Helping Animals Without Limits, Helping Animals In Need

After several days of rain here in Naples, finally today the sun came through. We loaded the car with cleaning detergent, rakes, brushes, buckets, power washer and bags of dog food. At 09.30 we joined up together and by 10:00 we arrived at the shelter.

Maria and her translator friend, Sussy, were already there on time.
We unloaded the car and divided up into different teams to work as efficiently as possible. Bruce and Rosa assisted the veterinarian, Inga. Heeding Dr. Inga’s advice, the dogs were all caught in a calm and gentle way, administered their various medications and treatments.They both did a fantastic job learning very quickly how to do everything from applying Frontline flea and tick treatment, to making meatballs with de-worming tablets inside and handing Dr. Inga the injections vaccinations.
In one cage did our Vet. Inga found that one dog had a broken leg that was very swollen. Poor thing! But how had that happened? The dog had been in his cage, and last week he was doing fine. Suddenly, we noticed a lot of limping dogs. We all wondered what had gone on since our last visit.

The second team, Ylva, Sofia, Kegan and Dennis, cleaned the cages, doghouses, floors and took care of grooming the dogs. They worked in pairs to improve the living conditions of these beloved animals. It made all the difference in the world for the dogs to have a clean home and a clean bowl from which to have a meal.

Team 3, our volunteers Todd, Andréa, Mark, Kim and David, worked to improve the conditions of the yard. They also power-washed several dog cages. Their help made quick work of what otherwise would have been a long, difficult clean-up job.

I was amazed by the positive, hard-working teams. I’ve been a part of some teams where the mood has been more negative, which can bring the whole team’s spirit down. We all realize that this kind of work can be disheartening, which makes it even more important to have positive, caring people willing to get the job done. I am so proud of how well the team worked together.
They did a remarkable job in such a short period of time.

We closed out the day by watering and feeding the dogs, playing and talking with them and even offering some dog biscuits as a special treat. Ylva also provided our hard-working group with a well-deserved lunch. Everyone agreed it was delicious!

Our “Mission Possible” group was a wonderful crew that I would love to continuing working with in the future. It was amazing to share this experience with such an excited and caring international team.

Some have asked why AWL would use so much time and so many resources for dogs in a shelter that will be closing soon. As with many causes, it is not about the “bottom line”.
AWL exists to make the lives of animals better. AWL and its volunteers wish to show every creature we find that there is love and caring in the world.
Some of the animals we help would otherwise see the world as a cold, lonely place. Every animal deserves to be shown love.
The caring and affection of an AWL volunteer can be like sunshine after many days of cold rain.

AWL doesn’t help animals because it makes the organization money, or for any accolades.
AWL cares for animals because so many people have had animals care for them.
It’s time to return the favor!

Again one asked; "What is the purpose of this if they are closing it down soon?"

We do not have any time table right now for how long time the shelter will exist. But what I do know is for the dogs having a nice clean cage and people who held them petted them for a moment, loved up to them can be like a sunshine day for us after several days of rain.