Almost an adoption, but not quite

Once all of the cleaning was done this morning and the busy work was out of the way it was time to move on with the day. It seems more and more that things are slowing down before the real storm of business arrives during the summer. I expected to have more adoptions and showings this week though for the simple fact that so many kids are on spring break I thought it my pick things up, well, I was wrong up to this point.

I found myself most of the day helping out at the front desk where we were a little short handed. I also, luckily, got to spend a lot of time with some great animals. I first hung out with Billy who is one cool cat that does things on his own terms, more so than most of the felines I have come across. When I visited him yesterday he wouldn't even come out of his bed but today when I sat down he came right out. He rolled over on his back and even made bread while I petted him for a good fifteen minutes. He did give on little love bite but from the Billy of the past that I knew it is an amazing transformation to see how well this animal has adjusted to the shelter.

On to my one and only showing of the day. It was with a middle aged man that hadn't had a dog since he was a kid but was thinking it was about time to get one because his apartment complex now allows them. He asked a lot of good questions and seemed to really want to do the right thing and of course get the right dog that fits his needs. After he filled out his adoption application and I spoke with him at length we figured a relinquished dog that we have a history on might be a better fit since he is away for a good eight hours a day and a dog that is used to that might be best. We also narrowed down the size and temperament to fit his needs. The good and bad news of it all was that we might have a fit but he is pushing eleven years old. Unfortunately as well we couldn't show our little Skipper because he had just gotten a dental and was pretty doped up. Hopefully the potential adopter will be back in on Saturday at least to get an idea of what kind of dogs are out there, and maybe to adopt our sweet senior.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. We did finally have one of our fosters that has been at the shelter for a long time get picked up by their owner. It was nice to see the smile on the kids face's when their dog jumped into their arms. As good as that is, when one goes out one comes in. We had another return, a sweet older cattle dog mix that was adopted out from us several years ago and sadly enough the owner passed away. Because we always take our animals back Dusty is now at the shelter up for adoption. Here is a picture of the overweight little man that everyone has already fallen in love with.

Thanks for reading everyone and of course for playing all the many roles of helping out animals in your community.

Lots of new faces

I have certainly slacked this past week but for good reasons. In the last week there have been a few depressing things that in all honesty I just needed to forget. A positive outlook and attitude can go only so far. So needless to say, I took a few days off from the job and the blog, but now I am back and at least a little refreshed.

My day began as usual, taking all of the dogs out for their morning breaks. While I was doing this I noticed a few new guys that had come in while I was off. The group came from a "quasi" rescue a few hours away but seemed to be highly adoptable animals. I was actually kind of surprised at the mixture our behavior specialist came back with. There was everything from a boxer/lab mix, little poodley looking things, and even some of the cutest terrier puppies. They all seemed very sociable but of course they hate to walk on leash.

Once all of the dogs were out we all got to cleaning. For some reason today everyone just seemed to be dragging and before I knew it the garbage hadn't yet been taken out and the doors to the shelter were open. It was nice to see a few people coming in to take a look at the animals on a Tuesday but of course there could always be more.

There weren't any early showings today but there was something that put a smile on my face. I looked at the adoption board and learned about some great animals finding themselves a new home. All but two of the eleven second chance dogs had gotten adopted in a matter of four days. Two of them actually got adopted out together which was quite fitting since their names were Bugs and Bunny. The big adoption that I really noticed was a little guy by the name of Lucky. When he first came into the shelter you thought his name was an oxymoron because of all the things that he had to go through. His first day he actually stepped on a bee and we noticed some blood in his urine. We took him to the emergency vet's office and they were able to take care of the bee sting but we were the ones that took care of his bladder stone and special diet. Well, thankfully his name came true and a perfect woman came in to adopt him.

The rest of the day was pretty slow with everyone finding little projects to keep themselves busy. I personally handled the laundry. I know, sounds thrilling, but at least we were able to catch completely up and actually have two empty bins where the dirty stuff usually is. Other staff members did everything from clean to organize. I guess it really is spring time.

Unfortunately today I didn't get any showings myself but there were at least a few that came through the door. I really think I need to do an adoption soon because the roller coaster that is this job seems to be in a bit of a lull. I know it will pick up soon and hopefully it won't take too long. Thanks for reading everyone and of course thanks to all of you out there that volunteer your time to helping the animals. The pictures above are some of the new arrivals...enjoy!

Finally some adoptions

Being up at the front desk you get a totally different perspective of what the shelter is. I still have all of the baggage that goes along with animals being returned and customers that can be a little bent out of shape but I also get to see all of the smiles on people's faces as they come to pick up their new family members.

The main reason I work at the front desk today is because the day after surgery a lot of animals get adopted and it is the best time to have the extra help up there. Not sure if I actually help or get in the way but It is nice to see this side of how the operation works.

Typically we get all of the medical files from our med director of the animals that are going home today with times written in the corner for pick up. Once we get the files we put together a generic adoption folder since most of these have already been adoption deposits. We deposits when the animal is awaiting spaying and neutering. Then fill out microchip information, check for rabies registration, and of course put all of the animals meds together. I was lucky enough today to have a staff member take care of all of this while I took care of the morning busy work responding to emails and answering voicemail.

