Students get Life Skills with Dogs
PARC seeks volunteers
Published June 23, 2012 @ 1:53 p.m.
The Post Animal Refuge Center (PARC) has recently broadened its purpose from helping homeless animals to include some of the youth in our community. Last November, the shelter started a program with the Life Skills Students at the Post Independent School District. This program offers two sessions each week where Life Skills students selected by the school are transported to the animal shelter to work with the staff cleaning pens, feeding, watering and socializing dogs.
Early this year, PARC volunteers began working with the Garza County Regional Juvenile Detention Center and during Spring break, took their first dogs to the Detention Center. This program has developed into a two-time per week dog training session and currently involves 16 Detention Center residents, 8 dogs and 4 PARC members – Rick Maestas, Sherry Cavitt, Frank Tobias and Janice Plummer. “Several of the dogs that began this program in March have been adopted into forever homes because of obedience training and socialization they received at the Juvenile Detention Center” said Rick Maestas PARC volunteer. “We feel that our dogs have definitely become more adoptable because of their interaction with the residents at the Center” Maestas continues.
“These programs have certainly taken our group to another level. We can’t decide who is benefiting the most, our volunteers, the students or the dogs. It has all been a very rewarding experience and we look forward to continuing both of these programs” added Janice Plummer.
Post Animal Refuge Center boasts 170 adoptions to date and currently has 20 dogs available. If you are looking for a new best friend, contact them at postarc@yahoo.com or on Facebook at Post Arc.
PARC is a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax deductible. PARC is also always looking for volunteers and foster homes.