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Family bonds strengthened through shared volunteerism
by Greg Rosenthal Oct. 20, 2004
Each dog begged to be her next walking companion. A petite 53-year-old woman of 5 feet 3 inches, Zahler, a Bethesda resident, left the more unruly dogs to other volunteer dog handlers. She chose No. 225, a small, skinny, scrappy dog hopping like a spring and covered with raggedy fur. "This one looks like a rat, doesn't he?" she asked, smiling. "He has three [adoption] applications on him, but for some reason he's still here." Zahler's six years of volunteering for the Montgomery County Humane Society in Rockville, which runs the on-site shelter, began with a push from her older daughter, Karen, who is now 23. Caring for animals has become a family affair for the Zahlers. "Karen wanted to walk the dogs here, but she had to wait till she was 18," Zahler said. Her daughter could work around the shelter's 18-year age requirement, though, if her mother agreed to join her. "I thought it was a good idea because I wanted to do it, but she motivated me," Zahler said. "It was a great thing for a parent to do with a child, a bonding thing. It's almost like a partnership out in the yard, and it's really nice. I wish it had lasted longer." Zahler grew to love caring for the dogs as well and the mother-daughter volunteer tradition continued with her younger daughter Michelle. After Karen moved to Los Angeles, Michelle Zahler began volunteering once she turned 18. Zahler also has a 21-year-old son, Jeffrey, a senior at Tufts University in Boston. Zahler and her husband never wanted a dog at home, arguing that dogs were too much work and the family already had three cats. But, during the time Michelle was volunteering with her mother, the family briefly took in a stray cat that made the Zahlers change course on the dog issue. "We had the cat for a while and I fell in love with it and just figured we'd keep it, but my mom let someone else adopt it," Michelle Zahler said. "I wouldn't talk to her. My mom said, 'Would you talk to me again if I get you a dog?'" The result: Zahler adopted Melanie, the family's shepherd-and-chow mix, from the shelter. Originally from Boston, Zahler moved to Montgomery County in 1974 with her husband of 31 years, Robert, an attorney at a Washington, D.C., law firm. They finally settled in Bethesda where they have lived for 18 years. Now retired, Zahler taught for five years at the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington in Silver Spring (now the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville) and then worked for 10 years as a substitute teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools. Megan Sproles, the Montgomery County Humane Society's volunteer coordinator, said she greatly values Zahler's work. "She's compassionate, dedicated and cares a lot about the animals," Sproles said. "She's terrific. She comes in very often, several times a week, even though we just have a two-hour commitment. She's great with the dogs and also works well with the public if they have any questions." Fellow volunteer Matt Baig of Potomac, a retired World Bank operation officer, held a similar opinion of Zahler. "I've known her for many years," he said. "She's a good volunteer, conscientious, really good with dogs. I think very highly of her." Zahler took No. 225 to a small exercise area ringed by a high chain link fence, spending about seven minutes with the animal. When the dog began to trot, Zahler jogged after it, happy to provide the extra workout. The exercise yard sports a small tree in the center, and a cement sidewalk circles a grassy area where the dogs do their business and the volunteers clean up after them. "A big part of the job is, you help with the adoptions," Zahler said. "Sometimes visitors walk right past what you think is the best dog in the place, so you can bring them back, take it out, have them take a visit with it." Michelle Zahler, now a sophomore at Goucher College, volunteers for the Humane Society of Baltimore County. At school she works with a group called Animal Activists, working to get students to donate towels, blankets and bowls to the shelter. Even while a senior at Walt Whitman High School, she had become president of the school's animal advocacy club. "I'm a cat volunteer in Baltimore," she said. "This way I can work with cats during the school year and dogs during the summer."
Like her daughter, Zahler plans to continue volunteering.
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