The Jefferson city council at its Feb. 10 meeting passed a resolution honoring the late Annette Chiafos for her exemplary work at the animal shelter. Chiafos died Jan. 8 after collapsing at the shelter.
Adrienne Smith, a former PAWS board member and active volunteer at the shelter, explained what made Chiafos special.
Chiafos worked at the shelter for three years. She worked 15 hours a week, 1-1/2 hours in the morning and 1-1/2 hours in the evening, five days a week. She was paid minimum wage with funding coming in even shares from the city of Jefferson, Greene County, and PAWS. “Her wage was the best deal the city ever had,” Smith said.
Chiafos cleaned the shelter and made sure the dogs got outside daily. Smith said the shelter was “spotless.” Since Chiafos arrived at the shelter in the morning before any of the volunteers, she was the first one to meet dogs brought to the shelter over night. Police officers sometimes left notes about the temperaments of the dogs, but it was Chiafos who was first to get to know them and gauge their demeanors. “She liked cats, but she had a real feel for the dogs, especially,” Smith said.
Smith is a volunteer dog walker and had almost daily contact with Chiafos. Smith also helped with the cleaning chores during cold weather.
Smith said Chiafos had a chronic health condition and collapsed during one of her evening shifts. She called her mother, Rose Norgart, and Greene County EMS was summoned. As Chiafos was being attended to, her primary concern was for two dogs who she had put together in an outdoor run while she cleaned their kennels. She wanted to be sure the dogs weren’t left in the run together very long, as she didn’t trust them to get along for very long.
Chiafos died during the ambulance transport to Des Moines. “She was a good-hearted, hard-working person,” Smith said. “It was right that the council recognized that in some way.”
