Meet a Volunteer
Lisa Cowan and Georgia Favelli
The FKSPCA owes a huge debt of gratitude to Lisa Cowan and Georgia Favelli. This powerhouse pair of women have been volunteering their time to help the animals and the organization
since our beginning in 1999. Longtime friends, Georgia and Lisa often work together in their volunteer efforts for the shelter, which include everything from walking dogs to organizing and
doing much of the leg work for our very successful annual fundraiser, the Spring Social. This event would not happen if it weren’t for the countless hours and relentless efforts of Lisa and Georgia. We are so fortunate to have them as friends of the shelter.
Several times a week, they faithfully come in to bathe or walk dogs. They are always a welcome sight when they walk through the door, Georgia with her sun hat and Lisa with her bag of biscuits or a colorful new collar for one of the dogs. Georgia has been known to stand in the hot summer sun for over an hour, holding her umbrella, just so one of our water-loving dogs can enjoy a leisurely swim! Lisa regularly donates her time and money so that any dogs who need professional grooming get it, whether to make them more comfortable or simply more appealing to adopters. Not only does she provide for this service but also drives the dogs to their appointments. Her generosity knows no bounds when it comes to her four-legged friends at the shelter.
Georgia and her husband Tom Favelli, another loyal volunteer, recently bought several new beds for our dogs from money Tom raised from doing a yard sale. They also bought materials and
spent time refurbishing many of our old beds so now any dog that enjoys an elevated soft sleeping area has one. They also donated new washers and dryers or covered the expense of repairs if needed.
It’s impossible to list all the big and small things that Lisa and Georgia do for us and we want to recognize and express our gratitude for their steadfast support. The shelter is a better place because of them.
Rosanne Hornyak
Volunteering at the FKSPCA
The following was written for the FKSPCA by Rosanne Hornyak
Each winter I come to Key West for three months and visit with my son and his family. One afternoon when I picked up my grandson from school, he asked if we could stop at the FKSPCA on College Road in Key West. He had always loved playing with my cat, and he had recently gotten three rabbits of his own. So we looked around for a short while and the following week, my grandson went back on a field trip from school. That was when he asked about volunteering. Since he is only 10 years old, they told him he had to have a parent or grandparent if he wanted to volunteer, so we signed up for the volunteer training session on the last Wednesday of December.
We have been volunteering for two hours a week after school on Wednesdays for ten weeks. I have to admit that both of us are sorry to see the time end when I go back to Connecticut this weekend. I know he will keep visiting and we will sign up again when I return next December.
When we began helping out, my grandson only wanted to play with the cats and rabbits. He was very shy around animals, especially the dogs. Cathy, who works with the volunteers, was very sensitive to his abilities, and she only let him do things he was comfortable doing. She had him working with the smaller dogs to begin with. My role was to supervise him to be sure he did things safely. We started out just getting puppies comfortable around us, training them to sit while rewarding them with peanut butter. That was a lot of fun. We also fed the rabbits and took time each week to play with the cats.
By the time we arrived in the afternoon, all the kennels were clean and the dogs were outside. We learned how to set up the kennels with dog beds and blankets, setting out the dog dishes for feeding. Eventually we learned how to bring in the dogs and feed them. In a short time, Cathy taught my grandson how to wait until the dog would sit before feeding him/her, saying “Yes!” when they did, and petting them to let them know they were doing what they should.
As we complete our volunteering, we are allowed to take certain dogs outside for a walk, and my grandson has lost almost all of the fear he had when we began. It is so wonderful to watch him work with the dogs now, even some of the bigger ones. He still prefers the smaller dogs, but he does not hesitate to feed the large ones now that he knows the correct way to approach them.
This has been a wonderful learning experience for my grandson, and a wonderful way for me to spend quality time with him. I can’t praise the staff at the FKSPCA enough, especially Cathy who took time with us every Wednesday. Volunteering here is something everyone should consider. It is very rewarding.
Kim Banning
Her smile alone could light up the whole kennel, but all the other qualities that Kim Banning brings to the shelter brighten the days of both staff and animals. Kim has been volunteering at the FKSPCA since 2006 and we are lucky to have her as part of our team. She is a wonderful ambassador for the shelter, especially at our community events and fundraisers which she often helps with. Her positive energy and enthusiasm are highly contagious.
Kim works with our dogs each week. She spends her time walking them, teaching then manners, and making sure they are comfortable in their kennels with soft beds and chew toys. Kim may have her favorites at the shelter, but the dogs would never know it because she strives to help all the dogs feel special. When she first arrives at the shelter each week, she makes it a practice to say hello to everyone. Then again before she leaves at the end of the day, she moves from kennel to kennel saying goodnight to each and every dog as though she were tucking them in for the night. Her sensitivity and compassion are always evident. This writer remembers watching Kim spend time with a very old and frightened dog who was anew arrival at the shelter. As Kim sat with her and told her how beautiful she was, this thirteen-year-old dog’s sad eyes began to light up and her tail starting thumping as she responded to Kim’s loving attention.
Kim’s commitment to animals goes far beyond her weekly visits to the shelter. She chose the subject of spaying and neutering as her topic for a class presentation at FKCC. She also highlighted many of our shelter dogs in a book she created from her own photographs called Conch Dogs. She has spoken about the possibility of doing a second one as a fundraiser for the FKSPCA. Kim represents a wonderful balance. She is kind and caring, but she is also not one to tangle with if she sees an animal being mistreated or neglected. She truly is an advocate for the animals. The FKSPCA is fortunate to be the recipient of Kim’s many talents and big heart.
