Paisley’s Story – by PV Julia Melao

After a 7-year hiatus, I finally made it back to West Virginia with the PVs. A lot happened in those seven years – graduated from college, graduated from grad school, became a physical therapist, adopted a senior dog, fell in love and got married to a wonderful man. But, despite all of these good things, I know I owed who I am to my PV background and have felt the call to return for some time. My husband and I decided we would embark on the PV journey together this time – with the rest of the Melao crew, of course.

About 1 month before leaving for West Virginia, my husband, Christian, and I lost our senior dog, Kenya. We only had her for 2.5 years, but she became our world. We were grateful for the upcoming trip to get our minds off of this loss temporarily. 

One of the sites for the week was Taylor’s home. She needed assistance cleaning out underneath her trailer home, insulating the floor, and repairing a broken A/C duct. My husband, my brother, my cousin and my sister’s boyfriend took on this task without complaint. Taylor, in gratitude, invited them in her home for lunch one day, serving up chicken, burgers, hot dogs and more. In conversation with one another, the guys all learned that Taylor worked at the Wyoming County Animal Shelter in the summer. My husband mentioned how we had recently lost our dog and were considering adopting a new pup after the trip. When he described the “ideal dog,” Taylor said she had the right fit for him. She then went on to describe Cash, a little beagle mutt who had been attacked by another dog, but was ready for a home with a loving family. The more she described him, the more Christian knew we had to meet this dog – and my other family members made sure to encourage us to do so. 

We arrived at the shelter to meet Chuck, the man in charge of it all. Outside of Taylor’s assistance, he primarily cares for the pups in the shelter. Chuck gave us the background and disposition of each and every dog in that shelter, always ending his summaries with “That’s a good dog right there.” He was so proud of each animal he had in a kennel, and it was clear that he was true to his word, since each dog he let out of their kennel would greet him with love. Chuck, unfortunately, is working with limited funding and resources, relying heavily on donations, but receiving little as of late. The kennel was a large building without air conditioning, making it a very hot and uncomfortable environment for these dogs and for Chuck. He dreams of the day he gets a new shelter building with air conditioning, but for now, two large fans is all he has for the pups. 

After meeting Cash Friday afternoon, we confirmed we would bring him home. Early Saturday morning, before hitting the road to head home to NJ, my husband and I, along with my cousin and his girlfriend, picked up Cash (now named Mullen – thanks PVs for your help on the name!). We also dropped off donations to Chuck, hoping to bring some relief. 

On our drive home with Mullen (formerly known as Cash), Christian brought up Paisley – another pup from the shelter. He had felt so sorry for her story and wanted to give her a home, but felt she would struggle to find one due to a growth on her neck. He brought Paisley up to some friends of ours who are dog lovers, one of which volunteers regularly at the EASEL in Ewing, NJ. Our friend, Anne, immediately sprung into action – “I think I have a home for her, we just got to get her here!” 

A group chat was made between Anne, Chuck, Taylor and my husband and I. The biggest obstacle to tackle was Paisley’s transport – except, it didn’t end up being much of an obstacle at all. Taylor responded in the chat “I can transport her!” Christian replied, “How far? We can send someone to meet you.” Taylor responded again, “Honey, I’ll drive all the way to NJ!”

Taylor, with her family and Paisley, left for NJ at 3:00 am and arrived in the early afternoon. Paisley settled in a crate and rested while Christian and I hosted Taylor and her family for a classic NJ lunch – pizza. We all enjoyed each other’s company greatly, exchanging stories of our very different lives, but loving every second of it. Not long after Taylor and her family left to return home (yes – in the same day!), Anne arrived to pick up Paisley. Off Paisley went to meet her potential adopters, followed by settling into her foster home. 

As of now, Paisley has done beautifully settling into her foster home and is waiting adoption here in NJ, with two potential adopters! What a lucky girl! She will be in her forever home before we know it. This was all because of Chuck’s compassion for these dogs, Taylor’s determination to get Paisley to NJ and Anne’s resourcefulness and connections. All together, we saved a pup. It has been a whirlwind of a week, but everyone is so grateful for a successful mission to save another shelter dog. 

If interested in donating to the Wyoming County Animal Shelter, please send donations to Charles Bland at the following address:

24 Cedar Ave

Pineville, WV  24874

United States

The volunteers continued to do great work today, and yes finished the day with tacos!!!

The PVs spread out over 5 different sites today to begin their work. They cleaned gutters, scraped paint, repaired floors, prepped for insulation, and prepped for drywall, cleaned and most importantly spent time with each other and with the people at their sites. Being able to slow down from our busy lives and just be in the moment is such a gift that volunteering is offers. The living is simple, but you have everything you need. Enjoy some pictures from the first day.

Set up has begun on yet another PV Volunteer week in Wyoming County, WV.  This truly is the little program that could.  It is amazing how it just keeps chugging along. It may have changed form over the years since it’s first steps in 1973, but the spirit and the love the community of PVs brings to each experience continues.

We will be posting daily pictures from the volunteer’s days, so we hope you will follow along for all the amazing things they will do.  If you have volunteered with the PVs before, I am sure you will recognize a lot of the faces and hopefully it will bring back a lot of wonderful memories of your times working with he PVs. I know each time a group of PVs gathers and I can’t be a part of it I get a little jealous, a little nostalgic, but mostly proud of our little group.

We also want to shout out a few organizations/groups that have recently given the PVs generous donations to support the work the volunteers will be undertaking. The Mustard Seed Foundation in Connecticut, the Spirit of Life Community in Massachusetts, and the Catholic Congregation of Princeville in Illinois. These were each a result of volunteers sharing their experiences of being a PV after they returned home. We have also received donations recently directly from volunteers who aren’t able to come and volunteer but still want to help out.  Every little bit helps, THANK YOU!!! Your generosity will make such a big difference.

We hope you all follow along, send prayers and best wishes for the PVs and continue to be a part of this wonderful community.

Two weeks later….. The final day in WV was a success. The volunteers were able to finish up the underpinning site, while some stayed backed at the church to finish up a few projects around the church and to prepare food for the cookout later in the day. The following morning everyone packed up and headed for home, tired but feeling accomplished with all the work they did during the week.

As someone who was not on site this year, but hearing every day about their work, I could not be prouder. There was a special energy this year and a feeling of excitement about the future and possible regrowth. Thank you to all of you spent the hot week, serving the people of the county and being present and supporting each other. The PV community is something special. A special shout out to Tricia for setting up the week and leading the volunteers through it all. It couldn’t have been done without you!