A day with the Animal Shelter / Hamburg PART II – Germany

“The question is not “Can they reason?”, nor “Can they talk? but rather “Can they suffer?” ~Jeremy Bentham

This was once again the slogan for our Give Time Together campaign at the Animal Shelter Westerwohld, 30 km north of Hamburg, where we helped some of the poorest member of society: unloved and abandoned animals. We had searched for a new slogan to use as header for our blog that would describe our choice for where to donate our time, but none describes it better then the above quote by Jeremy Bentham.

Our small group, composed of 7 Sabre Deutschland Marketing GmbH employees from Hamburg, met early in the morning at the Animal Shelter. We were warmly welcomed by the Shelter Management. The Animal Shelter Staff could remember our help from the last Give Time Together Campaign in September 2007 and they thanked us for our help and the great time last year.

This year again many animals like dogs, cats, guinea-pigs, bunnies and mice eagerly awaited getting some attention. So we split up into two groups and started with our chores immediately: 

The first group consisting of Karin, Andrea and Daniela took care of the public and quarantine sections of the cats. At first they cleaned and tidied up the all in all 11 cages with approx. 40 cats. They supplied the cats with food and fresh water and cleaned the kitty litter pans. Without question during the work the cats longed for attention, some really vocally and we had to cuddle and play with the poor creatures. Some were extremely shy and scared cats, who had lost trust in human beings. These too, we constantly calmed.

The second group consisting of Andrea, Cristina, Cordula and Peter took care of 6 dogs. Here too the kennels were cleaned, the dogs were fed and given fresh water. But most importantly the excited and energized dogs enjoyed a very long walk. Spending most of the day in small 2 meter cages, the dogs were hungry for exercise and thoroughly enjoyed running on the long walks.

Last but not least, Peter cleaned the Animals Shelters´s company car, in which stray animals are transported after being caught. Cordula and Cristina removed sharp stones and other hazardous objects from the outdoor park of the dogs.

During those four hours we had a lot to do and of course a lot of fun with the animals. Hearing about the fate of every single animal touched us deeply and gave us much to think about the following days. Our Give Time Together Campaign choice touched us so much that:

Andrea decided to adopt a cat from the Animal Shelter. Cordula went to the shelter the following weekend again to walk with the dogs and some members of our group dedided to work as voluntary assistants in the future…

Even if our help was like a drop in the ocean, every drop that hits the ocean causes a ripple…