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Mission senior volunteers as a ‘bunny wrangler’

SAINTS bunny room is in good hands thanks to Penny Veresh
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Penny Veresh has loved animals all her life, especially cats and bunnies.

If you have ever toured the Senior Animals In Need Today Society’s (SAINTS) facility on Dlugosh Avenue in Mission, chances are you’ll have seen Penny Veresh working in the bunny room.

The Mission senior has been volunteering her time at SAINTS for the past seven years.

“I’ve always loved animals, I was born loving animals,” Veresh said.

As a child she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but, like most people, things changed as she got older and life took her in a different direction.

But once she retired, and moved to Mission, Veresh knew she finally had the opportunity to go back to her first passion – animals.

She began searching for organizations that needed volunteers to care for animals. One of her friends, who lives on Vancouver Island, sent her a link to the SAINTS website.

“I went up there and took a tour and the first part of the tour you walk into the bunny room and I was, ‘Bunnies!’ and that was it.”

While she loves all animals, Veresh has a soft spot for cats and bunnies, so she put in an application and the rest is history.

“I have no idea why bunnies. I had a bunny of my own for 10 years, which I totally loved and I lost him just after I came out to Mission.”

Veresh says bunnies are very underrated pets that are highly intelligent. She’s been told they have the intelligence level of a dolphin.

“They have totally unique little personalities, each one of them – just fun little animals to work with and they become very affectionate.”

Veresh also finds the bunny room a soothing and calming place to volunteer her time.

“They have, on average, 120 animals at any time at SAINTS,” and she finds that the dog room, for example, can be chaotic.

“Bunnies are calming.”

Currently, Veresh works with about 20 bunnies and says that number remains fairly consistent.

“SAINTS doesn’t adopt out a huge amount of animals, but they have a small, steady adoption rate over the years because a lot of the animals are special needs or seniors and they don’t adapt well to regular homes. It takes a special person to look after a special needs animal.”

While officially Veresh volunteers three hours a week, every Sunday morning, she says it is often a lot more time than that depending on where the need arises.

“It’s a total commitment.”

She said just because it’s volunteer work doesn’t mean you can pick and choose when you feel like doing it because there are people and animals depending on you.

“It’s certainly not glamorous. It’s bunny wrangling.”

As part of her duties, Veresh cleans out the bunny room, puts in fresh bedding, grooms the bunnies and cuddles them as well.

And when they are in the outdoor enclosure and need to come in, that’s when the wrangling begins.

“We’re running around trying to catch them. I’m sure it’s funny to watch.”

Veresh said when she volunteers, she gets back more than she gives.

When she moved to Mission, she was newly retired, had two daughters, three granddaughters, lots of friends and a very busy life.

“I was not volunteering because I’m bored or need something to do,” she explained. “For me it’s being a part of something bigger than myself … You are actually giving something back to your community.”

She said the people she has met through volunteering have been awesome.

“I’ve met a lot of really good friends, some absolutely wonderful people who kind of restore your faith in humanity.”

For more about SAINTS, visit saintsrescue.ca.



Kevin Mills

About the Author: Kevin Mills

I have been a member of the media for the past 34 years and became editor of the Mission Record in February of 2015.
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