Eric Broughton: Exceeding Expectations

With the date emblazoned on his volunteer badge, Eric Broughton never forgets when he started serving with the SPCA. He signed up to volunteer a couple of short years after his dog passed away - Broughton had adopted her as his first pet in his adult life from the SPCA in 2001.

“This was my way of giving back to the SPCA,” Broughton said. “I could have started and stopped, but volunteering has exceeded my expectations. Everyone there is so passionate about volunteering and about the animals, and is so involved, it makes you want to be there.”

Since December 21, 2013, Broughton has served more than 600 hours for the organization. He’s mastered different tasks, from doing their mountains of daily laundry to working in the SPCA’s animal behavior department, which takes extra time and patience to socialize animals in the shelter. Broughton has taken every training available, making him a skilled and versatile volunteer, said SPCA Volunteer Supervisor Leyka Ishibashi. He helps with fundraising, offsite adoption events and even became certified in pet CPR, she said.

“Eric is a wonderful person who is kind to both the animals he helps as well as the people around him,” Ishibashi said. “He travels often and still makes time for us out of his busy schedule to become one of our most valuable and dependendable volunteers. He absolutely goes above and beyond the job of simply walking dogs.”

One of the most significant ways Broughton gives back to the SPCA is through the organization’s “Borrow-A-Buddy” program, which allows trusted volunteers to short-term foster animals who need a little extra love. Dogs who are high-energy, high-stress, or have been with the SPCA for a prolonged amount of time can take a break from the stress of the shelter environment in the homes of exceptional volunteers.

Broughton regularly picks up a dog on Fridays after work, fosters them all weekend long, and drops them back off on Monday. He said his work requires him to travel extensively and is not conducive to having his own dog, so for him, the Borrow-A-Buddy program is a perfect solution.

“I volunteer with animals because they can’t speak for themselves,” Broughton said. “Many of these dogs haven’t had the best start to life, so I feel like I’m here to help speak for them. Plus it makes a lot of dogs and cats very happy.”

Ishibashi said Broughton still volunteers at the shelter while fostering animals, which is above and beyond typical volunteer expectations.

“Eric is a great volunteer. It is because of him, and others like him, that we are able to function so successfully,” Ishibashi said. “Without the dedication and hard work of our volunteers, we would never be able to offer the level of care we do to our animals. People like Eric are the reason the SPCA of Texas can do what it does.”