Animal Shelter

This passage is about a girl who begins volunteering at an animal shelter.

Lexile Level: 530L

Categories: Animals & Nature

It was Anna's first day volunteering at the animal shelter. She was nervous. She was scared of dogs and didn't like cats. Her parents had convinced her it would be good to be around the animals. They hoped that helping them would relieve her fears. Anna was doubtful. She was waiting by the front desk at the shelter. A woman came out from a back room, wiping her hands on her jeans. She looked tired but happy. She introduced herself as the director of the shelter and said she would give Anna a tour. They walked into the back room where there was much barking and meowing. All of the animals were in cages. They started jumping around when Anna and the woman walked in. They seemed very excited. Anna was nervous and walked close to the wall. At the end of the hallway, there was a small dog lying quietly in the back of his cage. The woman took Anna over to him and squatted to look at him. "This one's very scared," she said while Anna watched the dog. It looked up at her and whimpered. She bent down to look closely at him. The dog and Anna watched each other for a few moments. This wasn't going to be as hard as she thought it would be.