Well 70 dogs were adopted out in October, for a total of 78 adoptions. A couple dogs were returned and adopted out a second time and Willy the Great Pyrenees was actually adopted out 3 times within 5 days. Hopefully this last one works.
And this month there were 15 dogs euthanized, one for medical, the rest for various behavioral reasons. So we are saving a lot more dogs than we are not, I just want to save them all, and if that isn't my hope/goal, really what's the point?
Yesterday I had a bit of an adventure. A dog who was new yesterday, a big strapping male pit, got out of the kennel on me and started tearing up and down the hall. Anytime you have an unknown dog running loose, it's not good. I was really focused on catching him and getting a leash secured on him before we ran into another volunteer with a dog on leash, unplanned dog interactions are not something that the staff is keen on. I was running behind him when he stopped to sniff at another kennel, so I leeped on top of him (bright, right?) and smacked my knee into the concrete super hard, it still hurts today. Luckily he didn't mind that I tackled him. I managed to get the leash on him and then we happily went outside. He looks to be about two years old, one of the most ripped looking dogs I have ever seen. Just incredibly powerful. Loves to play ball, very sweet, but more stored energy than cold fusion, so that has me worried. He was kind of crazy in his kennel already, but after some running outside he calmed considerably. He looks to be very well taken care of, I hope his owners come to get him. I have some pictures of him that I hope to get posted soon.
Brandon, I'm sorry things have been so tough. I know its hard not to focus on the dogs you can't save, but you really shouldn't be thinking about those. You should be thinking about all the dogs that you have an effect on. All the dogs that know a little affection because you take the time to do so and would otherwise be alone in their kennel. All the dogs that attract potential adopters because of the artistic photos you take and share of them. All the dogs that get to burn off some pent up energy because you let them out to run around.
I know you know that you can't save them all. I guess when something like that happens it can shift your perspective a little bit. So be upset. Be angry. But when you return to the shelter, put on your happy face and do what you do best with the dogs you can help. And swing your perspective back to the good side of volunteering.
Here are some of the current dogs. I did not have time to edit these photos because I am busy getting ready for my trip. They are straight from the camera JPGS, a lot of them I'd like to make better, maybe someday:
This girl's Brindle is so awesome that when I remarked on it, she winked: RIP - 11/21/2008
Love her face markigns too:
Really, really sweet Basset girl, with some grass in her nose:
Who likes belly rubs:
Queen, and owner surrender due to landlord. Very Bull Terrier looking. She is sweet as can be, but short on manners and self control (she knocked me and my camera right over when kneeling down). I hope things turn out well:
Shy girl:
A big boy, destroyer of tennis balls:
Surrendered by owners because of moving. Possibly the sweetest dog I have ever spent time with at the shelter. Her name is Storm. I can't tell if she just had pups sometime recently, or is going too, but she has some milk on her:
This is the boy who got past me and I had to chase down the hall last week. Very obedient, loves toys, loves to run.
RIP 11-06-2008
He is so ripped, look at his muscles:
A really sweet old dog. Not in the greatest of shape anymore, but I hope she is made adoptable and gets a chance at finishing out her days on a nice couch:
RIP - 01/10/09 -- Stella developed cushings disease while still at the shelter and was put to sleep.
A handsome little mutt:
This big guy doesn't like other dogs much, but he loves people:
I am always so moved by your beautiful pictures! I am so glad you are willing to do this. I do not have the fortitude - I want to cry every time I see the RIP pics!! And all the Pits!! When I was little we had some renters with the biggest pit I have ever seen (of course, my memory could be skewed, I was rather small as a child) regardless - it was the most loving animal. She would play with us nonstop and was so gentle and amazing and patient with us hugging her and running around. Thanks so much for sharing!! The photos are truly amazing!
Well I have been back to the humane society twice since I have been home.
Sunday was an interesting event. On Sunday mornings I volunteer with another lady named Katy. We work together with the PA dogs and each dog gets a bit more time with a human while they are outside. We have been working Sunday mornings together for about a year without a single mishap, until this week.
We were on our third set of dogs, three out at a time in three different fenced areas. We brought out a little Rat Terrier (Dozer) last, so that we could take him in sooner if needed, it's cold out and Dozer is not built for it. Dozer is also kind of shy and doesn't like to much interaction at this point. We got all three out and I had to run inside to use the bathroom. When I came back out Katy was scooping some poop. She said that Dozer wasn't interested in her so she was leaving him alone, I look around for about 30 seconds and I can't see him. I ask where he is? Katy looks around, and then we both get kind of a terrified look on our faces. We check the fence line and in a corner there is some messed up fence. I don't think it was this way before I went on vacation, might not have even been like that on Friday, since I had him in the same yard and he did not get out.
So Dozer was on the run, but to where? The humane society is situated on about 20 acres of land, mostly forest and overgrowth, a million places to hide! So we tell the staff and go out looking, I even call Jennifer (my wife) and she comes out to help look. The staff was less concerned than I would have liked and only one of them came out to help for about five minutes. Anyhow. We searched the grounds for two hours, nothing. Not a single sighting.
I'm feeling pretty down at this point, the fence shouldn't have been like that, but we both felt guilty about not noticing the fence problem first. Then an announcement comes over the speakers, Dozer had been spotted near a McDonalds over THREE MILES AWAY! He got out and ran! Most shy dogs hunker down and hide. Also, he traveled along a four lane highway! So I ask for an exact location of where he was spotted and I take off in my car, I wasn't waiting around for animal control to get to it. I drive above posted speed limits to the spot and as I am approaching I see two girls in a parking lot with a Rat terrier, kind of just sitting there with him. After pulling into the parking lot I run up to them, and it is Dozer! They were going through the drive through when they saw him hanging out in the drainage ditch.
