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Volunteer Spotlight: Anne Llewellyn

Most of the Our Companions (OC) volunteers have another life outside of their OC activities.  In Anne Llewellyn’s case, during the week she is a project manager in the Financial Services division of Phoenix Life Insurance.  But when the weekend rolls around, she dons her OC persona and becomes a dog trainer extraordinaire!  She will mark her third anniversary as such in January.

It was fortuitous for her and for OC that she used to listen to Damon Scott on 96.5 radio.  Anne was looking for a volunteer opportunity to replace her prior work as a literacy volunteer, and Scott made frequent mention of OC on the air.  Having adopted a rescue dog about five years earlier, Anne had experience of the OC sort.

That dog was Lily, adopted from the Colonial Basset Hound rescue organization.  Lily was Anne’s first dog as an adult, but she was no stranger to dogs, as she had grown up with a black lab and a German short-haired pointer.   Before adopting Lily, she researched the breeds to see what most appealed to her.  Like the tale of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” as Anne did her research and evaluation, this breed was “too big,” that breed was “too small.”  But the basset hound was “just right.”  And Anne has maintained her love of the breed ever since.

After Anne attended the OC orientation for new volunteers, she decided she wanted to pursue the Canine College.  Her next step was to participate in a dog class with Lily.  In March, she started observing evaluations, and at her very first evaluation, fate placed a basset hound on the list of dogs.  That basset was Ralphie who became part of Anne’s life the following April.

In addition to dog training with the Canine College, Anne also took Special Events training, and has worked at some events, and would love to find time to do more.  But her heart is in the dog training, and she hopes one day to become a certified dog trainer.

When asked what surprised her most about OC after she got involved, she replied that it was an eye-opener to discover how much she didn’t know about dogs and training.  She discovered this whole other world of dog training, the ways to read a dog, that there were many different training philosophies, and that it was important to understand it all.  She was also surprised at the amount of education that OC provides.

Anne is looking forward to the creation of the sanctuary and thinks it will be a great opportunity to help animals in dire circumstances.  But she recognizes that the sanctuary is not the only answer to the problem of homeless animals, and she reiterated the importance of OC’s efforts at education.

Anne’s favorite thing about OC is that we are always willing to do the right thing even if it costs more or bucks the traditional way of doing something.  She added that she has never come across a more passionate group of people.  That, in a nutshell, is Our Companions!  And Anne shares that passion.

Previous Volunteer Spotlight

November 2011 - Lynda Thornton
October 2011 - Annie Chittenden
September 2011 - Deb Couture
June 2011 - Kathi Peterson
May 2011 - The Natchaug River Young Marines
April 2011 - Caroline Gaetano
March 2011- Carol Noyes
January 2011- Cathy Ferreira
November 2010- Gina Hoag
October 2010 - Helene Kapelewski
August 2010 - Lisa Ireland
May 2010 - Regina Radzicki
April 2010 - Veteran Volunteers
February 2010- Mandy Wieting
December 2009 - Pat McGuiness
October 2009 - Risa Davidson
August 2009 - Deb Soricelli
June 2009 - Henry Petrofsky
March 2009 - Jacquie Roy
Dec 2008 - Gretchen Labau
Sept 2008 Todd Johnston
July 2008 Lyn Garson
May 2008 Daryl Carbone
March 2008 Sue King
Jan 2008 Jon Phillips