Off Hours, your free weekly newsletter from the Des Moines Register, showcases all things fun you can do in central Iowa. Recently, we’ve written about creating new holiday traditions in Des Moines , where to eat in the Quad Cities , which bourbons to drink , where Clown from Slipknot dines in Des Moines, former Datebook Diner Wini Moranville’s new book , pets , and more.
This week, Britt Gagne, who founded Furry Friends Refuge in 2007 while a student at Drake University school of law and school of business, takes over Off Hours.
Despite spending most of my time with animals, I am allergic to nearly all of them and spent years getting allergy shots. And running a nonprofit organization (particularly an animal shelter) means you become a jack of all trades. I now have experience running a skid-loader and excavator, framing buildings, doing steelwork, drywall and operating just about every tool imaginable.
The Deal
Here’s the deal: Everyone has holiday traditions, and finding new homes for pets is one of my favorites. It’s a rewarding year-round task — seeing the joy people experience when they adopt a pet. The extra support from the community during the holidays makes it even more heartwarming.