HAPPY TAILS - Marin Humane Society
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HAPPY TAILS
Community Engagement’s Animal-Assisted Programs Volunteer Newsletter
Sharing the love of cats and dogs with the community. SPRING/SUMMER 2021
From the Director’s Chair…
We’re very excited to be back at We’re happy to be able to offer a modified version of our
several schools visiting in-person Humane Summer Camp starting June 28. While we con-
and in-dog! It’s wonderful knowing tinue our search for a Humane Education Coordinator,
our great volunteer teams are out Shilo and I, along with our fabulous summer interns, will
in the community again, bringing be teaching camp! It will be six weeks of half days follow-
joy and comfort to students. One ing specific day camp guidelines set by the County. We’ll
of our visits was at Novato High have a limited number of volunteer visits that will follow
School to offer grief support to stu- the guidelines: masked, outside, and distanced. We're
dents after the death of a student. working on getting those opportunities scheduled as
A recent study shows just how soon as possible!
Welly Bertram
beneficial our visits can be for stu-
dents. We’re very fortunate that Marin is doing so well in Since we’ll be bringing teams back gradually, we want to
the fight against COVID, and hopefully our volunteers will take this opportunity to update all volunteer files. Most
be able to visit many other venues soon! venues are now requiring fingerprinting or background
checks, so Shilo will be contacting each of you to be sure
There will be a training for all staff and volunteers return- we have updated information for your return. We're also
ing to work called an SPP (Site-Specific Protection Plan) working on a new way to keep up-to-date health records
which is required by the County for all businesses that on our volunteer animals. More to come.
are reopening. We really appreciate you participating in
this important training. We hope to offer an alternative Things are looking up and we're thrilled we’ll be able to
way for you to complete the SPP if you’re not coming to volunteer and see each other and again.
campus. Our Volunteer Services department will coordi-
Slow and steady wins the race!
nate this and send out communications soon.
Darlene
Student Service Clubs Interview Series
By Julia Cole
This semester our Student Service Clubs faced the chal- Each week, students signed up to be on the interview
lenge of meeting via Zoom. This was especially difficult panel and came up with their own questions for our
because students join our clubs to engage with animals guests. It was fun to watch the students get more com-
and work within the shelter. Our Roots & Shoots clubs for fortable asking questions and really begin to take over
middle and high school students also participate in com- the project! Among those interviewed were some of our
munity service projects to benefit the community at very own animal-ambassador teams along with WildCare,
large. I decided to embrace the virtual opportunity and Guide Dogs for the Blind, and the Performing Animal
create a video interview series. Our students selected Welfare Society.
local, and a few national, organizations to learn from and
I organized interviews with representatives from each. We would love for you to check out these interviews and
These Zoom interviews were recorded and shared on the share them with people who you think would enjoy
Student Service Club Blog. them!
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Silver Linings
By Shilo Landis
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a large majority of my we plan to continue it indefinitely.
work responsibilities involved scheduling and coordi-
nating the volunteers in our Animal-Assisted Programs, New Community Engagement Office - The sheer quantity
often over 30 volunteer visits per week. As the virus of food we handled grew exponentially. As a result, the
spread, we began cancelling visits and with the shelter-in little shed outside our office and the tiny hall closet were
-place order issued in March of 2020, all visits ceased. woefully insufficient, so we co-opted the former Animal
What was I going to do with my time? Would my work Outfitters store area. With the space to stage the weekly
hours be reduced or worse, would I lose my job? deliveries, and the ability to drive vehicles right up to the
door for easy loading and unloading, it became clear this
A portion of my assigned duties were related to the Pet location was ideal for us. Our proposal to make the move
Safety Net and Pet Care Assistance programs, though, permanent was approved! In addition to an extensive
and we anticipated an increase in need from pet guardi- shelving system, Annie and I have our desks in there too.
ans. I distinctly remember a phone conversation with
New Client Database - With all of us working from home,
Darlene and Annie early on in which I asked if they
having access to our files became crucial. The database
thought the increase in need would mean I would be
we had was old and server-based which meant we had
able to work the same number of hours. I don't think any
to log in remotely which could be frustratingly slow. We
of us anticipated just how much the demand for assis-
looked for a cloud-based program and discovered that
tance would increase. I have been able to maintain my
Salesforce provided its powerful client management da-
hours as we adapted and expanded the programs. Much
tabase to non-profit companies at no cost! It took some
of my time has been spent on some special projects that
time, but we now have a robust database that can be
we now consider silver linings of the pandemic:
used anywhere. We even have an online application on
Food Deliveries - With the shelter being closed to the our website that automatically transfers the client's in-
public, food and litter now needed to be delivered to all formation into Salesforce.