In her words:
Volunteering at the local animal shelter has been the most unique volunteer experience,and has taught me a lot about myself and about the animals. With the help of all the volunteers and shelter staff, homeless animals can experience love from human friends. It has become my weekly therapy session. When I talk to people about volunteering and what a rewarding experience it has been the response is usually, ‘I couldn’t do it, I would want to bring them all home.’ I explain to them I had the same fears, but once you have spent some time with the animals and staff, you see how structured, safe, and happy the animals are until the right human match comes along. If you can’t spend time with the animals, there are also many other ways you can help out the shelter. Give them a call and see what you can do. It is truly a rewarding experience.
Edie Kehoe
Edie Kehoe believed she could never be a volunteer at the FKSPCA because she thought her heart would be instantly broken. For months she resisted her friend and FKSPCA volunteer Kim Banning’s encouragement to give it a try. But finally she decided to check us out and we couldn’t be happier she did. Edie has now been with us a few years and has become one of our most committed volunteers. She is a regular every week and is always one of the first to step forward to offer her time and efforts to help the FKSPCA and better the lives of the dogs in our care. Her passion for dogs is apparent in everything she does.
Always eager to learn and open to new ideas, Edie was a natural choice when recruiting members for our new shelter training team, the B.R.A.T. (Behavior.Rehabilitation. Adoption. Training) Team. Her respect and compassion for the dogs she works with match our FKSPCA reward-based training philosophy perfectly. She spends her time each week working with the dogs helping them learn their manners and also providing some enrichment in their lives through play and outings. She has a special way of helping dogs learn to enjoy themselves and, for some of them, to learn to trust again.
Edie is great when it comes to helping with our special events. She’s always up for doing whatever is needed and does it cheerfully. She’s someone we know we can call on for whatever the job might be. We trust her abilities and we enjoy her great attitude, no matter what situation arises. She is quick to laugh, and there’s nothing better. (That is until you taste the Lemon Bars she bakes for our events, which are the best on the planet!).
We love Edie for all that she does for us and the animals, but we love her most for adopting our dog, Shiloh, who was with us for over a year before she went home to live with the Kehoes. (see Happy Tails for details). Both Shiloh and the FKSPCA hit pay-dirt when Edie finally decided to become a member of the FKSPCA family.
In her own words:
One of the best parts about volunteering at the shelter is the recognition from the dogs! I never knew that easing a dogs fears, gaining their trust, teaching a few simple commands or simply taking them for a walk could be so rewarding! I leave every Monday evening feeling tired and fulfilled.
Jeff Bennett
Each year we nominate one volunteer as our Unsung Hero and this year the FKSPCA feels privileged to be able to nominate Jeff Bennett. Jeff originally began volunteering at the shelter to work with our dogs, one of his greatest loves. His weekly visits to the shelter were spent socializing and working to help the dogs learn manners and basic skills. Jeff quickly developed an interest in the clicker training method used at the shelter and being the quick-study he is, even went home and taught his Lab a few new tricks.But there was more to Jeff’s talents than training the dogs he loves. Jeff’s other great love is flying, and he found an ingenious way to combine these two passions which has helped save the lives of over a hundred animals of all shapes and sizes. Jeff is a member of a national network of pilots called Pilots N. Paws. This non-profit organization is a group of people who volunteer their time, their planes, and the fuel to fly animals across the country to new homes. Jeff focuses his efforts in the southeast, flying throughout Florida, Georgia, and Alabama,, although he has traveled much farther from home when the need arose. Jeff and his fellow transporters collaborate with individuals, rescue groups and shelters to move animals out of overcrowded shelters where they would have little chance of adoption, into situations where they have better opportunities to find permanent homes. It’s like a “pony express for homeless animals” where animals are relayed from one pilot to another until they reach their final destination.
Jeff has been a key player in the placement of many of our shelter animals. His canine passengers have included everything from a hairless Chihuahua to a Border Collie, with lots of dogs in between. But those are not the most unique passengers Jeff has flown from Key West to homes in other places. In fact, he says the Florida Keys SPCA is the only shelter that he’s almost afraid to ask what he will be flying with next when we call him. We are so lucky Jeff is such a good sport along with a great animal lover.
So far, in addition to all the dogs he has helped us with, he has carried in his personal private plane a tortoise, rabbits and pet rats, several VERY big snakes, a tiny Key West chick named Mr. Cheepers, and a pot-bellied pig named Moo. And in case you’re wondering, everyone has arrived at their destination safe and sound. The dogs didn’t eat the rabbits, and the snakes haven’t threatened their pilot. And Jeff has managed to keep a smile on his face and been willing to come back for more. This man is definitely our hero and deserves every bit of recognition and support we can bestow on him. We are profoundly grateful for his generosity in these tough economic times and his compassion and concern for all the animals he has given a second chance in life.
We thank you, Jeff!
Directions & Hours
| FKSPCA Key West Animal Shelter | Hours of Operation |
|
5230 College Road |
Monday - Friday Saturday Sunday |
Application & Email Us
| Download Application | Email Us |
If you are interested in adopting one of our great pets, click here for an application. |