Nina (she/her)
Role at PAWS
Work Study Kennel Assistant. My job is to ensure the animals in our care have a comfortable living situation free from stress and full of enrichment and exercise. I work with the volunteers to monitor our animals’ health and behavior so that we can eventually send them off to their forever homes!
Time with PAWS
This is my third school year with PAWS. Since I am a student at Penn State, I spend my summers working at home, but I am always excited to rejoin the PAWS team!
Your pets at home
Back home, I have 2 dogs and a cat: a yellow lab named Winnie, a mixed-breed terrier rescue named Scooby, and my DSH cat, Penny. I am excited to adopt a pet of my own once I’m out of school and feel that I can be a responsible pet owner, and have enough disposable income to spoil them (and be able to pay vet bills)!
Favorite thing about PAWS?
I love being one of the first kind faces that new intake animals see when they arrive. Being able to see an animal grow their confidence with people makes me feel honored to be able to be a part of something so important in that animal’s life.
What advice would you give to people interested in working or volunteering for PAWS?
My advice would be to start with whatever you feel comfortable with, because PAWS is such an amazing community full of people who want to lend a helping hand to animals and human alike. Even if you don’t have experience with dogs and/or cats, you are welcome here, as we see animals everyday that don’t have experience or good experiences with humans or other animals. Everyone has to start somewhere and our team is amazing at teaching and transitioning both people and animals to be more comfortable in new and familiar experiences.
What is your perfect vacation?
My perfect vacation is one where I can both relax on a beach and explore the area around me! I love to immerse myself in a new culture, try new foods, and wander around to admire nature and architecture.
Anything else fun or interesting people might be interested in learning about you?
I love to broaden my horizons when it comes to the animals I work with and how their personalities and behaviors differ. This summer I interned at the Cape May County Zoo, where I got to encourage the natural behaviors of the animals and also train and desensitize them to make veterinary procedures easier. The included picture is me target training the wallabies, which we regularly pouch-check for new arrivals of joeys!