Getting Organized

Today was one of those days that there is so much to do and at the same time so little. The cleaning was pretty uneventful except for the fact that we rearranged quite a few of the kennels in order to have room for our Mississippi dogs that will be arriving later in the week. On top of switching up the temporary homes of some of our dogs we disinfected those that would be used for the new animals. The only thing that was really different was there were a few left over Kongs filled with peanut butter that the dogs didn't eat that were completely filled with ants. It turns out that come summer here at the shelter ants can be a pretty big nuisance. The solution is simple though, all along the edges of the kennels we sprinkle gold bond powder to deter the little pests. It seems to work pretty well but I'm not quite sure about the safety if the animals get to it. After cutting off the paths of the ants I moved into the cattery to take care of the huge number of felines that are in our care.

When I entered the cattery I took care of some of the outlying rooms first. I spent a little time hanging out and got to business. It's unfortunate that there have been so few cat adoptions lately but it is nice to have so many friendly little guys. Once I was done with the indoor/outdoor room I moved in to help out in the north section. It seems that quite a few cats were in a "mood" today and were very difficult to deal with. After I cleaned my first kennel my allergies really got to me. I always say that the more I do it the better my allergies will end up but today was rough. I had to step out of the building several times just to clear my head. Luckily we have a great staff and they were able to finish up while I moved on to the next task.

I said earlier that there was a lot to do today but at the same time not too much, that holds true because there are so few dogs in our care that their needs are met pretty quickly, especially with all of the volunteers help. The work though was there, we finally have our new "pet kitchen" ready for our move in. Not to mention the organization of our laundry room need attending to as well. While everyone finished up with the cats I took to clearing out the old kitchen and making some room for some new shelving that will keep us organized. We moved a large freezer in and continued getting all of the wet and dry food, treats, rawhides, and everything else you could possibly imagine into the 100 sq foot room. It was nice to see that we had some extra room and also some more storage space for extra dog beds in our old kitchen.

With so few dogs in our care it was nice to hear a call over the radio for some dog showings. Overall there were three or four showings today and our little guy that got returned earlier in the week was adopted today and after some training will be a therapy dog. Not only is it great to find this little guy the right home but to find out that he will be helping others in a hospice situation truly makes me smile.

Later in the day a little chihuahua was returned because he was too much of a nuisence to the other household dog. It was sad to see him returned but it was great to see his little face. The bright side of this story is someone had come to see him a mere hour after he was adopted and was glad to get our call saying that he was returned. He immediately headed up to the shelter to see what it would take to adopt. His little chee-hoo still needs to meet so hopefully it all works out and we can find this little guy a perfect fit in his new "forever home".

Close to closing time the weekly crew of middle school students came into the shelter to help out. It is a great program that gets local students involved in the shelter by both helping out with the duties but also getting some time with the animals. Once again, a great way to educate the population of the need for shelters and more importantly the great service that it provides.

Heading out now for my weekend I have to say that this week was a good one. The staff that I work with is so caring and commasionite about what they do it could put a smile on anyones face. The money might not be great but when you realize the difference, no matter how small, that you are making in the community you truly see the reward. I hope more and more people get involved with the care of these precious animals and realize that spaying and neutoring is a necisary thing. If people realized the need and acted upon that they would realize that there is an over population problem and it can only be solved at the source.