Seemed like it took forever

Today was one of those days that just about every task I did seemed like it took up hours of the day when in reality only a few minutes had passed by. It started with the cleaning of the cats. Once I started cleaning I realized that I had left my phone at home which doubles as my watch. The problem is when I don't know what time it is I have this idea that it is actually later than it really is.

Anyways, I cleaned the North cattery and moved onto the kittens who were not allowed food for the last twelve hours due to their surgery that was coming up this afternoon. I was actually surprised at how smoothly the cleaning went. There were a few issues with having to round up some kittens that liked to hide in the most random places but overall the task was pretty easy. Once I took care of the assigned cats I moved into the isolation unit which housed a cat that was relinquished this past week. He is a sweet cat buy has some really odd numbers when it came to his blood. We'll find out more from the vet today on treatment.

Somehow I thought it was already opening time when I finished up with the cats when in reality there was still like 45 minutes before the doors opened. I figured either I was really on top of things or I was just doing a half ass job, in any case I moved on and took care of the dishes and a load of laundry before the clock struck eleven (at least I think). I was able to sneak out of taking out the garbage by occupying myself in the kitchen but the staff member that did take out the trash had the right idea, just pile it up. I say this because yesterday I loaded up the garbage and found that the dumpster was about a foot over capacity and needed all 140 pounds of my weight pushing down on the lids to get it locked.

Once all the morning tasks were done one of our staff members and our behavioral therapist headed out for the short drive to a county shelter to give some dogs a "second chance". It was just like our trip last week but today they were staying in town rather then trekking out for four hours in the desert. I like the fact that they have just about every staff member be part of this to give everyone the experience to know how it is done.

My first showing of the day pretty much took up the whole day, and this time I knew it was taking forever. It was with an older man and his eleven year old son. Everything on their adoption profile looked good with a few exceptions about where they would keep the dog when they were away. I went over my concerns and it turns out they are a really good home that had more questions about dogs and their behaviors than I probably had answers. Once we went over the basics it was time to check out some dogs. The father had put down that they were just looking for the right pet for their family with no specifics so it was up to me to figure out who could be a good fit for the family. It ended up being some pretty specific criteria from size to demeanor so I was able to narrow it down to a few dogs that we had here at the shelter. I was also very adamant that we are always getting in new animals so there is no need to rush and you want it to be that perfect fit.

I showed the father son duo a few dogs and moved on to our latest batch of second chance dogs where I had one more possibility left. It was a little girl named Ingrid who is the sweetest little thing that just wants to be with her humans. The only downfall with her is even though she only clocks in at about 25 pounds and a foot tall she can jump and climb a six foot fence. This was a concern that I had to really talk a lot about but if she is not being left outside it shouldn't be a problem. Anyways, the family was very nice and had a million questions for me which I like, it means that they have thought this process through and are not going to have any surprises down the road. After about an hour and a half long showing they asked what the next step would be. I informed them that everyone in the household needs to meet and that the mother/wife would have to come in and make sure that it is a good fit for everyone. They were pretty excited about this dog so the husband was able to get the wife to head up to the shelter on her lunch break (in about fifteen minutes) and ended up falling in love with Ingrid as well. They decided to adopt and were a little disappointed that she couldn't go home today but because she hasn't been spayed she will need to stay with us until the surgery is performed next week. I am really happy that the showing took a while, it lets me know that this family has their concerns and know that it is not a small commitment to have an animal, I just hope that it is the right one because there are always those fears that I have now that the animal will be returned. Just so you know what Ingrid the beagle/shepherd mix looks like I have added a picture below.


This was the exciting part of my day, the only adoption at the shelter, and the one thing that actually made the day go by a little faster. Once the showing was done it was back to everything taking forever. We were able to catch up on everything with cleaning and laundry but after we took the dogs out for their afternoon break and I started washing the dishes we ran into a small problem. In the laundry room we sprung another leak. What that meant was we had to shut off the water which made washing clothes and the pet dishes (water is all connected in this building) pretty tough. Luckily our on site maintenance guy was quick in action and was able to plug it all up in time for us to finish the laundry and wash the dishes before we had to bring the dogs back up to their kennels.

Now I didn't get a good look at all of the new faces that came in today but I do know that there are some cute ones, once they get a good scrubbing and get the odor off of them. Apparently a few of them are a little rough around the edges when it comes to behavior but that is why they are here, for us to work with them. Hopefully they will all be healthy and available for adoption as soon as possible and we are able to find them their forever homes.

On another note Harry our little puppy with possible distemper had a slightly lower fever than yesterday. Now I am not getting my hopes up because apparently that is what distemper does but the good news is it really never spiked to cause any brain damage so that, however scary it sounds, is a good sign. It was pretty awkward though seeing the little guy with a huge bulge on his shoulder making him look like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Don't worry, the vet injects fluids under his skin to try to bring the fever down, they are trying everything to make sure the little guy has the best chance at making it. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for Harry and light a candle if you have one. I'll keep you all updated as I get the news. Thanks for reading and keep the comments coming, I love to know your thoughts. And Holly, I agree that dog poo really does smell worse than any other poo :)