Strays can offer paw to a loyal volunteer

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 10, 2007 by Jeremy Twitchell Deseret Morning News

SPANISH FORK -- When Ben Hardin needs a break from his studies, he doesn't lock himself in his apartment or catch a flick.

Instead, he heads down to Spanish Fork and puts in a few hours at the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter. Given the odor and the noise that come from all the animals the shelter houses, you might not expect a man to find solace in a setting like this.

But making the rounds with his earphones in, Hardin is at peace.

"It's a good stress reliever," he said. "Animals are relaxing to be around, even if they're yapping."

Hardin, a graduate computer-science student at Brigham Young University, puts in 12 hours or more each week as a volunteer at the shelter, where he has become such an indispensable help that the Utah Animal Control Officers Association selected him as its Volunteer of the Year at its convention last month.

"I was surprised; I didn't find out until they were presenting it," said Hardin, whose supervisors kept his nomination a secret. "We were down at the Animal Control Officer conference down in St. George and they called my name to come up. It surprised me; it was a great honor."

Getting Hardin to the conference without him knowing why was a bit of trick, said shelter director Mike Morgan, but he said the surprise factor made it worth the extra effort.

"We appreciate him; we know he's got a lot of things he could be doing with his life, and we don't expect him to be around forever, though we wish he was," Morgan said.

Hardin began volunteering at the shelter about nine months ago, when he wanted to volunteer somewhere in the community and decided his love of animals would be a good place to start.

Ask him what he does at the shelter, and he'll tell you he mostly cares for the animals, maybe helps out on a bit of clerical work if the office staff is overwhelmed.

Ask Morgan what Hardin does, and you'll get a better idea.

"He's a little modest in what he's saying; Ben helps us with everything," Morgan said. "He helps us with our computers, he helps us working with the dogs, cleaning, grooming, walking ... he does an awful lot. He does the dirtiest of jobs all the way up to helping with the office work."

But Hardin said his favorite job is leading would-be pet adopters through the kennel, telling them about each animal and helping them find one to take home.

"It feels great getting a dog into a good home, where it may have been a stray or may have come from a bad home," Hardin said. "(The animal) is getting into a good home, and it's great being able to tell that they're good people."

What truly sets Hardin apart in the eyes of shelter management is the fact that he really is in it to help the animals; he's turned down offers to take a paid position on more than one occasion.

Half-jokingly, Morgan said he needs a dozen Bens.

"We're looking for other volunteers who are serious about getting in and helping be part of the solution to the problem," he said. "The problem out there is that there is not enough education given to people about animal care and welfare. We want the education to get out there as far as what shelters can do and how we can help be part of the solution to animal overpopulation."

Any volunteers interested in helping at the shelter can contact Morgan at 851-4084.

E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com