How I spent my day volunteering at ARK Animal Refuge Kansai
Let me tell you about the time I went to Osaka's Animal Shelter.
It was a warm Autumn day. I headed out around nine in the morning to get a bit of a headstart to my day, knowing I have quite a journey ahead.
A few days before that day, I couldn't help but think about the dogs I have back home in the Philippines and how much I missed them. Back then, my family and I had three dogs and one cat. Two of the dogs were strays that we took into our home when they were a puppy. With that train of thought, it gave me an idea to volunteer at any local animal shelter I could find that had dogs or any animals I could maybe pet or play. So I went online and looked for the nearest animal shelter I could find. Unfortunately, the "nearest" animal shelter I found was a long way away in the countryside of Kansai where not a lot of people live. I still decided I would go.
After doing more research on how to get there, taking notes of the names of the places in Kanji, I prepared for that day. It took me four train rides, one bus ride and a whole lot of walking. It took almost 3 hours! So by the time I got there, it was nearing lunch. When I got to the reception and told them I was the person who e-mailed them about doing volunteer work for that day. They asked if I can understand Japanese or prefer English. I decided on English only because I needed to thoroughly understand the rules I knew I had to follow at an animal shelter. There was a short orientation and introduction video that I had to watch, and a tour around the place. I found that there were kittens, rabbits, and some deers there too!
Most of the dogs at ARK were old. There was a big dog who was blind, brother and sister who were middle-aged and were left behind and a few old stray cats. As I was walking along with the staff member giving me the tour around the shelter, I couldn't help but wish and pray that each of them will find a loving home in the nearest future. There are not a lot of strays in Japan, and it's rare for someone to see a stray dog anywhere; at least in my experience, I saw more stray cats and not one dog.
Some of the animals inside the shelter were waiting to be rehomed, some of them already found a forever home and some who couldn't be taken anywhere else due to several reasons have specific sponsors who took care of all the things they need financially.
I found that most names given to the pets were English names.
After the tour, they let me have lunch before doing any volunteer work. At the lunchroom were puppies or toy dogs and a senior dog who was napping on the side. They were mostly friendly, and I was happy to get a few pictures with them. Inside the lunchroom wad a staff and a couple of volunteers too.
An hour later, I asked them I was ready, and one of the staff members lead and introduced me to three dogs in their respective living spaces. One was a three-legged dog named Wireless, who looked prepared to go for a walk anytime, the other was a timid female dog named Olympia, and the last one was an old Beagle who looked like he's still ready for more walks until he's a hundred years old.
I took Wireless out first. The staff told me all about Wireless and how to handle him as well as the other one. I was not only informed of the path I could take around the area where I could take the dogs for a walk, but the staff also walked with me along the shortest route to give me an idea of my surroundings. It was a helpful and an excellent first experience of an animal shelter.
Wireless mostly lead the way for me, occasionally looking back to check on me. As expected from any shelter dog, he had a mind of his own. Wireless had a plan and, he thought he was walking me and not the other way around. He wasn't forceful, but he made sure to tell me where he wanted to go.
I took out Olympia next, but she was so shy, she looked like she didn't want to go out at all. I felt terrible, though I knew she needed to go outside, so we took our time around the paths. Lastly, I took the old Beagle out, and it was a breeze. He was so easy to walk with. Mr. Beagle took his time, enjoyed a few rays of the warm sun on an Autumn day. It was as chill as the light breeze blowing in that afternoon. I took him where the sun was mostly out, and it seemed that he enjoyed it. Like any Beagle, he sniffed and sniffed and sniffed some more. I was amazed he could still smell a whole lot despite his age.
It was a warm Autumn day. I headed out around nine in the morning to get a bit of a headstart to my day, knowing I have quite a journey ahead.
A few days before that day, I couldn't help but think about the dogs I have back home in the Philippines and how much I missed them. Back then, my family and I had three dogs and one cat. Two of the dogs were strays that we took into our home when they were a puppy. With that train of thought, it gave me an idea to volunteer at any local animal shelter I could find that had dogs or any animals I could maybe pet or play. So I went online and looked for the nearest animal shelter I could find. Unfortunately, the "nearest" animal shelter I found was a long way away in the countryside of Kansai where not a lot of people live. I still decided I would go.
