From the Rota Coastline, 23 October 2008 edition
STORY BY REBECCA ROSE;
photo by Karyn Sigurdsson
Members of Naval Station Rota’s First Class Petty Officer’s Association (FCPOA) volunteered their time by painting, cleaning out cages, and caring for the animals at Rota Animal Welfare League (RAWL) Oct. 19.
The FCPOA was out there to show that people can do more than just adopt the animals, they can donate their time and energy.
“RAWL is where people in our community come to adopt their pets,” said Electronics Technician 1st Class (AW/FPJ) D.J. Weakley, FPCOA president. “A lot of the Association members are pet owners and since the facility is not funded we have to do our part to keep it going.”
RAWL is a non-funded, non-profit organization that takes in stray animals, preparing them for adoption into families within the Rota community. The facility is staffed entirely by volunteers. Daily, RAWL needs people to help with caring for the animals, cleaning and donating time, money, or supplies.
“Anybody can come by, even if they’re not a signed up volunteer,” said Jill
Brockavich, RAWL president. “We have a lot of people who can’t have animals stop by to play with them, which is great because it socializes the animals, making them more comfortable with humans and it prepares them for adoption.”
However, not everyone has the time to come to the facility and take care of the animals. On Oct. 19, a couple stopped by the facility and donated the adoption fee of $75 for the next person who adopts a pet.
“We already have our allotted amount of pets,” said Krystal Gomez. “Still, we
wanted to give someone else the opportunity to adopt from RAWL.”
Brockavich encourages everyone to come out and volunteer for RAWL from
single Sailors to families and children. Even military members who are here on a temporary basis who cannot necessarily have pets can help out RAWL, while benefitting from animal companionship.
“People who are here on a temporary basis can volunteer their time or just play with the animals,” said Brockavich. “It gives them the benefit of having a pet and helping others.”
To find out how you can lend RAWL a helping hand visit their website at
www.rawlpets.org or send an e-mail to rawlpets@gmail.com.
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