| |
 NORWALK,
CA… Six cubs were wandering throughout the SEAACA animal care center
in Downey on Sunday, May 22, 2005. Not bear cubs, but Cub Scouts
from local Downey Troop 2 and 525 from Orange County. May is “Pet
Pals” month for the scouts and these young men were in search of a
service project where they could help animals. “When I received the
call from their den leader and asst. cub master, Dorothy Van Zuilen,
I was thrilled to open the animal care to them to complete their
service hours,” said Aaron Reyes, director of operations for SEAACA.
“We’re closed to the public, but our pets still need to be fed and
have their cages cleaned, so this was an ideal arrangement” stated
Reyes.
The boys, ranging in ages from six to fourteen
arrived at SEAACA early and spent the first hour in an orientation
about animal care and animal safety. They watched a video, met with
an animal control officer who answered their field related
questions, then took a tour of the center. Shortly thereafter, they
were split into pairs and sent to work
 with
an on-duty animal care technician, whose job is to care for the
animals and facility. They scrubbed, rinsed, wiped cage doors, fed
and watered and they squeegeed floors. Come lunch time, they were
tired and glad to take a break. As they watched videos and enjoyed
their lunch in the humane education room, the boys were telling
stories about the animals in their particular area of the center.
Thirteen year-old Gregory Hanscom was amazed at how high a female
Hound mix dog could jump. “She nearly cleared the top of the cage,”
he said in amazement. “I remembered I got my dog at SEAACA so I
thought of them first,” stated Van Zuilen. “It is nice to hear the
boys talk about the type of care that pets need…that’s when I know
it is sinking in,” exclaimed Van Zuilen.
 The
cub scouts are the entry level rank of the scout association. “At
this level the emphasis is to learn to give back to the community
and work for what they get,” said Van Zuilen. “Service hours are not
mandatory for the cubs, but the goal is to train them for when they
move up the ranks, where it is then mandatory,” Van Zuilen said.
The SEAACA animal care center was sparkling
clean and each cage and dog run had a clean blanket and toy for the
pet guest before lunchtime. Also, a donation of pet toys was made to
the animal by the cub scouts, which was immediately put to good use.
“These guys were great and showed maturity, compassion for the
animals and they wanted to get right back to work after only 20
minutes into their lunch break, “said Reyes. “If they were just a
bit older I’d hire them all,” remarked Reyes.
Dorothy Van Zuilen can be reached for an interview at (562) 869-2840
|
|
Animal
Law Enforcement & Rescue
