Time Flies When You're Too Busy To Look At Your Watch

Today was beginning to look like how yesterday started. The reason for this is because we were short handed yet again with only three kennel staff and only one able to do adoptions. We did have our head trainer who could do the showings but that still only left three of us for the daily duties.

I took on the job as usual of cleaning the East and West kennels. A lot quicker than yesterday since I had already taken care of the weekly sanitizing. The only downfall is I finished so quickly and there were so few people to take care of the rest of the cleaning I had to make sure the rabbits were taken care of. Now I'm not the biggest fan for two reasons. One of those reasons is there are about two of those little guys that just don't like people, in fact they usually bite. The have never broke the skin but it definitely gets your heart beating fast when they snap at you. Now the big reason I don't like taking care of the rabbits is because I am either allergic to their hay or them. When I say allergic it isn't a couple of sneezes but a full on downpour out of my nose. Needless to say I cleared my sinuses and got the job done.

While I was finishing up with the rabbits, the rest of the staff and some volunteers brought up the dogs from their morning breaks. Luckily, they did this just in time. As soon as all of the animals were in their heated kennels, it started to pour down rain. Not sure if I mentioned it but this is an open air human society. The dogs stay dry and warm but for us to get from one place to another usually means we are getting soaked to our underwear. I was actually enjoying the weather and thinking it was going to slow down business so our limited staff could handle it. Apparently on rainy days, everyone wants to go to the humane society and get a new dog. From the moment it stopped raining the whole day just seemed like a blur.

From dog introductions, to refusals, everything seemed to blend into one. The first thing I heard over the radio was to get a dog for an introduction. We went down to the yard and the two dogs seemed to put up with each other. I think it will usually take about 20 minutes for them to start playing but the amount of grass both of these guys were eating was telling me it wasn't going to happen. The owners of the dog said this is about the best reaction their pet will give to a dog so it might be a good fit after all. The shelter dog attempted to play but was very well mannered when the other didn't. The couple wanted to think about if the two would be a suitable pair and hopefully return tomorrow.

After the showing, I got a call that one of the adopters of the second chance dogs was here to visit them. The family adopted the little schnauzer mix but can't take him home until we clear him medically and have him neutered. It is always nice to see the smiles on faces that these dogs can bring, not to mention the smiles on the dog's face. I hope all of his medical stuff gets taken care of soon and the little guy can go to his forever home.

Quickly, I moved from one thing to the next. I took care of afternoon feedings and of course all of those special diets. That's when I was asked to help out with a refusal. This is not always an easy thing, in fact, it never is. Our adoption forms have some specific questions that will disqualify an adopter depending on how they answer it. One major answer that we noticed on this specific application was the dog would be outside the majority of the day and also sleep outside. We know that there are pets out there that this environment would be suitable for, but since we are a private shelter and hand pick our dogs, we choose the ones that are indoor dogs that require lots of human companionship. The gentleman of course wasn't the happiest camper out there but he understood and if a dog does come around that fits his needs we would be happy to call him.

With a quick load of laundry under my belt, it was time for an afternoon break for the dogs. I have to say, the two new guys that were relinquished yesterday are awesome dogs but are like alligators when you are trying to put their harnesses on. I mean these guys roll and jump and if you don't know what you're doing, you might get hurt or in my case, really really muddy.

During this time, there were yet more and more showings going on for all sorts of dogs. The end result was another four dogs and two kittens that found their new homes. It makes all of the hard times worth while when these animals, that have been here for some time, find the perfect family to take care of them. When we started bring the animals back up to their kennels, I recognized a man that had been shown one of the dogs about a month ago. He was back with his wife wanting to see him again. I know I know, it is surprising but the dog that he was looking at is still here trying to find his forever home. The man and wife loved the dog but still needed some time to think it over (hopefully not another month) and may return tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

Before I knew it the clock showed closing time. There was still a few odds and ends to take care of like locking up and administering some afternoon meds. This was the first day I was tasked with giving an insulin shot. I had seen it done several times before but this was the day that I would be doing it. The shot was to be given to a diabetic cat that has complete free reign of the medical offices. The cat has an interesting story...I'm saving for another day. Back to the shot, the cat was lounging and was seemed pretty used to the daily medication of insulin. I pulled up gently on the scruff and injected the small amount and that was it. Pretty simple and now I have learned something new. Always a good thing in life to experience something new in your day.

No matter how fast or how slow a day goes by is pretty much irrelevant. The things that I look to take away from any day is new experiences, taking care of animals, and seeing the animals that will put smiles on many faces in the future. You can't sweat the small stuff and realize that we as a whole want to make things better.