After doing more research on how to get there, taking notes of the names of the places in Kanji, I prepared for that day. It took me four train rides, one bus ride and a whole lot of walking. It took almost 3 hours! So by the time I got there, it was nearing lunch. When I got to the reception and told them I was the person who e-mailed them about doing volunteer work for that day. They asked if I can understand Japanese or prefer English. I decided on English only because I needed to thoroughly understand the rules I knew I had to follow at an animal shelter. There was a short orientation and introduction video that I had to watch, and a tour around the place. I found that there were kittens, rabbits, and some deers there too!
Most of the dogs at ARK were old. There was a big dog who was blind, brother and sister who were middle-aged and were left behind and a few old stray cats. As I was walking along with the staff member giving me the tour around the shelter, I couldn't help but wish and pray that each of them will find a loving home in the nearest future. There are not a lot of strays in Japan, and it's rare for someone to see a stray dog anywhere; at least in my experience, I saw more stray cats and not one dog.
Some of the animals inside the shelter were waiting to be rehomed, some of them already found a forever home and some who couldn't be taken anywhere else due to several reasons have specific sponsors who took care of all the things they need financially.
I found that most names given to the pets were English names.
After the tour, they let me have lunch before doing any volunteer work. At the lunchroom were puppies or toy dogs and a senior dog who was napping on the side. They were mostly friendly, and I was happy to get a few pictures with them. Inside the lunchroom wad a staff and a couple of volunteers too.
An hour later, I asked them I was ready, and one of the staff members lead and introduced me to three dogs in their respective living spaces. One was a three-legged dog named Wireless, who looked prepared to go for a walk anytime, the other was a timid female dog named Olympia, and the last one was an old Beagle who looked like he's still ready for more walks until he's a hundred years old.
I took Wireless out first. The staff told me all about Wireless and how to handle him as well as the other one. I was not only informed of the path I could take around the area where I could take the dogs for a walk, but the staff also walked with me along the shortest route to give me an idea of my surroundings. It was a helpful and an excellent first experience of an animal shelter.
Wireless mostly lead the way for me, occasionally looking back to check on me. As expected from any shelter dog, he had a mind of his own. Wireless had a plan and, he thought he was walking me and not the other way around. He wasn't forceful, but he made sure to tell me where he wanted to go.
I took out Olympia next, but she was so shy, she looked like she didn't want to go out at all. I felt terrible, though I knew she needed to go outside, so we took our time around the paths. Lastly, I took the old Beagle out, and it was a breeze. He was so easy to walk with. Mr. Beagle took his time, enjoyed a few rays of the warm sun on an Autumn day. It was as chill as the light breeze blowing in that afternoon. I took him where the sun was mostly out, and it seemed that he enjoyed it. Like any Beagle, he sniffed and sniffed and sniffed some more. I was amazed he could still smell a whole lot despite his age.
At around four in the afternoon, I walked Mr. Beagle back to this cage and told the staff I was done for the day. I also asked him if he could provide me with directions on where to take the bus to take me back to the train station. To my surprise, they actually have a copy of the bus schedule taped on a wall in one of their storage areas. After taking down notes and gathered my stuff, I thanked them for letting me volunteer for the day and bid them goodbye. I walked a few kilometers back to the nearest bus station I could find on the map.
When I got to the bus stop, and after checking that schedule, I noticed that I was just a few minutes from the next bus. When the bus arrived, It was on the other side of the street. I was momentarily confused, thinking I might be on the wrong side of the road, so I looked at the driver questioningly while he was also looking at me. He gestured for me to cross the road and come closer. I walked towards the bus, and he asked me if I was going to the train station, I said Yes. He told me to get on as he was heading in that direction. I thanked him and smiled as I got on the bus. It was a shorter bus ride than when I was going there. Maybe it was the thought of traveling home versus the adventure to an unknown place that makes a trip seem longer than it should be.
The train ride home was more relaxed than it was that morning, and I was proud of myself for traveling that far all on my own in a foreign land. Well, I did have help from Google Maps. I was also grateful for the helpful Japanese people, like the bus drivers and the staff of Ark Animal Shelter, who gave me an unforgettable experience.
Know more about the shelter dogs of Kansai and how you can help by clicking the link below:
http://www.arkbark.net/en/
The train ride home was more relaxed than it was that morning, and I was proud of myself for traveling that far all on my own in a foreign land. Well, I did have help from Google Maps. I was also grateful for the helpful Japanese people, like the bus drivers and the staff of Ark Animal Shelter, who gave me an unforgettable experience.
http://www.arkbark.net/en/
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