Each year millions of animals are surrendered or found abandoned on the streets. Facing the risk of physical abuse, abandonment, careless supervision, the life of a man’s best friend is not easy. Despite the innocence of their own lives, pets are often mistreated or left uncared for. In order to combat the crisis these animals face, clubs and organizations such as Hope for Paws exist to improve the care and lives of these animals. An organization that focuses on the rescue, care, and rehabilitation of animals, Hope for Paws welcomes all students to join their club and help improve the lives of Chino Hills’ furry friends.
The aim of Hope for Paws is simple — to advocate for the voices of disregarded animals. With a central point on animal welfare, this club requires no prerequisites and no minimum hours of volunteering from students. In order to encourage students’ care for animal shelters, the officer board aims to alleviate the pressures on their club members.
“As long as you’re willing to put in the work and volunteer, even if you’re not an animal person, it won’t be a difficult club to be a part of,” the co-president of Hope for Paws, Makayla Gonzalez (12) said. “[There are] no fees for our club, we try to make it as inclusive and easily accessible as possible.”
Hope for Paws is a club based on students’ passions and hope for a better future for animals. According to the World Animal Foundation, over 10 million reported cases of animal abuse spurred in 2021 from the US alone. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that this number is a severe understatement as many cases of abuse are not reported as animal abuse remains as an issue people don’t feel pressured to bring attention to. Yet, this does not mean people should turn their backs and ignore this issue. While it is easy to not care, Gonzalez encourages students to show compassion and volunteer their time to accompany the surrendered animals of the Chino Hills community.
“Since we volunteer over at Priceless Pets, a lot of our volunteers tend to create bonds with [the animals],” Gonzalez said.
Additionally, the officer board of Hope for Paws are empathetic to the busy schedules of students, and make it a goal to decrease the amount of stress students may feel from extracurricular activities. By offering a plethora of events throughout the school year, there is always time for club members to take a break from the stress of life and to relax with the local puppies and kittens.
“We usually hold events twice a month, [but] it varies based on what goes on or if [members] are busy,” Club Secretary Anmary Jnave Bautista (12) said.
The actual work volunteers are expected to do is not hard either. In contrast, volunteers can actually have loads of fun as a big part of the job has to do with interacting with the animals. Students are allowed to pick their responsibilities from three categories: handling dogs, cats, or small animals such as rabbits or guinea pigs.
The other co-president, Ian Kim (12) states, “[Volunteers’] responsibilities would include walking the dogs…cleaning the general cat area…[or] for the small animals, checking for filled water bowls, replacing hay, and feeding them from time to time.”
Contrary to popular belief, not all animal shelters actually put-down the abandoned animals. This is why if students visit Priceless Pets, they’ll find out that many animals there are well over a year old.
Kim states,”Priceless Pets focuses on being a non-kill non-profit organization, meaning they will never put down animals. Many animals that seem to “disappear” are either adopted or transported between the two other locations in Claremont or Costa Mesa.”
Students can imagine how depressing the animals’ lives must be, even despite all the love and care they receive from volunteers and workers. For students who are prominent animal lovers, this is the right place for them. With a constant demand for more helpers, local shelters are the perfect place for pet people to come help out and entertain animals. Hope for Paws also gives students the opportunity of exploring more about pets if they plan to adopt a new family pet. With the paperwork and registration process being the manager’s responsibility, it’s easy for people to fall in love with an animal and be able to take them home in little to no time.
For any additional information, whether that be questions for fostering or adopting a furry friend, or to join the club, reach out to the officers of Hope for Paws through their Instagram page @hopeforpaws_ahs and their Remind @h4p24.
