Not a garden party, a GARBAGE party!

Ever wonder what 6,660 pounds of rubbish looks like? This much!

Thanks to 17 Friends of JAS volunteers, the grounds and outbuildings at Joint Animal Services recently got a jumpstart on spring cleaning. For under $1,000, we rented an 8’ wide, 23’ long, and 7’ tall dumpster drop box for a week from the City of Olympia and filled it up with approximately 3.3 tons of material that JAS staff no longer wanted or needed on the premises. Folks wrangled, untangled and finagled armloads full of materials varying from broken cabinets, animal crates with missing doors, leaking kitty litter bags, old pet food, tree limbs and much more into the bin. This many hands made the daunting tasks easier as we buddied up to lift, carry, shovel, clip, wash, push and organize things into the right places. We were greeted by happy dogs out for a walk on the trails with friendly volunteers and serenaded by three cock-a-doodle-dooing roosters. We took breaks when we needed it, fueling up on muffins and cookies, and getting to know each other better!  It was hard work but we all agreed it was a super party!

Due to a tight budget the shelter has no regular maintenance, janitorial or landscaping staff so this was a years-long collection. And as volunteers we saw how discouraging the collection of garbage was to every hardworking staff member.

Later that week we also took a truck bed of metal for recycling along with two loads of hazardous materials to HazoHouse for safe disposal.

In addition, volunteers relocated a small shed, pruned back blackberry vines and other foliage in the big dog exercise area, raked leaves, trimmed draping branches, organized emergency crates, cleaned yard tools, hung up fencing, and unearthed a mummified rat carcass! Let’s just say some of us ran for the hills when that critter was discovered!

And this is just the beginning! Up next we will be installing a dog waste baggie dispenser, sprucing up the landscaping around the building, and much, much more thanks to our generous donors and energetic volunteers. Projects like these are what makes all the difference for JAS’s dedicated staff who do the hard work of caring for so many animals in need here in our community. If you live nearby and would like to participate, please Contact Us.

While we did clean the grounds up, the shelter itself is old as it was a propane office built in the 1970s before being converted to an animal shelter in the mid-90s. Some day soon that will be our focus.