Volunteer Profile - Jana Underhill

Jana Underhill loves her PAWS volunteer job of walking dogs. Whatever the weather, Jana goes to PAWS every other Saturday afternoon and walks as many dogs as possible during her two hour shift.

"It's so good for the dogs to get outside, play with them, and improve their quality of life," Jana said. "The volunteer's positive interaction with the dogs and our one-on-one contact helps increase their chance of adoption. The dogs are so happy to see us and enjoy the walks so much that I really feel good when I leave after two hours," she said.

Jana thought many times about volunteering at PAWS, but put it off because she was worried that she'd find it difficult to interact with the dogs, knowing that some of them would not be adopted. "But then I realized that this is not about me. It's about helping improve the lives of the animals however long they're at PAWS," Jana said.

"I also believe that we are all responsible to help unwanted animals because humans have created their problems through neglect and overpopulation," she said.

In July, 2007, Jana completed PAWS' volunteer training and immediately started dog walking.

"I have three cats at home so I really enjoy interacting with the dogs," Jana said. Although she did not get her cats from PAWS, she "adopted" her first cat when it was homeless in her neighborhood, and then Jana discovered it was pregnant. She also kept two of the kittens.

Jana's involvement with PAWS has increased her co-workers' awareness of the plight of unwanted animals. Jana works as a document services specialist at Alliance Benefits Groups, which administers retirement plans for other companies.

"The people I work with bring in bags of pet food for me to take to PAWS. They know how strongly I feel that everyone should do something to help the animals," Jana said.