Guam Day 73 - Puppy a G.A.I.N?

4/26/2022 - Puppies again? Yes, after caring for Lucky a few weeks back, my heart strings were really pulled, I felt that it was time to find a way to give back to the dog community here on Guam. G.A.I.N or Guam Animals In Need, is the local shelter about 10 mins away from us, located in the town of Yigo (pronounced Gee-go). Today was day one of volunteering.

It turns out that volunteer opportunities are a bit hard to come by on the island due to continued covid concerns. Up until this weekend we were wearing masks at outdoor gatherings, as well as continued use in all indoor settings. Many local charities and services were closed to added human contact of volunteers coming in and out of a place. Luckily, GAIN was offering opportunities twice a day with helping to socialize the animals that come in, a fully outdoor activity. 

The job to be done is one that is quite simple, it consists of taking the adoptable dogs from their cages and moving them to the larger play area. Here they are able to run, play fetch, find all the new smells, and get some human attention. While this isn't a very hard job, it has major benefits to the these pups, many come in off the street never having been leash trained, and can be quite nervous around humans. This is where the socializing comes in, the goal is over time the dogs get used to humans, have some fun, and prep for their next big life adventure of adoption. GAIN, I would guess has close to 60 animals at any one given time, about 24 are up for adoption and are part of the socialization work. A two hour period goes pretty quick with the goal of getting 12 of the dogs out and played with. 

I am really glad this opportunity came up, I came to Guam with the hopes of learning what the needs are and find a way to pitch in. This feels like the thing I was suppose to help with during my time. Even better it has positive impact here on the island in an area that needs the support and nurturing.