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A vacation to Hawaii is a dream come true for many people. However, after a few days of relaxing, looking out over the ocean and burying their feet in the sand, many pet owners begin to feel a yearning…
Not so much to go back to wherever they hail from – after all who would want to leave paradise – but a yearning for the pets that they left back home.
However, Grand Wailea's Spa Grande and the Maui Humane Society are pairing up to have visiting pet owners to their island help some abandoned animals in need – and getting a trip to the spa in return.
Spa Grande is one of the top-rated spas on Maui, and the Maui Humane Society is a private, non-profit organization that is the largest and oldest animal welfare agency on the island. With over 9,000 animals coming through the Maui Humane Society's doors each year, the staff there are in need of some extra help, and Spa Grande has helped them get it.
Pet owners who are feeling lonely for their pets and have an interest in giving back can participate in the animal shelter's twice-weekly Helping Paws Visitor Volunteer Program. This program takes place every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon from 1 pm to 4pm, when the Maui Humane Society invites tourists to lend a helping paw to some of the abandoned animals.
Vacationers can participate in walking dogs, bathing animals or brushing cats. There is also an option to play with the dogs and cats in the shelter, which is an activity that these abandoned animals desperately need. Playing is an instrumental part of their social interaction, after being abandoned by their previous owners; these stressed animals need human interaction to learn how to love again.
As a reward for taking time out of their vacation, volunteers are not just rewarded by getting interaction with animals to ease the amount they miss their own pets, but they are given a Pampered Paws certificate of completion from Spa Grande. This certificate is not only a proud mark for completion for a generous act of kindness – it is good for 15 per cent off any regularly priced spa treatment at Spa Grande.
Spa Grande has been named one of the top 10 spas in the United States by Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure magazine. The facility spans 50,000 square feet with 40 different treatment rooms, effectively making it the largest spa in the state of Hawaii.