By Jannelle Dang

Features Editor

Members of Gabrielino High School’s Protecting Animal Welfare (PAW) Club met last Wednesday in B209 to craft toys to donate to the cats and dogs at the local humane societies.

Sophomore Sabrina Ling, the founder and president of the PAW Club, guided students in the steps to creating simple toys for the animals from common household materials. She demonstrated how to place a tennis ball inside a sock and knot the top to fashion a dog toy, and how to create two different kinds of cat toys from an empty toilet paper roll.

Club members were organized in groups and encouraged to make the most amount of crafts to win a prize. The toys will be delivered to the San Gabriel Valley and Pasadena Humane Societies by the end of this week.

A majority of the materials used in the activity were donations from Cynthia Talavera, former choir teacher at Gabrielino and recently certified volunteer at the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society.

Talavera was connected to the PAW Club through her daughter, senior Krista Talavera, who thought that working with the humane society would offer an opportunity for students to contribute to their community.

Not only could students help the animals in the shelter lead happier and more active lives, but their involvement would also draw greater attention to city’s shelter.

“A lot of people didn’t even know that we had a humane society in San Gabriel, so we’re trying to get awareness for them and the wonderful work they do,” stated Talavera.

The PAW Club’s collaboration with the organization encourages others to get involved too. Students within the club share a love for animals and a passion for advocating for animal rights.

“I just wanted to start this club to raise awareness and tell people about what’s happening to our animal community,” stated Ling, “And it’s not just domesticated pets…I also want to tell people more about wildlife.”

In October, the PAW club invited a guest speaker, Sharon Villalobos, who is a scoutmaster of Monrovia’s Girl Scouts troop. Chris Briffett, an education coordinator for the Pasadena Humane Society, spoke to club members in November.

Villalobos taught club members about how they can help wildlife in their area and expand the scope of animal welfare beyond domestic pets. Briffett discussed helping the humane society through donations and volunteer work.