For Truganina woman Leanne Giggins, volunteering at Lort Smith Animal Hospital is a way for her to give back to the community.
In a new report from Ernst & Young, the services and work provided by Lort Smith – including those of volunteers such as Ms Giggins – are reported to provide positive social benefits worth $10.1 million to Melbourne in the past year.
Ms Giggins said a life-long love of animals inspired her to begin volunteering at Lort Smith about 12 months ago after she retired from work.
“I think you get a lot out of it – you get to meet the staff, other volunteers, have a bit of a chat,” she said.
“It’s rewarding, you know you’re doing a good thing for the community.”
Ms Giggins, who also owns two griffin dogs, Cozy and Toby, volunteers at Lort Smith every Tuesday afternoon.
She started out working in the hospital’s laundry, before moving into the cattery and the kennels.
“In the kennels, we clean them out, spray lavender to make them smell nice, take dogs for walks, sit in pens and pat them,” she said.
“The smaller dogs like to lay on you and fall asleep.
“For the larger ones, you throw the ball and give them a bit of one-on-one attention – they love it.”
Ms Giggins said she also enjoyed seeing Lort Smith staff find new homes for animals.
“I just think that the work they do with animals, and how they care for animals, is just amazing,” she said.
See lortsmith.com for details.
