Memorial weekend busy

Every weekend there is the theme that Saturday is hands down the busiest day during the week. This was true again this week but Sunday definitely held its own. Normal beginnings as every other day with a whole lot of cleaning. It was a little easier on the dogs since there were so few of them to clean up after. With such a large number of recent adoptions and little intake the number is hovering around 15. Next week there is a group of ten that will be coming in from Mississippi so we are trying to hold off taking too many from around our area. The reason we are taking them from so far away is the area where hurricane Katrina hit still hasn't built up yet and the lack of adopters means a whole lot of overcrowding in the humane societies. It should be interesting to see the group of ten come in next week to see how much work they are going to need.

Me and my sidetracked mind, after cleaning the small amount of dog kennels and disinfecting those that had recently been adopted I moved into the rabbitat. My allergies weren't too bad today so it seems I might be getting used to them. While I was cleaning the rabbits I remembered what the "specialist" said and how to calm the rabbits before you go charging in there and disrupting their routine. She said to slowly let them smell you and begin rubbing their nose and behind their ears. It really does seem to calm them and I have been getting snapped and hopped at a whole lot less. By the time I got done with the rabbits and of course remembering those in isolation there were several calls to the back office for kennel staff. It turns out there was not only an early showing but a stray had been brought in as well. The dog was a beautiful red retriever that was really intimidated by his whole situation. He was friendly but you could tell he was scared. I checked for a microchip but found nothing and with no tags we had no way of identifying him. Our next step is to have the front office call a county shelter since we do not hold strays. We will take care of him until eithier his owners or county come to pick him up. If anyone recognizes this dog, let me know and we can get everyone reunited. Here is a picture I took of him.


After the excitement there were a few showings ranging from family members that needed to meet the animals to couples looking at their first dog. My favorite was a family with two young children that was looking at a malamute mix that has more energy and lack of training out of just about any dog there. Not to mention this dog is an escape artist that has dug under fences and tried jumping out of a moving car said the previous owner. I explained the difficulties with the dog but the family still wanted to meet. Once they were in the yard they understood what I was saying about his jumping and they immediately saw the risk to their young children. Before they could leave I wanted to show them another animal that could be the perfect fit. He was a relinquished Sheppard pointer mix that really would be a great family pet. My one word description for this dog is stoic. He knows all of his commands and is very calm in nature. They immediately fell in the love with the big lug. After a while of interaction it was time to do an intro with the families dog. After everything went according to plan the family decided to adopt. Here is a picture of the well trained bohemith.


The real reward in this job is finding these animals their new homes. With anything in life you always have some worries but you have to enjoy the moment and not think about negative possibilities. If that's all we did in life there would be nothing to enjoy in life. One thing this job is helping me do in my life is to enjoy the moment and try not to worry about "what could happen". Hopefully I can take that lesson with me wherever I go.