When Jenny Lester moved to Fredericksburg in 2022, it didn’t take her long to find out that Old Dominion Humane Society (ODHS) was one of her favorite places to be. She started volunteering in a matter of months, walking and hiking with dogs, transporting rescues to the veterinary hospital and writing biographies for the dogs on PetFinder. What she enjoys most is being a member of the “puppy team”—the group that cares for the littlest residents of the rescue—tag teaming almost around the clock to make sure they always have plenty of exercise and food, clean bedding, toys to play with and, of course, lots of love.
Lester’s joy in spending time at ODHS caring for the rescue pups that are waiting to be adopted gave her 95-year-old grandmother, Anna Hager, of Greencastle, Pa., an idea of how she, too, could help the rescues. When a friend donated a lot of yarn to Hager, both Lester and her mom suggested using it to make knitted blankets for the puppies. Hager set to work, measuring them to the size of a crib blanket—perfect for the beds used at ODHS--and has made half a dozen so far.
“My nanny is just going to keep making blankets until the yarn runs out,” said Lester. “It keeps her busy in the evenings while she watches television.”
Hager and her husband came to the United States from Austria after World War II. She’s always made blankets for as long as Lester can remember, and every child, grandchild and great grandchild in the family has inherited a knitted blanket from her. There were even extra blankets, because, as Hager always says, “You never know when you might need one.”
Lester said her nanny is the strongest person she knows and loves the fact that she shares in her love of dogs.
According to Lester, volunteering at ODHS is important to her because the dogs are always happy to see you, and puppy kisses make any day a little brighter.