Sarah Haag has been a volunteer with P.A.W.S. for ten years, making her one of our longest-serving volunteers. She started coming because her two daughters wanted to be kitty cuddlers, and she just never left. When asked about her pets, Sarah said, “I grew up with a dog and several cats. I currently have two cats, Nadia and Finley. We recently lost our bunny, Frodo, and our bearded dragon, Calypso, but we had them for many years, as well.”
Sarah has volunteered in multiple areas including being a kitty cuddler, foster, small critter foster lead, and board member. She is currently the media committee lead, and her team handles advertising, website design, social media, and any technology/advertising needed for events. Now that she’s managing the media side of things, she’s able to do her volunteer work around her current job and home schedules. Some days she doesn’t have much of any P.A.W.S. work to do, while other days (such as those leading up to big events) she has many hours worth of work to do.
Sarah is passionate about getting P.A.W.S. caught up with the digital world. Over the last few years, she has helped update systems, processes, and social media presence so that administrative tasks and advertising take less volunteer time. This has given volunteers more time for more important things like community outreach and animal care. Giving volunteers more time to spend on rehabilitating and finding homes for animals is rewarding to Sarah, because as a former foster and Small Critter program lead, she knows the immense amount of time and effort it takes to help down-on-their-luck animals find healing and forever homes.
Sarah recalled a particular animal that was a recipient of that extra care time. Samuel, a 4-year-old Holland Lop who was surrendered to P.A.W.S. due to a condition called Entropion. This condition makes the eyelids flip inward, causing the eyelashes to rub against the eyes and damage vision. The condition can be treated in one of two ways: 1) an expensive surgery that P.A.W.S. couldn’t afford, or 2) with eye ointment applied twice daily to prevent discomfort and further damage. Sarah and Samuel's foster spent many hours caring for Samuel, helping with his medical needs, researching his condition, and searching for a potential adopter. They were worried they wouldn’t find an adopter for Samuel, as most people don’t want special-needs rabbits. However, Sarah was able to find an experienced, special-needs bunny owner who fell in love with Samuel. She not only adopted him, but she was willing to get him the surgery to correct his condition. Now Samuel is living his best pain and ointment free life.
Sarah said cases like Samuel's aren't just life-changing for the animals, they are also extremely fulfilling for the volunteers. "Helping animals out of hard situations and into loving homes leaves you feeling great and is an incredibly rewarding experience."
Sarah said the main thing she has learned while volunteering at P.A.W.S. is to not be so quick to judge people who are surrendering their animals. "Many are facing struggles like health issues, financial problems, or just want their pet to have a better home than what that person is able to provide. Instead of judging, we have to be compassionate and understanding, and recognizes that surrendering a pet is often a difficult decision. Compassion for both the owner and animal make a huge difference."
One of the biggest challenges we face, according to Sarah, is finding enough volunteers. "We need fosters, transportation to the vet, people to help at events and serve on committees, volunteers to help process adoptions, etc."
If you decide to volunteer, Sarah offers these words of advice. “Approach it with an open heart and willingness to learn. Animals, especially those in rescues, can come with unique challenges, so patience, compassion, and flexibility are key.” Sarah also encourages volunteers to find ways to avoid burnout. She does this by spending time with her family, her husband and her two girls. "They help me to unwind and detach from the day, allowing me to relax."
Sarah’s 2025 goal as the media lead is to find ways to streamline more processes to make everyone’s lives easier and to give volunteers more time to spend with the animals. She hopes to see P.A.W.S. grow until it has its own facility, complete with a medical area and on-site veterinarian. This would allow P.A.W.S. to expand its care to even more animals.
Finally, Sarah has these words to share with readers. “For anyone in rescue work or thinking of getting involved, remember to take care of yourself. You can’t rescue 24/7, and you can’t save them all. However, every life you touch matters, and your impact is meaningful, no matter how small. Take breaks, set boundaries, and celebrate the successes. By caring for yourself, you’ll be able to keep helping those who need you most.”
If you think you’d make a good foster or volunteer, fill out an application at pawshancock.org. Keep an eye on the email you apply with, as that’s how we invite you to volunteer orientation.
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