Monthly Volunteer Profile: Jareth Blais-Renaud

Jareth Blais-Renaud never had a dog growing up in the Ottawa area but moving to Manitoba for work 14 years ago gave him the opportunity to enjoy something he’d missed.

“I never grew up with dogs,” he explained.  “I always wanted one but unfortunately, we were never allowed, for financial reasons.

“But then I moved here for work, and I met Michelle, who would become my wife. She had a long-haired Dachshund. I just became so fond of him and fell in love with him so much.”

Jareth’s relationship with the Winnipeg Humane Society began simply with a visit to the shelter. He was immediately smitten. “A year ago, I’d had some time off work for a bit,” he said.  I decided to come in and donate. When I pulled in the parking lot there was this great feeling of a beautiful place. It was very special – I’d never been to the Humane Society before. Never even seen the building.

“We already had two dogs of our own so I didn’t have a need to come looking for another. But I got to the parking lot and the wind was blowing in the trees and I just got a good feeling about the place. I knew I wanted to work here and see if I could walk dogs.”

Once he got home, he called and asked about volunteering. An Orientation/Training session was coming up, so he attended. The rest is history.

One evening a week, Blais-Renaud is a volunteer Canine Enrichment volunteer. He spends two hours walking dogs of all sizes and giving them the love they need. Most of the time there are two volunteers per shift and maybe up to 18 dogs to take for a walk and interact with.

It happens rarely, but Jareth enjoys those occasions when the Adoptions area is not at capacity. “When there aren’t as many dogs, you can take them for a longer walk and maybe spend a bit more time with them in their room or play with them in the yard,” he said. “It lets you enjoy more time with each dog and enjoy each other’s company a bit more.”

Occasionally, Jareth will pick up an extra shift and often on holidays he can be found helping out in the back.” On the holidays I like to work with (former MVP) Margaret Krupa in the back. It’s a lot of fun working with dogs that are in holding or that have just come in that are not up for adoption yet and are getting acclimatized to this new place.

“To work with those dogs is nice too because, perhaps, some of them have come from a bad situation. It’s nice to be able to reassure them that it’ll be okay. Those dogs don’t get as much attention. None from the public, because they’re in the back, so they appreciate when you can spend a little time with them.

Volunteering at the WHS is rewarding for him and the dogs, Jareth pointed out. “You give these animals joy and they give you joy back as well. It’s a different bond that you have with a dog than with people. I knew this would fill my life with more joy and more happiness.

“I have two dogs at home and I thought ‘Why not give back some of my time and be around some dogs that all they want to do is go for a walk and just feel the love from you.’ If you’ve had a bad day, they’ll never judge you. It’s amazing.”

Their second dog, Zuki, was a rescue. She is about 12 or 13 and is a miniature Dachshund.  Their original dog passed away and three years ago Jareth and Michelle adopted another dog, Bronxy, a Boston Terrier who’s now 15. He’s living his best years with them and helping Zuki, who became blind after developing severe cataracts late last year. “It’s been a learning curve for all of us,” he said. “You need to be a lot more patient.” But Zuki’s condition has helped Jareth know how to interact with the blind dogs that arrive at the shelter.

Aside from the joy and affection he receives from the dogs, Jareth also enjoys the camaraderie and the learning environment WHS volunteers participate in. “The volunteers are great; the Behaviour staff has been phenomenal and I’m always learning something new.”

His interest in learning more about dogs came from experience. He explained that he used to suffer from bad nightmares. One night, he had woken up from a very bad dream. Michelle was asleep, but Zuki was awake and had sensed that Jareth needed something. “She got up, climbed on top of me and rested her head on my chest. We both fell asleep,” he said. “Dogs know when someone needs something. They’re amazing creatures.”

Written by: Brian Kozak, Volunteer MVP Writer
Photo by: Jim Harvey, Volunteer MVP Photographer