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Ken Sutiak, a native of Totowa New Jersey, has developed a new partnership with his local animal shelter. Ken’s love of four-legged creatures motivated him to get involved with a shelter in need of new volunteers.
One day, while driving away from Totowa’s downtown, Ken Sutiak sped by a shelter with a banner that read “Volunteers Needed”. Due to Ken Sutiak’s love for animals, he immediately turned around, pulled into their parking lot, walked through the front door and asked the first person he saw, Carmen R., for more information about becoming a volunteer.
Carmen and the other volunteers at the shelter were happy to see Ken and welcomed him with hasted. Carmen gave him a complete tour and helped him become familiar with the grounds. After filling out some paperwork she gave Ken Sutiak a calendar and a start date. There is a high demand for compassionate people willing to volunteer. Therefore Ken’s eagerness to begin within the week was a huge surprise.
Ken Sutiak While Serving at Shelter of Totowa, Outside of Clifton
A deep connection keeps Ken and the volunteers working diligently for the dozens of animals they take care of. Now months after Ken’s first week as a volunteer he has become an integral part of the team. Each person recognizes the significance of providing high quality support and love to these creatures on a daily basis. And without the extra attention Ken Sutiak provides, the felines and canines would rarely see a human aside from during mealtime.
Ken Sutiak had this to say about his new opportunity:
“Now that I’m able to spend the majority of my day with these lovable creatures, everything seems to be going well for me and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My life has dramatically improved since working with this Shelter. I’m now in a position to give back to my community when that hasn’t always been the case. For a period of time I was very depressed and felt completely frustrated about my life. With this outlet I’m able to focus all of my energy on these animals, which redirects me from thinking about the past.
This shelter has saved my life… I feel 100% different. It’s as though I can sense the attitude of these animals and automatically feel better. It’s a shame that most of them won’t be adopted this year because of their age. As you can image most of our visitors prefer puppies and kittens. There are so many dogs and cats that need proper homes.”
Ken Sutiak informed us that the shelter has implemented a new service which allows potential customers to take dog home for a few 4 days before making an adoption decision. This program is only being rolled out for canines at the moment with two families on board, the complete launch takes place during the first week of December.
The next step for the shelter is to offer monthly deals. This is in hopes that the offer will interest more animal lovers to adopt. “This is an excellent idea” says Mary Z. a resident of Totowa, who is in the process of adopting a 5 year old golden retriever, “Goldy-Hons”. She has many friends in her retirement community with the time and means necessary to take excellent care of a furry-friend.
Mary, also an advocate for the shelter said this about Ken Sutiak “Ken is such a pleasure. I’m so pleased to see him each time I visit Goldy-Hons. The shelter wouldn’t know what to do without him”.
Building a stronger bond within in Totowa:
The relatively small town of Totowa boasts a population size of just under 11,000 residence. Even with this small town feel, it’s easy for residence to feel alone. Ken admitted that for a stretch of time he to felt alone, however that’s all in the past. His new family at the shelter allows him to build stronger bonds with the community and he feels more welcomed among his community than ever before.
Creating positive relationships with the volunteers of the shelter:
Never before has Ken had positive relationships with members of Totowa. Although a native, Ken Sutiak has been able to work in harmony with a diverse group of people. From the elderly to the very young, Ken finds peace and comfort in striking up conversations with each individual who drops by the shelter.
Reducing stress and transforming his life:
Ken was raised in a very stressful environment, which has plagued him for decades. Without a productive outlet he got into a bit of trouble with the law. Now Ken works with Totowa, instead of against it, and continues to bring good fortune to those around hime. Ken’s world is now 180 degrees different from what it was just a few months ago. He owes this transformation, positive outlook and new found success to the time he spends at the shelter, the animals, and to the town of Totowa for having an open-mind and accepting him regardless of his past.
Ken Sutiak’s Future Plans:
Ken plans to move forward with his commitment to volunteering with the shelter. Ken Sutiak also intends to adopt six of the shelter’s residence (4 dogs and 2 cats) and give them a forever home on his new farm. The paperwork is already underway. Ken expects they will all be settled before the weekend. Ken revealed that his lifelong dream of having a home full of dogs and cats has finally come true.
Release ID: 255491