our clients, so we created a weekly delivery schedule to
Thinking back on that conversation with Darlene and An-
make sure they received pet food every month. Each
nie over a year ago, it's hard to believe how much has
week, volunteers deliver food to clients and local food
changed and I'm so proud to have been a part of it.
banks which adds up to over 1,300 deliveries since we
started last March! This delivery schedule works so well
Team Profile
Pet Parent & Volunteer: Sean Sullivan What is Loki’s motto? I’ve
Animal Ambassador: Loki got my eye on you.
Year joined Marin Humane Animal Ambassador Pro- Sean’s thoughts on the Ani-
gram: February 2017 mal-Assisted Pro-
grams: Personally, it's been
Assignments: Prior to the pandemic, we did Share a incredibly rewarding. Work-
Book at schools and libraries. We also volunteered at ing with Loki, learning new
two assisted care facilities weekly, the Sheriff’s Depart- things together, and being a team strengthens our bond.
ment Communications Center, and a home visit here Bringing a bit of joy to people means a lot to me and
and there. watching Loki do that warms my heart.
Loki’s Most Marked Characteristics: He is a gentle giant
A quick story: Sometimes at an assisted care facility I
and at home most places. wonder if we really matter. Well, some friends were
Loki’s Favorite Part of Animal Ambassador Assign- looking for a facility for their father, and one was a loca-
ments: He loved the Comm Center, going from station to tion we visit. They saw “Sean and Loki” on the calendar
station and getting a rub from each dispatcher. and said, “We know them!” The supervisor told them
that our visit was the highlight of the week for some res-
Favorite Treats: What do you have?
idents. Man, oh man.
When and where is Loki happiest? When he is with my
wife, Kathy, and I. Loki wants his pack together.
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In Memoriam
MK Wilks Dipsea DeBartolo-Schumaker
August 7, 2006 - May 6, 2021 May 20, 2015 - April 12, 2021
Jon and MK started volunteer- Dipsea and his parents,
ing together in 2010. Jon faith- Tiffanie DeBartolo and
fully shared MK at hospitals, Scott Schumaker, became
libraries, schools, special edu- volunteers in April 2017. At
cation classes, and an occasion- 180 pounds, Dipsea gave
al special event. true meaning to the phrase
“gentle giant.” His arrival at
MK was a very lovable and volunteer visits was always
sweet dog who had that natu- met with squeals of delight from children. At our sum-
ral instinct of knowing who needed her most. She mer camp dog training activity, Dipsea could quite liter-
comforted so many people and was especially good ally see eye-to-eye with the campers and his offered
with the students in special education classes, always paw in response to “shake” came in at shoulder level.
patient and staying close by for support. Jon has said The campers loved it!
that MK’s favorite part of her assignments was getting
her teeth brushed, but I know it was the interactions He was equally loved by older children and adults. He
with people. You could see the transformation in peo- brought stress relief during finals week to the students
ple as MK approached. at Tamalpais High School and brightened the day of
residents at the Redwoods in Mill Valley. He visited a
MK will be missed and remembered by many. Thank lovely elderly French woman in her home. The broad
you, Jon, for sharing her in our program and bringing grin on the woman’s face in the picture of the two of
comfort and joy to so many in our community. We them standing side by side, with Dipsea’s head nearly
are very fortunate that Jon will continue to be a vol- at the woman’s shoulder, is priceless.
unteer team in our programs with Meredith. We are
Thank you, Tiffanie and Scott, for sharing Dipsea with
sure Meredith received good advice from MK on how
our community. He will be missed.
wonderful it is to be a volunteer for Marin Humane.
Contact:
Community Engagement Team:
Darlene Blackman, Director (dblackman@marinhumane.org)
Annie Humphrey, Manager (ahumphrey@marinhumane.org)
Shilo Landis, Coordinator (slandis@marinhumane.org)
Newsletter Volunteer Coordinator:
Bridget Helt (bridgethelt@gmail.com)
We welcome your feedback, suggestions, photos, and articles (reprinted with permission).
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