Behind-the-scenes shelter volunteer crunches numbers

There are a number of people in the area who regularly donate or volunteer at Adams County Pet Rescue. There are also a number of reasons why they do so.

For Trudy Doolittle of Othello, she began when she started working for Roger Thieme at Evergreen Implement in 2005.

Thieme has been an avid supporter of the local pet shelter. He has gone above and beyond to help wherever he is needed, especially financially. So, when he hired Doolittle to do his marketing, he brought her on board to help with ACPR’s accounting system.

“I reorganized the accounting and set up some reports,” Doolittle said. “I made it more manageable.”

The second thing she did was to set up ACPR with Donor Swap, a non-profit software to manage donors. The program also prints reports that track donations and provides a year-end statement. It can also track volunteer work hours.

Doolittle is very capable with computers and when Thieme wants changes made, such as designing a new room for the shelter, she is able to do 3D modeling for that.

Last, but not least, Doolittle set up the website and serves on the board of directors. Current board members also include Ernie Sommers, Ken Simmons, Laurie Logan, Myra Walter and Randy Deasy.

Her passion now is a 3-year-old dog named Ginger that she recently adopted from the shelter. After Doolittle had her a week, she was already following simple commands and will catch things in the air.

“She likes to cover up and hide inside a blanket,” Doolittle said. “She has a stuffed lion she sleeps with.”

Doolittle is no stranger to raising pets. Years ago, she had a Papillon and took classes on dog training. She also has two cats. But Ginger is the one who is making such a positive impact.

“She is helping with my steps goals,” Doolittle said. “She is getting me to walk more.”

Ginger also gets along with the cats, so that helps keep things peaceful at home. The young dog will also be her camping buddy.

She belongs to Sisters on the Fly, an all-women group that spends the summer camping throughout the country. They learn to fish, ride horses, kayak, camp under the stars and more. This past summer, the group traveled the Oregon Ghost Towns tour.

Currently, Doolittle is doing some computer upgrades at the facility, as well as setting up some document scanning for the staff. She said the board wants to get more grants.

“We would like to find someone to help us do that,” Doolittle said. “I know people are out there who could help.”

Adams County Pet Rescue is located at 1961 Bench Rd. east of the fairgrounds. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The facility is closed Mondays and Thursdays for cleaning. To contact ACPR, call (509) 488-5514 or email adopt@AdamsCountyPetRescue. Be sure to visit the website at www.adamscountypetrescue.com and like their Facebook page.