At least three days a week, this is where you'll find Carol Parks, playing with and caring for the hundreds of dogs at the Kern County Animal Shelter. "It doesn't matter the size, the color or breed, I love them all. I really do."
That love has been with Carol for as long as she can remember. And, it grew stronger when she volunteered last year at the fairgrounds, at a makeshift shelter for more than 200 dogs, seized from a man in Rosamond.
"I told my husband I was going to go for a couple days and help. It was about seven or eight weeks later. I was doing it all day, every day until every one of them was rescued."
After that, Carol found herself here, volunteering at the county animal shelter. "It took me months to talk myself into coming here because I know what most of their fate is because there's just not enough room. Once I started, I couldn't stop, now I'm addicted."
"Carol does an awesome job. She's indispensible to the shelter. She comes in, anything we need her to do, fold blankets. if we need her to clean puppies, she's there," says Lisa Paul.
When Carol isn't here, she's playing pet detective. Every day, she reads the 'lost and found' pet postings in the local paper and on Craigslist, reuniting lost pets with their grateful families. Carol also picks up any stray she comes across.
You could say she's every dog's best friend. And, although it's not easy, when Carol is at the shelter, she can't imagine being anywhere else. "I can think of 100 reasons why I don't want to come down here, but I can think of one reason why I should and that's just to make their lives a little bit better that day."
If you would like to honor Carol Parks and the other real heroes, the dinner takes place Saturday, April 6 at the Bakersfield Jet Center by Loyd's Aviation. For tickets, call the Red Cross at 324-6427 or visit www. redcross.org/kernchapter
That love has been with Carol for as long as she can remember. And, it grew stronger when she volunteered last year at the fairgrounds, at a makeshift shelter for more than 200 dogs, seized from a man in Rosamond.
"I told my husband I was going to go for a couple days and help. It was about seven or eight weeks later. I was doing it all day, every day until every one of them was rescued."
After that, Carol found herself here, volunteering at the county animal shelter. "It took me months to talk myself into coming here because I know what most of their fate is because there's just not enough room. Once I started, I couldn't stop, now I'm addicted."
"Carol does an awesome job. She's indispensible to the shelter. She comes in, anything we need her to do, fold blankets. if we need her to clean puppies, she's there," says Lisa Paul.
When Carol isn't here, she's playing pet detective. Every day, she reads the 'lost and found' pet postings in the local paper and on Craigslist, reuniting lost pets with their grateful families. Carol also picks up any stray she comes across.
You could say she's every dog's best friend. And, although it's not easy, when Carol is at the shelter, she can't imagine being anywhere else. "I can think of 100 reasons why I don't want to come down here, but I can think of one reason why I should and that's just to make their lives a little bit better that day."
If you would like to honor Carol Parks and the other real heroes, the dinner takes place Saturday, April 6 at the Bakersfield Jet Center by Loyd's Aviation. For tickets, call the Red Cross at 324-6427 or visit www. redcross.org/kernchapter