Jean Marmie pauses at the entrance to a door with her name painted across it, swinging it open to see her current favorite dog anxiously awaiting her behind the metal bars of a kennel.
Eleanor, a 9-year-old caramel-colored mutt, excitedly moves her front paws up and down as she sits and waits for Marmie to open the gate. She charges the 85-year-old volunteer, who has bonded with her through walks, treats, kisses and pets.
Though Eleanor was abandoned in the parking lot of Columbus Humane, Marmie is helping her trust humans again and is in awe of the creature’s resilience, joy and capacity to love.
“She was dumped here so who knows what she’s been through, but her tail still wags, she still shows love,” Marmie said, of Eleanor. “They have emotions just like we do. … They just need a little love and that’s what we give them.”
The West Side resident has volunteered with Columbus Humane for 45 years and readily admits her preference for animals over humans – she’s seen how cruel humans can be, especially when it comes to the treatment of animals – though she’s noticed how wonderful and kind the other volunteers can be.
Marmie is one of hundreds of volunteers relied on by Columbus Humane. They clean out kennels, feed animals, wash dishes and laundry, take animals on walks and to socialize with other pets, said Brittany Williams, chief advancement officer at Columbus Humane.
Amid declining volunteerism nationwide, Marmie and others who have logged thousands of volunteer hours are increasingly important. In the past 23 years, she’s logged over 7,000 volunteer hours at the shelter. Before that, the organization didn’t track volunteer hours.
“You don’t have Columbus Humane without Jean,” Williams said. “She is a staple of this organization.”
Despite Marmie’s dedication, research shows there was a dramatic decline in people volunteering in the nation since 2021, according to an article in the Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring. Volunteer participation fell to 23.2% in 2021, lower than in the 20 years prior, attributed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the article.
But, a December poll from Gallup show’s volunteerism is increasing again, with 63% of respondents saying they volunteered in the past year.
A newspaper ad changed Marmie’s life
An ad in The Columbus Dispatch 45 years ago led Marmie and a neighbor to begin volunteering at the humane society.
The ad stated that the Columbus humane society was beginning a new program to bring cats and dogs to see nursing home residents. Marmie remembers thinking it was a great idea.
“We thought we’d be in a nursing home one day and hope someone takes pets to us,” Marmie said.
So she began taking dogs and cats to see residents at Arbors West in West Jefferson once a month. She did it for 29 years before she began to volunteer at the shelter, mostly walking small dogs.
Now, she’s retired from Huntington National Bank and goes three times a week to love on the little dogs who are staying at the shelter, awaiting a home.
She’s adopted three dogs over the years, but she doesn’t have a pet at home now due to her age and living on her own. She gets her fill at the shelter, witnessing the joy when others adopt the animals she’s nurtured.
She knows most have faced horrible conditions and just need love.
A few years ago, half of the humane society’s building was renovated and when the project was completed and revealed, there was a room named after Marmie within it. Hers is the only room named after a volunteer, she said, all the others are named after those who donated to make the renovation possible.
Marmie’s fellow volunteers lined the hallway for the reveal, holding flowers to celebrate as she walked over to see her room, Williams said.
“They all trusted her and learned from her. … Other volunteers said: ‘she deserves it,” Williams said. “Every staff member knows her. Every volunteer knows her.”
The society has a roster of about 800 volunteers, with about half of them active, she said. The work of volunteers like Marmie is equivalent to that of over 13 full-time employees, Williams said, and they log 35,000 hours each year.
“We can’t do the volume of work we do in this organization without them,” she said. “We can’t do anything without them.”
The most rewarding part for Marmie is getting to help dogs who were abused or mistreated change and begin to trust humans again so they can find a good, loving home.
“We just turn them around and they get to be a good dog,” she said. “They finally get adopted into a good home. … That’s the best reward we have. That’s what we all work toward.”
After pulling on a small apron with treats and other goodies and grabbing the leash she brings, Marmie clicks it onto Eleanor and takes her outside for a trip around the parking lot. She pauses often to give the older dog Canine Carryout treats, which she takes from Marmie’s hand gently before gobbling them up.
Near the entrance, Eleanor sits and tilts her chin up so Marmie can scratch underneath it. The woman obliges, cooing to Eleanor about what a good girl she is, giving and receiving kisses and gently petting her as Eleanor gazes up at her.
“She’s just amazing,” Marmie said. “She’s my absolute favorite. She’s so gentle and sweet.”
Underserved Communities Reporter Danae King can be reached at dking@dispatch.com or on X at @DanaeKing.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: For the dogs? This volunteer has helped Columbus Humane for over 45 years
Reporting by Danae King, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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