NFAWL: The Quill Visits

Written by Quill staff

On Thursday, January 12, members of The Quill took a field trip to the Southold Animal Shelter. The shelter, first founded in 1963 is part of the North Fork Animal Welfare League (NFAWL). The league consists of two shelters: one in Southold and one in Aquebogue. NFAWL strives to inspire responsible pet ownership and animal welfare. There is a dedicated staff that works to prepare animals for adoptions and find the right human to match their personalities. The shelter does not only have cats and dogs. There have also been guinea pigs, snakes, geckos, rabbits and even a pig housed at the shelter. Currently, there is a ferret named Rufus who is the official greeter of the waiting room.  Since he is a favorite among the staff, he is not available for adoption, but is there to educate and enrich. 

Volunteering for the animal shelter is fairly straightforward. The application process is quite easy. You will have to answer some simple questions about yourself.  In order to volunteer unaccompanied, you must be at least 16 years old. If you want to volunteer before you are 16 you still can, but need to bring a parent/guardian with you. Volunteering at the animal shelter will primarily consist of helping around with the dogs, cats, and even the ferret. 

An exciting aspect of volunteering is dog walking, though you will need to take a class on it just to be safe. Another unique volunteering opportunity that is offered is a sleepover with the dogs in which you take one of the dogs to your home and take care of it for the night. Not only would it be fun for you, but it also helps the dog trainers know how well the dogs will react to real life home situations. You can volunteer as much or as little as you’d like, 7 days a week from 10am to 3pm.

There are also enrichment programs offered for the animals. These encourage the dogs to interact with staff members and volunteers. This allows more to be learned about each of the animals and often take place in the teaching room. The room has comfortable seating, a play area, and plenty of interesting smells and sites. There are plenty of toys and balls to keep the animals entertained.

There are also enrichment programs offered for the animals. These encourage the dogs to interact with staff members and volunteers. This allows more to be learned about each of the animals and often take place in the teaching room. The room has comfortable seating, a play area, and plenty of interesting smells and sites. There are plenty of toys and balls to keep the animals entertained.

 One of the programs, particularly used on rainy days, is to hide treats within toys and let the dogs search through to find all the treats. Another activity is to take a tray with peanut butter and dog treats, put it in the freezer and then let the dogs lick through the tray of peanut butter. 

One of the enrichment programs that students were able to participate in was reading to the dogs and cats. This reading allows the animals to be interacted with and stimulates their minds.  Some of the books that students read to the animals were: Estrellas Quinceañera, Princess Diaries, Rikki Tikki Tavi, and If You Give a Moose a Muffin.  If you forget to bring your own book there are also plenty on site to choose from!

Ava Cocheo and Melizza Mena-Ochoa spent the vast majority of the day with one shy but cuddly cat. His name is Creampuff; an apt name given the creamy orange color of his fur. He’s five years old and kept in a separate room away from the other cats since he isn’t the best at interacting with others. He soon became a favorite among the employees at the shelter. Both of the girls gave Creampuff treats.

During the visit to the shelter a room was being prepared for a large shipment of puppies that were arriving from a high kill shelter in Georgia. This room is the Cindy Goldsmith-Agosta puppy room. Money has been raised in the name of Mrs. Agosta to support a cause that was near and dear to her heart: animals. She was an avid animal lover and advocate. Her smiling face can be seen just outside the room to welcome new puppies to the shelter and support their transition to finding forever homes. 

There were two fundraisers that were held this month for Mrs. Agosta. The first fundraiser was run by the Greenport Teachers Association (GTA). A collection box was placed in the High School Office to receive donations. All proceeds were then donated to the Animal Shelter The second fundraiser was a private event held by Mr. Agosta on Sunday, January 15th. During this event family and friends participated in a polar bear plunge in Mrs. Agosta’s honor. The plunge collected $20 from each participant and those proceeds are also going to the animal shelter.