Lana's Story- The Animal Rights Advocate
Lana has been volunteering at the Edmonton Humane Society since 2005, working mostly with dogs. Lana walks dogs and plays with them twice a week and has stuck with it through the recent relocation of the Humane Society. This is one of Lana’s many contributions to her community as an active citizen of Edmonton.
Lana’s love for animals began at a young age. Growing up with dogs in the house, Lana believes that “animals are always loyal to you; they don’t care if you’re happy or sad they will always love you. That is why it is important to take care of them because they don’t understand if you are mean to them.”
One day after her shift, Lana was waiting outside the centre for her ride when a man in a truck pulled up and wanted to drop off a box of kittens, however the animal receiving was not yet open to the public. Lana told the man this, but in his impatience left the box of kittens outside and drove off. At the risk of missing her ride home, Lana rescued the kittens and brought them inside the humane society where they would be safe.
This story was made into a poster and displayed at the SNAP gallery in the fall of 2012.
Citizenship, as defined by Lana, means being aware where you can help, doing your part, not being afraid to take chances and following your heart.
Lana also wants people to know that “if you can’t take care of your animals to give them to the humane society, so they can help find homes for them.” Raising awareness of good causes like the humane society is another example of citizenship displayed by Lana.
Many thanks to U of A Community Service-Learning student Cassandra Husband for interviewing and documenting Lana’s inspiring story.