A Busy Summer for Friends of JAS
Friends of JAS members had a busy summer—both at Joint Animal Services and out in the community.
Everyone Loves a Parade
On July 18, Friends of JAS once again participated in Olympia's Lakefair Parade, where hundreds of spectators lined the parade route.
This year's FoJAS float featured a small wooden animal shelter with windows filled with nearly 100 stuffed animals. The display carried an important message about responsible animal care, including the importance of spaying and neutering. Surrounding the little shelter were four FoJAS members holding leashes of large stuffed animals and signs encouraging people to adopt shelter pets, volunteer, donate and become members of FoJAS.
The response from the crowd made the work worthwhile. As the float passed, spectators clapped and cheered. Many called out, “I have a shelter animal!” or pointed proudly to a dog beside them and shouted, “This dog came from there!”
The float also received two Lakefair honors: Best Decorated Truck and the Community Award. The plaque was for best decorated truck and the banner was the Community Award. We're grateful for the recognition, but the biggest reward was the opportunity to introduce more people to Joint Animal Services and remind our community about the animals, people and programs behind our local shelter.
Volunteers Beautify Shelter Grounds
FoJAS members finished the summer strong with several shelter work parties in August and September. Volunteers mowed, weeded, weed-whacked, power washed and spread bark throughout the shelter grounds. A special thank-you goes to The Bark Store, 3025 Martin Way E. in Olympia, which generously donated bark for the project.
For now, the grounds are ready for fall and winter, and our outdoor work is largely finished for the year. When spring arrives, however, the weeds undoubtedly will too—and Friends of JAS will be back.
Members also painted the dog adoption room and several out buildings. We hope to have an artist paint a mural on one of the walls in dog adoptions. If you missed out on helping with either of these projects, fear not, there will be more work opportunities in the future. Send us a message if you are interested.
