Our "Best Friend" Honored Volunteer: Sharon G.
Shardon has a special knack for working with our shy dogs and has really helped them come out of their shells!
By
Best Friends Animal Society
"Our Best Friends" is a weekly installment to honor just a few of our outstanding Best Friends LA volunteers. This is your chance to get to know some of the shining stars in the Best Friends LA volunteer program! Volunteers are either nominated by Best Friends LA staff or other volunteers in our program. If you would like to volunteer, e-mail the Best Friends LA Volunteer Department at volunteerLA@bestfriends.org
Sharon Gibson - honored September 2016
Sharon tell us.....
What programs and projects do you volunteer with at Best Friends LA?
I’ve worked in the kitchen, the laundry room, the grooming room, done little and big dog play groups, taken out house broken dogs and I’ll keep trying new things. Every single time I come to Best Friends in Mission Hills I learn something new. I mostly work with shy dogs now but I also love introducing the dogs from Admissions to their new, temporary home and try to help ease their transition into a loving home, which some them have never known.
Why do you choose to volunteer with Best Friends LA?
2013 was a very difficult year for me. I had a lot of life changing losses but in the end, I was also shown a lot of kindness and compassion by family, friends and complete strangers. I wanted to be able to play that forward and when I started looking for volunteer opportunities, I stumbled on Best Friends.
How long have you been a Best Friends LA volunteer?
I started volunteering on 3/14/2014, so that’s almost 2 ½ years.
What type of fun stuff do you do when you're not volunteering?
I’m retired so I get to do what I want! My partner, Hans, is a marathon runner so we go to races all over Southern California and also to Utah and Hawaii.
Do you have a favorite story to share about an experience volunteering with Best Friends LA?
I don’t really have a favorite story – I have a million of them! You haven’t lived till you’ve experienced being in the middle of a little dog play group of 30 littles, had a leash wrapped around your legs by a playful big dog, or seen a very shy, shut down dog blossom and learn to trust and just get to be a dog.
Do you have any pets?
I have 4 Society Finches and a little aquarium of guppies I enjoy. But, there’s also Tyson, my Best Friends best friend! We adopted him 5/14/2014 from BF in Mission Hills. The minute I saw him, I knew he was the one. Everywhere he goes – and we take him everywhere – he represents for Best Friends. He even has a little fan club one of whom once said, “Tyson elevates cuteness to a survival skill.”
Tyson visited the Sanctuary in Utah last year and this year, he and Hans are signed up to do Strut Your Mutt there. This will be his third trip to Utah and his second to the Sanctuary – pretty good for a dog who’s not yet three years old! He even met Marc Peralta at a restaurant in Kanab, UT, entirely by accident.
What others are saying about Sharon:
"Sharon is a very valuable member of our volunteer dog team! She has a special knack for working with our shy kids like Payaso or Yogi, and has really helped them come out of their shell in a shelter environment!"