One of A Kind Education

Walking into the facilities in the morning and flipping on the lights causes the eruption of voices! So many pets vying for attention and begging to go outside after being in for the night. Some just want affection, but most want BREAKFAST! We move as swiftly as we can through the facility to check everyone and start feeding. We always feel badly for those pets who are served last, but someone always must be last. First morning walks are the same for the dogs…everyone wants to be first! Then the cleaning and laundry begin. These two tasks never seem to be fully complete, as they are constant.

So many people apply to our organization because they want to work with puppies and kittens every day. Few genuinely understand the complexity of the task and the physical demands of the environment. Food and kitty litter are delivered in fifty-pound bags, and that is when it is clean! To put things into perspective, our trash dumpster is emptied three times a week and we spend thousands of dollars a year just on disposal services. We have six washers and six dryers that run from 7am to 9pm each day and laundry still gets the best of us. Crates, carriers, wooden skids, cases of food, donations, laundry, and scared/injured dogs are just a few of the things we carry daily weighing fifty pounds or more. And that is just the physical work…

The emotional toil is sometimes much heavier. On a daily basis we experience the best and worst of humanity almost simultaneously. Someone is always performing intake on the homeless/neglected/abused while another is finalizing an adoption. The paperwork that these tasks generate is as overwhelming as the laundry.

Several of our employees have been with the organization for many years because it is their passion and calling. These individuals work tirelessly because they truly feel as though they are doing what they were always meant to do. It is a labor of love. These individuals truly understand that there are never enough hours and never enough hands. We all understand that there is never enough money! The labor crisis that the country is feeling has not eluded One of A Kind. We are experiencing difficulties in hiring and maintaining an adequate labor force. This has caused us to shorten our hours, close on some days, and turn down community opportunities that we would have once attended with pets. If you think this may be your calling, please feel free to stop into our adoption center and complete an application. If you can’t work with us, volunteer when you can. And if you are able, we are always in need of donations!