There were several good parts to today. We were lucky enough to send four animals home that had just had surgery. It was so nice to see how excited the adopters were when their new pet came around the corner. The funny dog voices the people had and of course all of the kisses that were given. It was really a sigh of relief to be reminded of all of the good things that go on this shelter. On top of this there were actually two great adoptions of a couple of little men that have been at the shelter for some time now.

Both dogs, Mako and Sniffer, got to go home not only with a new family but older brothers and sisters that they can run around the yard with. One of the dogs was actually the second to last remaining "mange" puppies that have been at the shelter since November getting treatment. In reality he actually became one of my favorite little dogs and in turn will be someone else's now.

Of course I try to be positive throughout this blog but we did get a call of a potential return. Nothing to sad but a little bit disheartening. Apparently an adopter passed away and the dog's groomer ended up taking ownership of him. Unfortunately they didn't have the profile we had on the dog and didn't realize that the dog had cat aggression. In any case we should be getting the dog back within a week. Thankfully that is his only issue and should be highly adoptable.

Thanks for reading everyone and thanks again for the wonderful and heartwarming comments. There are so many people out there that care so much for these animals needing homes I am just glad I am lucky enough to be one of them.

Staying busy

After reading the comments posted on the blog yesterday I have to say that they truly did put a smile on my face. There are so many people out there that have devoted so much of themselves to helping animals that it gives me a sense that I am truly not alone. I want to start by saying thank you to all of the people out there that are making a difference in so many people's and animal's lives, thank you so much.

After picking my head up today and of course picking up a whole lot of poop it was time to really get down to business. We have been staggering the schedule a bit lately so we have an opening crew and a closing one. What that means is that you have to make sure that you are helping each other out in order to get everything done. It's a little tough sometimes as far as time is concerned but we weren't to far behind today.

One thing that did make a little extra work today was having a dog test positive for coxidia, a form of parasite. The trouble was that we have so many play groups now we didn't know who's poop we were actually testing. What that means is that we have to treat all of the dogs that have come in to contact on a regular basis, about five of them. It also means that when you clean you have to do a very thorough job and replace all of the bedding in the kennels. Just when we thought laundry had been caught up the blankets get piled up again. Luckily it's a pretty simple treatment and after a few days of this and dosing out their medicine they should be fine.

Later in the afternoon I finally had a showing again. It was with a dog that I had originally adopted out some time ago but got returned because the family just had no time for her. The potential adopters seemed like they might be a good fit but they brought in their in-laws dog to meet because they would potentially spending a lot of time together. Unfortunately our dog is a little bit of a social reject and immediately tried attacking their dog. I really don't know what type of family our girl is going to need but it is a pretty specific one. Hopefully soon we can get her out of here because the overwhelming stress of the kennels is getting to her.

On a better note we got word from the rescue that took our basset that just got off of bite quarantine. He seems to be doing great! They did rename him but said that they were so grateful that we took care of him during this stressful time in his life. It was one of those moments that really lifts your head up and puts a smile on your face to hear.

Closing out the day I wanted to include a picture of a few more kittens that came in recently. Luckily our staff members have a lot of experience with them and those long sleepless nights of meowing every hour for food. The have been able to keep the kitties fed and the both seem to be doing very well. Here is a picture of one getting fed, you can really see how small they are. Hopefully they continue to eat and we can get them in a long term foster home so we can get their weight up and get them adopted.

Thanks for reading everyone and I truly do appreciate the comments, especially the long ones.

Sometimes it can be down right depressing

I know that there are many of you out there that work in the "rescue industry" and deal with the stress on a regular basis but this is still something fairly new to me. In the past I have seen it and been a part of stressful times but recently it seems that the flood gates have opened for the "tough times". If you don't want to read about the experiences I had this past week I suggest skipping this blog, it's still a little tough for me to even write it.

It has been about a week since I last wrote and for me that was tough in itself. The reasoning behind it all though was just so I could gather myself and work out the stress and lack of sleep that I have had lately. Don't get me wrong, as always there have been the highlights but for some reason when it rains it pours.

As you know we had a few returns in recent weeks with one including a bite. Well, good news on all of them because they have either been adopted out or sent to breed rescue. We did however have to put one down because he was deemed unsafe to adopt out. This was understandable but incredibly difficult for me because I was the one that initially adopted the animal out. Because of this I did want to be there when it happened. I was able to treat him with a six dollar burger and I have to say for what it was, it was one of the best ones I have been a part of. I know that sounds horrible but there are those instances when you know an animal was ready to go. This has to be the most difficult part of this job, I am actually getting teary eyed as I speak and the flood gates were opened when it actually happened.

