, and I used my senior travel scholarship to pay for it. I worked from 8-5 and sat on the beach for at least an hour every afternoon. Although my days were mostly spent cleaning litter boxes (literally 2-3 hours each morning!) and feeding cats, it was a good experience. I learned how the shelter was funded and managed, and I saw the effects of the difficult decisions the staff has to make. Over the Labor Day holiday, the AC was broken; I used money from my mom and my friends to buy box fans to help keep the cats cool while we waited for the county employees to fix the problem. Those were sweaty days of litterbox cleaning! I didn't really get to "play doctor" much during this externship, but I did feel that my contributions helped the shelter (especially the cats, who didn't get much individual attention unless I was there). I learned a lot about shelter management and I can say: if you want to help shelter animals, donate time/money/food/litter/toys/bedding to your local shelter instead of a national organization. Ask them what they need the most; they will be grateful for the help. Better yet, adopt a shelter pet!
My time on the OBX was cut short by the death of my grandfather on September 5. Luckily, I was able to leave the SPCA early to spend time with my family. I was fortunate to celebrate Papa's birthday with my family in Charlottesville the Sunday before I drove to NC, so it hadn't been long since I'd seen him and shared a few laughs about how I'm going to treat cats instead of cows.
Next stop: Washington Animal Rescue League
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