U.S. Marines to volunteer at Dog Days of Summer pet adoption event on Saturday

The Dogs. The Cats. The Marines. They will all be at the Oconee County Animal Services office on Saturday.

Soldiers and recruits with the U.S. Marines Corps have volunteered to assist the shelter with a special pet adoption day.

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The community is invited to visit the “Dog Days of Summer” event in a festival-like atmosphere at the shelter located off U.S. Highway 441 in Farmington community from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Marines are volunteering out of the U.S. Marine Recruiting Station located at Georgia Square mall off Atlanta Highway in Athens, where Staff Sgt. Kalib Failing and Cpl. Dylan Walters work to convince young men and women to join their ranks.

Volunteering at the shelter, according to Failing, is a way to give back to the community as a service project.

The adoption event includes vendors such as Nuts and Butts BBQ from Rutledge, Scoops Ice Cream from Madison, Monster Energy drinks, and Watkinsville photographer Wendy Jackson offering pet portraits. Some other vendors are also invited.

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“We’re trying to engage the community to come see the newly-renovated shelter. We want people to know where we’re at, get animals adopted and have a good time,” said shelter manager Crystal Beriska.

The Marines and the shelter managed to link when Beriska’s husband, a deputy for the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, met the Marine recruiters at a high school event in Morgan County.

“We have six employees here at the shelter and we take in 1,000 animals a year, so we talked about a community service project,” Beriska said about her conversation with the Marines.

“They helped clear a 1-mile walking trail behind the shelter because we connect with Heritage Park,” she said.

Having soldiers about is a natural fit for the shelter's manager.

“It’s good because I’m directly connected to the military. My son is in the military, my dad is a Marine and my husband is a Marine,” she said.

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“They get a pretty good workout with all we’ve got going on here. It definitely gives them something different to look forward to. We’re working hand in hand with each other and it helps the animals get socialized and exercised,” Beriska said.

Volunteering at the shelter also helps the Marines network in the community, she said.

“They are very helpful and respectful. In my opinion, it’s a great coordination between two entities that are publicly known,” she said.

Beriska also said the shelter works with other animal facilities in neighboring counties.

“We all pull together,” she said. “We’ve got a really good network whether they are private, nonprofit or government agencies. We’re all in it for the same reason, to help the animals.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: U.S. Marines help Oconee County shelter with pet adoption event