Darren Genson, a volunteer with Anne Arundel County Animal Services, posing with a shelter dog. Billie came to the shelter in September, and was adopted in late November. Photo / Courtesy of Darren Genson
On Christmas mornings at about 7 o’clock, Darren Genson goes to an animal shelter and spends two hours walking dogs. He will do the same on New Year’s Day.
“The dogs don’t get a break,” said Genson, who lives in Millersville, Maryland. “These dogs don’t have the luxury of having someone they live with.”
Since 2018, Genson has been a volunteer with Anne Arundel County Animal Services.
He is a full-time insurance agent but volunteers at the shelter every morning before work.
“Unless I’m sick or there’s something going on, an obligation I can’t avoid, I’m there pretty much every day,” Genson said, adding that the shelter is about a seven-minute drive from his house.
Genson became acquainted with the shelter when he adopted a dog, Charli, in 2015.
He and his wife had visited the shelter to donate food after their pit bull, Rock, died. The couple met Charli, also a pit bull, and decided to take her home.
“She is wonderful,” Genson said. “She is a very pretty dog.”
Shelter staff warned the Gensons that Charli had been returned twice after being adopted – likely because of destructive behaviour. The Gensons were undeterred.
“She ended up eating four couches within the first couple of years,” Genson said.
“Two of them all the way down to the frame.”
Still, the Gensons did not consider bringing her back to the shelter.
“Whenever we adopt an animal, we don’t think of it as adopting a pet or a piece of furniture; it’s like adopting a kid,” he said.
“You just don’t return it unless there’s imminent danger.”
Charli’s behaviour gradually improved. “She just outgrew it,” he said.
A few years after adopting Charli, in 2018, Genson and his wife brought home a senior cat from the shelter. One of the volunteers encouraged Genson to become one, too.
“I immediately fell in love with the idea,” he said. “I’m getting very close to the age of the retirement, and I want something productive to do after I retire.”
He began volunteering a few mornings per week – walking dogs, cuddling them and spending time with them in their kennels. Before long, he was showing up every morning for about two hours.
“It’s cheaper than therapy,” he said.
“It is very helpful to get out a lot of daily-life frustrations, knowing that you’re helping another creature that’s in a very difficult situation. It consoles your soul.”
About a year or so into volunteering, Genson became drawn to the more difficult dogs – those who were skittish around humans, perhaps because of abuse or abandonment. There was a dog named Ace who was deemed “unadoptable”, and Genson pledged to work with him to improve his behaviour.
“They had dogs that simply did not get out,” Genson said, explaining that they were considered “high-risk” for biting or bolting, and therefore didn’t go out on walks with volunteers.
Genson worked with shelter staff and animal control officers to learn how best to approach these dogs and get them to warm up to him.
“They helped me out and gave me some tips,” he said, noting that Ace eventually was adopted.
Now, Genson spends time every day with the most troubled dogs in the shelter. He walks about four to six dogs per shift, and depending on the dog, he will sometimes spend 30 minutes in their kennel, offering them treats and helping them become comfortable.
“These dogs are scared out of their minds,” he said.
Because his volunteer schedule is consistent, Genson is able to focus on the same few dogs who do better with one handler than several rotating walkers.
“He takes out the hardest cases,” said Amber Guthrie, a behaviour/rescue co-ordinator at Anne Arundel County Animal Services.
“The ones that are completely shut down, are extra scared, are acting chaotic and frenzied and panicked.”
Guthrie said many volunteers are off to spend the holidays with their families, making Genson’s steady presence even more needed – though not surprising.
“He rarely takes a vacation,” Guthrie said.
In a recent Facebook post, the shelter highlighted Genson’s volunteer efforts and commitment to the dogs.
Genson – who has four rescue dogs at home – said even on the days when he’s tired or busy, it’s not hard to find his motivation.
“I think the dogs deserve it,” he said.
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