A Tail of One City
When I first moved to Indianapolis, I thought I would be here for a year or two before moving on to somewhere else, preferably outside the Midwest. My college roommate and I moved here from Ohio mostly on a whim, but we both ended up falling in love with the city and with the friends we found during our first couple years here. Nine years later, and I have no plans to move away any time soon.
My fondness for Indy has grown over time, and one of the things that has kept me here is Paws & Think. I started volunteering as part of their PR & Marketing committee in 2015, and the more I learned about the organization, the more obsessed I became. I’ve always been an animal lover, and with no pets of my own at the time I had been reduced to a desperate dog-sitter, jumping at any chance to spend time with my friend’s dogs. Paws & Think’s mission appealed to me, and since they’re volunteer-led, I felt like I was able to contribute in a meaningful way. Past volunteer gigs had left something to be desired – I would show up and there wouldn’t be enough to do, and though the organization would thank me profusely for my time, I rarely felt like I was actually helping anyone. That wasn’t the case with Paws & Think, and plus, volunteering allowed me access to dogs. This was a win-win arrangement.
I also had an ulterior motive to adopt a dog when I started volunteering, and my plan finally came to fruition after my first week of helping with evening care for the Pawsitive Corrections Youth-Canine program. The program pairs up shelter dogs with incarcerated juveniles for a week of training, and the dogs move into an empty cell block at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center for the week. Paws & Think’s Dog Trainer and volunteer mentors help the youth to teach the dogs basic obedience, and additional volunteers come in the evenings to walk, feed, and play with the dogs before they go into their cells-turned-kennels for the night. I fell in love with Stevie almost immediately after walking her around the yard of the detention center, and I adopted her when she graduated from the program at the end of the week. Of the many positive experiences Paws & Think has given me, finding her is by far the best.
Though most of what I do for Paws & Think is behind the scenes, I really fell in love with the organization after I started getting involved with the more hands-on side of volunteering with the Youth-Canine program and with their therapy dog training classes. For dog lovers, I always recommend these as the best ways to get involved and maximize your opportunities to pet and cuddle with dogs. Beyond the many furry friends I’ve made over the years, my favorite part of volunteering with Paws & Think has been helping to tell the success stories of the organization. Witnessing dogs succeed in therapy skills training and then seeing the impact that these dogs and their handlers have when they visit with people in the community has been life changing. Dogs have a magical effect, and they bring a comfort for some people that is unmatched by any other type of therapy out there. I am proud to be able to help Paws & Think change lives in Indy every day and grateful for all the ways they have changed mine.
Meet Lynsey Smith
Lynsey is originally from a small town in Ohio and has lived in Indianapolis since 2011. She started volunteering with Paws & Think in 2014 and has worn many different volunteer hats over the years. She currently serves as the Special Events Coordinator and as a member of the PR & Marketing committee where she helps with social media content creation and writes for their e-newsletter. Lynsey works as a full time project consultant for Ascension and also volunteers with Go Vote Indy, a grassroots group focused on helping Indianapolis residents get registered to vote and providing free rides to the polls on Election Day. In her free time she likes to travel, go to concerts and music festivals, read, and explore new parks with her dog, Stevie Licks.
