OCEANSIDE — A dedicated San Diego Humane Society shelter volunteer is helping to make dogs more appealing for adoption by taking them home for a day to spend time with them, assess their behavior and, of course, take cute photos.
Janet Thornton has volunteered at the San Diego Humane Society’s Oceanside campus for 12 years. After walking into the shelter for the first time in 2011, Thornton was hooked on the adorable dogs and caring staff.
Previously, Thornton had grown wary of dogs after a few bad experiences growing up. However, she put that behind her when her family adopted a dog in 2008. After that, she learned more about dogs’ behavior to understand them better.
“I did a deep nose dive and spent my free time educating myself on all things dog,” Thornton said.
Over the years, Thornton’s cumulative experience from volunteering daily at the shelter while taking additional dog training courses has made her a near expert in canines, serving as a certified professional trainer since 2015.
While the shelter has always allowed more experienced volunteers to take dogs for short trips outside, Thornton came up with the idea to take the shelter dogs back home with her for the day.
Now called “Funday Monday,” Thornton’s new pilot program allows her to observe the dogs’ behavior, socialization skills and house manners while giving the dogs a much-needed break from the loud shelter environment. She also takes photos and videos of the dogs during this time to show how cute they are to potential adopters.
Jennell Garza, animal services manager at the Oceanside Campus, said Thornton’s information about the dogs at home is “invaluable” help in the adoption process.
“We can share this information with potential adopters,” Garza said. “Although we pride ourselves as being the best in the country, a shelter environment can be a stressful place to be for a dog, so when she takes them home for six to eight hours she can spend time seeing how they behave while taking cute videos and photos to show off to adopters.”
Although indeed a dog lover, Thornton has chosen not to foster or adopt any dogs while running the program to ensure a safe environment for the visiting shelter dogs.
While the Funday Monday program is still in its pilot phase, Thornton and the shelter hope to expand it to other county campuses. More volunteers are also needed to make programs like this happen.
“Shelters across the country rely on volunteers to help with tasks like taking dogs out for potty breaks or cleaning kennels because staff is so busy,” she said.
Thornton noted most shelters are flooded with animals, so the more volunteers, the merrier.
“We can meet any animal lovers’ comfort level and help them grow through experiences,” she said.
Once volunteers work their way up, they can take animals out on mini-adventures like Thornton, who the Humane Society treasures as a volunteer.
“Janet’s just amazing,” Garza said. “I’ve been working with her for several years now and she’s just a joy to be around. She really cares about our dogs and it shows through her work.”