This was tough in itself. Then, the next day while I was working the front desk a sweet little neophyte kitten was brought in by some teenage kids that had found him in the middle of the street. Typically if there is no mother there is a reason. You see that sometimes if the mother cat feels that an offspring might be sick or has a less chance of survival than the rest she will leave that animal behind. Very sad I know, but sometimes the mother has to devote her energy to the healthy ones. Well, who knows if this one was sick or not, we took it in anyhow. One of the staff members cared for it all day and kept it warm until some fosters could come and pick him up. Well, when they left to get supplies the kitten passed. I tried CPR and giving it mouth to mouth but nothing worked. I have to think that he came in sick but it doesn't make it any easier.

Trying to close on a good note. All but a few of the new second chance dogs got adopted this past week. It was nice to see them find homes so quickly. We did have a few dogs come in through our emergency boarding program but hopefully their family will be in to visit for their extended stay at the shelter.

I hope I haven't depressed you all with this blog but it helps me to discuss it and put it down on paper to help me deal with it. Thanks for reading and things will be looking up soon.

Trying to keep busy

My day at customer service is typically spent finalizing adoptions and sending animals home, today, not so much. Since a good number of animals aren't yet available the amount that had surgery this past week was very limited meaning that only one dog would be going home today.

What that means for me is that I can get all of the busy work of the front desk done but it also makes for a very long day.

Believe it or not the first thing I did at the front desk today was liquid sand the cabinets. I know it sounds a little odd but I figured since I had time and it needed to get done I might as well knock it out. Since we had already painted everything else I was glad to get it out of the way. I have to say though, if you ever decided to do this make sure there is some good ventilation.

Moving on with the day it was a whole lot of answering phones. It never seises to amaze me how many people call for the most random things you could ever think of. I had one call today where a man began explaining that his neighbors, in a duplex, had just moved out and had been dealing with mice quite frequently. Since I couldn't get a word in I just let him continue, he said that since they moved out the mice are now starting to make their way to his home. Today he actually caught one fairly easily because the rodent was very lethargic. He wanted to know why the animal was like that. Rather than listen to me tell him to call pest control I finally said that the animal might have gotten into some poison left behind from his neighbors. The caller than said, "what about the plague?". I honestly had to use all of my self control not to laugh. Once I composed myself I reiterated that he should call pest control. Not sure why people think that we could help with that situation but at least it wasn't a phone call of a person trying to get rid of their twenty two rabbits.

Towards the afternoon it was finally time to send the one adopted dog home. His owner came in and you could tell how excited she was. It was so nice to see the smile that this dog brought to her face. Even thought today was pretty boring, which isn't a bad thing, it was nice to see one of our guys find their forever home.

Recapping the day there wasn't anything to crazy that took place, and after this week, I am content with that. I was able to make a schedule for April and of course answer some always interesting phone calls. I do wish that there had been more showings and of course a few more adoptions but at least no animals came back. Thanks for reading everyone and hopefully my day in medical with be a little more exciting than liquid sand paper!

Fringe benefits of the job

I'm going to bypass the monotony of the clean today and jump right in to the rest of my day. One thing really had my attention, my dog that I had to bring in for a few procedures. This is a huge advantage to have while working at the shelter, discounted veterinary care. Well, today it really came in handy.

My dog, aka son, started getting these little red bumps on his chest. I initially brought him in a few weeks ago for our Vet to take a look at them. The fact that my little man sun bathes so much really had me worried when these raised lumps appeared and grew rather rapidly. I was told to bring him in today for the vet to look at him again, that's when they decided to remove them all. My poor little guy not only had FOUR lumpectomies he also had a dental as well. My little guy looks like a frankenstein on his chest. Hopefully they don't pop up again because it's tough putting my little man through that. In any case, the staff took amazing care of them and I am incredibly grateful for the job they do.

Of course there were other things that needed my attention as well, for instance the person still trying to get rid of their twenty or so rabbits. Apparently I am the only person who would give them the time of day and at least lend them an ear because it seems they call every single day with a new way to get rid of their animals. Today's suggestion was to give all of the rabbits to a rescue along with all of their cages and the rabbits can just live outside. Well, unfortunately it just doesn't work that way. I reiterated again that the only option was county, which isn't a bad thing I have to add. In any case, I understand her concern but there are only so many options you have at the point when you are getting evicted for having to many animals along with an open investigation from animal control. I really do feel sorry for them but there comes a time when all of your options have been exhausted.

Today there were a few dogs that needed care for as well, I almost forgot that that is why I am here. We actually had to move one little guy back to ISO for the simple fact that he can pretty much escape any kennel we put him in. The plan now is to put him in one of the show yards where at least he will be in public view and doesn't have as much of a risk of jumping out and hurting himself.

Aside from all of this the day actually seemed a little slow. I was able to clean quite a bit and also spend some quality time sitting down with the animals, including mine. The day ended by taking out all of the dogs for their afternoon break, running down two because they door dashed, and also pairing up another two for a little play date. As you can see from the picture above they really seemed to enjoy themselves. This was awesome because both of these dogs can be little devils when it comes to other animals.

Closing out I just want to say I truly do appreciate the kind words that you post in my comment section. It really does put a smile on my face even on those tough days. I also want to say thanks to all of the volunteers out there that make rescues happen.