Simply from the name, Haven Animal Care Shelter, I got a knot in my stomach. Sure, the word ‘haven’ was in the title, but Animal Care Shelter? It just made my mind imagine dogs and cats, abandoned and marked to be put down after a set time. It just did not seem like a good place to start a Saturday morning, helping clean out a dog or cat home after they have ‘gone on’. 

However, it turns out the Haven Animal Care Shelter is a no-kill shelter for abandoned, old, sick and or injured animals, not just dogs and cats, but also pigs and horses. In fact, not only do they care for the animal in need, but also the founder, Dr. Brenda has set up a free-of-charge pet therapy program to help special-needs children and teens. This new information helped release the knot in my stomach and put a smile on my face. People helping society’s peoples and animals though various means is always a good thing. 

The Brothers at Mu Colony are always looking for a new, exciting way to help the community, and The Haven Animal Care Shelter was the way to go. Once we arrived, it was clear that there was work to be done. The volunteer coordinator quickly went down a list of tasks that needed to be completed. Walk the dogs, separate the broken doghouses from the good ones, find and throw away the broken wood pallets and last take apart the chain-linked fences. This sounded slightly difficult, but we were there and there is no backing out, so we got started. 

The best part about service events this that regardless of a Brother’s background, the who’s, the what’s, the where’s, it does not matter because everyone this there together helping. It does not matter how many wooden pallets or broken doghouses needed to be found and thrown away, all the Brothers where together and that is what made volunteering at the Haven Animal Care Shelter simple enough. 

Mihir Sheth

Mu Colony