Animal Advocates’ newest intern hails from Ireland
Animal Advocates cherishes its volunteers, who help find homes for dogs and cats. In many especially sad cases, cats and dogs become homeless when their caretaker/owner dies.
A nonprofit located in the West End of Pittsburgh, Animal Advocates is an all-volunteer organization, and they’re always thrilledto sign up new volunteers.
Imagine their surprise when a college student emailed to ask if she could “work” with them as an unpaid intern. And to do so, she’d travel all the way from Dublin, the capital city of Ireland.
Jessica Mahon, 21, just finished her junior year at Trinity College Dublin, where she is a Laidlaw Scholar majoring in human genetics.
She needs meaningful internships and volunteer work to meet requirements for the Laidlaw Undergraduate Research and Development Program. A scholarship from that two-year program funds some of her work and research.
Why did she pick Pittsburgh?
“I was looking for a smallercity with a sense of community,” Ms. Mahon said. “I knew no one here.”
People are friendly and welcoming in Pittsburgh, “and I feel safe here,” she said.
Why Animal Advocates?
“I scrolled through the list of Pittsburgh animal shelters and programs. I wanted a small organizationthat works to make the community better.”
One of her roles with Animal Advocates is doing public speeches to promote the AA Senior to Senior Foster Program.
People 65 and older can foster an older dog or cat for the rest of its life. Animal Advocates will pay all of the animal’s veterinary billsas well as provide food and basic care supplies.
“I love dogs and cats, andI miss my cats — Mim, Willow and Fido ,” she said. “My sisters and brothers arewatching them for me” in Dublin.
She’s happily living in Oakland,where she is surrounded by many college students.
She lived in Squirrel Hill for two weeks, where she was house sitter for a cat. That gig was set up by an Animal Advocates volunteer. “I enjoyed the cat because I miss my own cats,” she said.
Shehas enjoyed visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and museums.
Since 1984, Animal Advocates has rescued thousands of animals. Currently, there are about 100 volunteers. No one gets paid, not even Patricia Murphy, who founded Animal Advocates.
The organization’s mailing address is in the West End, but you won’t find animals in cages or kennels there. Most cats and dogs live as temporary fosters in the homes of volunteers.
Adozen or so cats live on the top floor of the townhouseat 35 Wabash St. that is home to the Animal AdvocatesThrift Store, which is a major fundraiser for the organization.
Its hours of operation are sometimes shortened if enough volunteers aren’t availableto man the store. Donated items sold there include clothes, household items,dog and cat toys and supplies, and decorative items, including jewelry, china, glassware and knick-knacks.
“I’ve worked in a thrift store,”Ms. Mahon told Ms. Murphy,as they manned a booth at a recent Blessing of the Animals event at Unity Presbyterian Church in Green Tree.
In addition to meeting and greeting people at the blessing, Ms. Mahon helped watch and handle Ms.Murphy’s pet, a beagle named Aoi fe, adopted from Animal Advocates.
Ironically, Ms. Murphy named the dog years before meetingMs. Mahon. Aoife — pronounced “Ee-fa” — means “beauty” in the Irish language.
Several days after the blessing, Ms. Mahon was in the shop sorting clothes donatedby the public. The shop always has a friendly, sociable shop cat, and Ms. Mahon enjoyed meeting the current one, named Madonna. She also went upstairs to help with the resident cats, where she cuddled a kitten named Toby.
Ms. Mahon arrived May 14 and will be leaving Pittsburgh at the end of June. Her next stop is Germany, where she will be doing research. She’s undeterred by the fact that she doesn’t speak the language there.
“I only speak English and Irish,” she said.