Friend helps get dogs adopted with Facebook
April Friend wasn’t sure if she could handle volunteering at the Richland County Dog Shelter.
“Three years ago, I came in here,” she said. “I wanted to see if I could take a dog and walk it without getting upset.
“I took a little beagle out. I fell completely in love with her.”
The beagle, also named April, came to the shelter on Friend’s birthday. It was meant to be.
Friend said she could not work at a shelter where animals that are not adopted are euthanized. Richland County has been no-kill for several years.
The volunteer goes above and beyond to help. She started posting selfies of her with the dogs on Facebook.
“I was getting a lot of friend requests,” she said.
Dogs get candid photos on Facebook
Friend eventually started a separate Facebook page called “My dog shelter friends @ the Richland County Dog Shelter.”
“I wanted to show people how the dogs were outside of the shelter,” Friend said. “It gives people a much more personal view of the dogs than our brief bios give them. It allows people to see the dogs in a different light.”
Friend, who brought detailed notes to an interview with a reporter, has almost 5,000 online followers.
A shelter can be a stressful atmosphere for any dog. People who see dogs in a kennel probably aren’t seeing a dog’s true personality.
“I like taking dogs that have been here a long time to Mcdonald’s,” Friend said. “I get them a cheeseburger or maybe ice cream.”
The Richland B&O Bike Trail is another frequent destination. Anything to get the dogs out of the shelter and seize opportunities for candid photos.
At the same time, Friend wants to dispel the notion that shelters are bad places.
“The dogs get love and attention and food. They get a second chance to get a loving family,” Friend said. “Who knows what their life was like, but we want to rewrite their story.”
Rewriting a dog’s story often involves medical care.
After-hours event generates $11,500
Last week, Friend organized an afterhours event at the shelter for people who work during regular hours. She included a 50/50 drawing, bake sale and 68 baskets that were put up for bid.
“Everybody was bidding way over what they were worth,” Friend said.
The event, which also included the sale of T-shirts, generated $11,500. She hopes to make it an annual happening.
“I was shocked,” Friend said, adding she wanted to thank everyone involved. “I wanted to raise money for medical costs. They come in here, and a lot of times, they’re in bad shape.”
The after-hours event went so well that the shelter will be open from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month going forward.
“It’ll be the volunteers that know the dogs,” Friend said of the staffing situation. “We can help people find a dog that would fit their family.”
Friend credited fellow volunteers Susan Kochheiser, Samantha Russell, Kim Boehm and Erika Boucher for also dedicating time to the shelter’s dogs and Facebook updates.
Dog Warden Missy Houghton said Friend’s efforts benefit the shelter, which also raises money through licenses.
“We are a self-funded facility,” Houghton said. “We get unexpected costs for dogs. They could be hit by a car or sick.
“We’re never concerned with whether or not we can afford to take a dog to the vet.”
Houghton said if the shelter needs anything, Friend sends out requests.
“She is an awesome person overall,” Houghton said of her volunteer.
Volunteer work is wind-down time
Friend tries to come to the shelter on a daily basis, stopping in after her office job.
“This is actually my wind-down time,” she said of the opportunity to play and cuddle with the dogs or walk them.
Friend, 41, lives in Ontario. She and her family have one dog, a Goldendoodle.
She likes to say she has a lot more pets at the shelter.
“They’re all my dogs until they get families,” Friend said. “I’m their mommy.”