Volunteer Spotlight: Jay Guyther
In the three years since he started, Jay Guyther has performed a lot of volunteer duties at BARCS. Pre-COVID, he was a greeter. Since that job is on hiatus, he has upped his time socializing cats, and he also transports animals and logs foster applications.
But Jay is about to add a new job that he is really excited about. He will go through websites that list lost dogs and cats to see if they match any animals at BARCS. Like his work with foster applications, he can do this any time at home.
“I don’t know who came up with this idea but it’s great,” says Jay. “I can’t wait to find out that someone’s beloved pet is at BARCS and we can reunite them.”
While Jay is happy to start this new volunteer assignment, he really loves all aspects of his work with BARCS.
“Anything I can do to free up staff to get their important work done is worthwhile,” Jay says. “I am so impressed with the staff; their knowledge, expertise and devotion to these animals are amazing.”
Jay started working on foster applications when the shelter shut down to volunteers and visitors because of COVID. “The need for fosters continues to be great,” he says. “The more dogs and cats we can get out of the shelter and into foster homes, the better.”
His duties working with foster applications is fairly simple—he creates a profile in the database, verifies the applicant’s address and checks to see if the applicant has had any animal control violations. “In two hours, I can get through eight to 10 applications,” Jay says. “We have had hundreds of new foster applicants, but we always want more.”
Besides his volunteer work at home twice a week, Jay makes the short trip from his home in Fells Point to socialize cats.
“I love cats,” Jay says. He has five rescue cats at home, and four of them came from BARCS. He especially likes socializing cats in the free-roaming rooms.
“The free-roam rooms are great,” he says, pointing out all of the amenities, including cat beds, structures and shelves attached to the walls for climbing. “But the other cat rooms are much better too. They are larger and nicer and much quieter than at the old shelter.”
Since Jay works as a consultant, he makes his own hours, so he is free to work at BARCS when he wants. He realizes others may not be as fortunate, but he thinks there is a place at BARCS for everyone, no matter their schedule.
“I could work on foster applications at 3 am if I wanted,” he explains. “We could always use more help with that, and I’m sure there are other volunteer jobs that can be done any time.”
When the pandemic is over, Jay says he looks forward to returning to being a greeter, though he doesn’t plan on stopping any of the other volunteer work he does at BARCS. “I really love it all,” Jay says. “And while I miss interacting with staff and the public, I am happy and proud to be part of something so meaningful to our community.”
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