We are dog tired.... (trying to get us both in the selfie...)
It was 84 degrees here today. Gracious!! And I walked five dogs, and then took Tiger for a long walk, and I'm sore from all the exercise. We had a special event at the rescue where I volunteer. If you adopted a dog today, the fee was waived, paid for by a beneficiary. There are actually four rescues in the space of a square block and the same was true for all the rescues.
We have a lot of chihuahuas right now, almost as if it's chihuahua season and I know of two who got adopted today. Two people were actually interested in the same dog at about the same time, and if I was that dog I'd want the second person because they would spoil me to death.
My favorite dog at the shelter right now is a baby pit bull. I guess she's about four months old. She's black and white and has dalmation spots on her ears and she loves me!
If I could have a dog where I live I would snap her up in a minute (Tiger is my son's dog who I hang out with)... She's a "carry only" right now, which means if she leaves the kennel her feet can't touch the ground. Next Wednesday, she'll be able to walk around inside, and a week later she can go outside. This is because of her immunizations.
This girl is a chunk and a bit heavy. I had devised all these plans to make it easier to take her out of her kennel, like taking in my laundry cart and putting some blankets in it with her on top, or making a sling like the kind you'd carry a baby in, but then I figured, just carry her.
She's so very mellow. She loves sitting in your lap and doesn't even try jumping down. It's funny how some of the bigger breeds act like lapdogs. She's perfectly content to sit in your lap and she's not mouthy at all like some puppies who you have to distract. Some people were looking at her today but I don't know if anything will come of it.
I realize some of my thoughts have changed about dogs being in kennels. I used to feel sorry for all the dogs and drive myself crazy with it. But now I look at it more in an overall way, a global way. It's a temporary thing. Their stay there is quite brief if you look at it in terms of their entire life. They get fed and get medical care and they are safe, unlike being on the street. And the people where I work couldn't be any nicer to the animals. They advocate for them at every turn. And then the dog gets adopted, and they have their whole life ahead of them.
People are always so happy for the dogs when they get adopted. I have a hard time when one of my favorites gets adopted, even though I am glad for them. It's very easy to bond with a dog and the ones who have problems, well I'm all over that.
The volunteers are the only ones walking the dogs, so I always feel like I am giving, that what I do is important. It's so rewarding. And if I have to walk a dog I'm not too fond of (there's a chart as to who is up next), I just tell myself that it doesn't matter if I like them or not, that I am doing service and that it means a lot to the dog because they get to get out and get some attention. The funny thing is that I will usually start to like them after awhile.
You don't just walk dogs as a volunteer. It's a little bit more than that. Since we are the only ones walking them, we are the ones who see the problems. Like if they are sneezing or coughing (they get kennel cough) or if they have diarrhea or if they are running their ear along the ground with an ear infection.
You can also spend time with them alone in their kennels, and I love doing that. We've been taught to just sit with them and not necessarily to pay attention to them because they need to know how to relax. Once they get in their forever home, no one's going to pay constant attention to them.
Anyway, I'm rambling, but I do want to say that if you have any extra time, volunteering at a shelter means a lot to the animals and it's such a feel-good thing to do. It's the best volunteer job I've ever had.
xxoo
We are dog tired.... (trying to get us both in the selfie...)
It was 84 degrees here today. Gracious!! And I walked five dogs, and then took Tiger for a long walk, and I'm sore from all the exercise. We had a special event at the rescue where I volunteer. If you adopted a dog today, the fee was waived, paid for by a beneficiary. There are actually four rescues in the space of a square block and the same was true for all the rescues.
We have a lot of chihuahuas right now, almost as if it's chihuahua season and I know of two who got adopted today. Two people were actually interested in the same dog at about the same time, and if I was that dog I'd want the second person because they would spoil me to death.
My favorite dog at the shelter right now is a baby pit bull. I guess she's about four months old. She's black and white and has dalmation spots on her ears and she loves me!
If I could have a dog where I live I would snap her up in a minute (Tiger is my son's dog who I hang out with)... She's a "carry only" right now, which means if she leaves the kennel her feet can't touch the ground. Next Wednesday, she'll be able to walk around inside, and a week later she can go outside. This is because of her immunizations.
This girl is a chunk and a bit heavy. I had devised all these plans to make it easier to take her out of her kennel, like taking in my laundry cart and putting some blankets in it with her on top, or making a sling like the kind you'd carry a baby in, but then I figured, just carry her.
She's so very mellow. She loves sitting in your lap and doesn't even try jumping down. It's funny how some of the bigger breeds act like lapdogs. She's perfectly content to sit in your lap and she's not mouthy at all like some puppies who you have to distract. Some people were looking at her today but I don't know if anything will come of it.
I realize some of my thoughts have changed about dogs being in kennels. I used to feel sorry for all the dogs and drive myself crazy with it. But now I look at it more in an overall way, a global way. It's a temporary thing. Their stay there is quite brief if you look at it in terms of their entire life. They get fed and get medical care and they are safe, unlike being on the street. And the people where I work couldn't be any nicer to the animals. They advocate for them at every turn. And then the dog gets adopted, and they have their whole life ahead of them.
People are always so happy for the dogs when they get adopted. I have a hard time when one of my favorites gets adopted, even though I am glad for them. It's very easy to bond with a dog and the ones who have problems, well I'm all over that.
The volunteers are the only ones walking the dogs, so I always feel like I am giving, that what I do is important. It's so rewarding. And if I have to walk a dog I'm not too fond of (there's a chart as to who is up next), I just tell myself that it doesn't matter if I like them or not, that I am doing service and that it means a lot to the dog because they get to get out and get some attention. The funny thing is that I will usually start to like them after awhile.
You don't just walk dogs as a volunteer. It's a little bit more than that. Since we are the only ones walking them, we are the ones who see the problems. Like if they are sneezing or coughing (they get kennel cough) or if they have diarrhea or if they are running their ear along the ground with an ear infection.
You can also spend time with them alone in their kennels, and I love doing that. We've been taught to just sit with them and not necessarily to pay attention to them because they need to know how to relax. Once they get in their forever home, no one's going to pay constant attention to them.
Anyway, I'm rambling, but I do want to say that if you have any extra time, volunteering at a shelter means a lot to the animals and it's such a feel-good thing to do. It's the best volunteer job I've ever had.
xxoo