They had a leash in their car (and their bulldog) so they took the leash and lured him in with cheeseburgers and sausage biscuits from McDonalds and got a leash on him! I was so relieved that he was ok and I could return him safely to the humane society. Dozer was not happy with me when I took him away from the nice girls who were feeding him cheeseburger. So it was a good ending to a very bad/stressing situation.
I'm not sure how the fence got messed up. It is chain link and around the bottom it was all crushed up at one point. Maybe a dog messed it up previously and no one reported it, or maybe a wild animal like a Raccoon messed it up so it could get into the yard and snack on uneaten treats at night. I just hope they have it fixed.
Well Dozer was made adoptable. Now I'm really glad he was made adoptable, and I hope he finds a great home, but I'm a bit mystified. That dog tried to bite me more times in one day, than all of the pit bulls I have ever worked with combined. The number of times a pit has tried to bite me is ZERO, but a lot of them are dead. Sometimes it seems like they mark them aggressive as an excuse to kill them so that they do not have to say it was their stupid rule of "only five adoptable pits" at a time on the floor. If they mark them aggressive then the rule has never killed any dogs.
Dozer was adopted last night. As I walked back to the kennels, I saw him sitting very happily on a ladies lap in one of the "meeting" rooms. She was filing out he paper work and he was smiling away.
I am so glad that Dozer got adopted! (Our trainer has a pit bull named Dozer that he adopted about a year ago, and is the sweetest thing. He (100 lbs) plays really well with Nola (16 lbs), it is pretty fun to watch.)
I hope things work out for him and that he enjoys his forever home!
Yesterday I was able to take pictures of the dogs for the first time since I have been back from vacation. Thursday nights are too dark by the time I get there and every Sunday it has been about five degrees outside, or 40 and raining. Yesterday it was 25 with clear skies so it was time to take pictures.
While this guy doesn't appear to be a purebred, you should still like him Rui:
(We think he's a Leonberger mix, he also likes the snow)
Recently the shelter has been getting a pretty decent amount of Australian Cattle dogs in, and well, they pretty much do terrible all around at the shelter. They are so high energy that they just loose it after awhile. They are a lot like Border Collies. Their energy level is just through the roof, and I think they can focus on something harder than any other dogs I've met. This little guy always wants to herd the dog in the next fence over, it looks like he is a little angry, but he is just frustrated. While he is in this mode, I just couldn't get his attention, or get him to focus on me. After about 20 minutes he calmed down a bit and played some ball:
RIP 04-01-2009
RIP 04-01-2009
This guy is a big goof ball. Always trying to destroy a toy and play keep away.
This old guys owner is going to jail. He's a sweet old dog, I hope he gets moved up to adoptable soon:
That first guy is a beautiful dog! Pretty goofy too. Don't know about the Leo mix, but depending with what he was mixed, mixes can throw you off. I'd take him home if I could, that's for sure! And the brown Pit that wants to hog the toy!
Comments
I only hope more dogs can find loving homes.
And this month there were 15 dogs euthanized, one for medical, the rest for various behavioral reasons. So we are saving a lot more dogs than we are not, I just want to save them all, and if that isn't my hope/goal, really what's the point?
Yesterday I had a bit of an adventure. A dog who was new yesterday, a big strapping male pit, got out of the kennel on me and started tearing up and down the hall. Anytime you have an unknown dog running loose, it's not good. I was really focused on catching him and getting a leash secured on him before we ran into another volunteer with a dog on leash, unplanned dog interactions are not something that the staff is keen on. I was running behind him when he stopped to sniff at another kennel, so I leeped on top of him (bright, right?) and smacked my knee into the concrete super hard, it still hurts today. Luckily he didn't mind that I tackled him. I managed to get the leash on him and then we happily went outside. He looks to be about two years old, one of the most ripped looking dogs I have ever seen. Just incredibly powerful. Loves to play ball, very sweet, but more stored energy than cold fusion, so that has me worried. He was kind of crazy in his kennel already, but after some running outside he calmed considerably. He looks to be very well taken care of, I hope his owners come to get him. I have some pictures of him that I hope to get posted soon.
I know you know that you can't save them all. I guess when something like that happens it can shift your perspective a little bit. So be upset. Be angry. But when you return to the shelter, put on your happy face and do what you do best with the dogs you can help. And swing your perspective back to the good side of volunteering.
This girl's Brindle is so awesome that when I remarked on it, she winked:
RIP - 11/21/2008
Love her face markigns too:
Really, really sweet Basset girl, with some grass in her nose:
Who likes belly rubs:
Queen, and owner surrender due to landlord. Very Bull Terrier looking. She is sweet as can be, but short on manners and self control (she knocked me and my camera right over when kneeling down). I hope things turn out well:
Shy girl:
A big boy, destroyer of tennis balls:
Surrendered by owners because of moving. Possibly the sweetest dog I have ever spent time with at the shelter. Her name is Storm. I can't tell if she just had pups sometime recently, or is going too, but she has some milk on her:
This is the boy who got past me and I had to chase down the hall last week. Very obedient, loves toys, loves to run.
RIP 11-06-2008
He is so ripped, look at his muscles:
A really sweet old dog. Not in the greatest of shape anymore, but I hope she is made adoptable and gets a chance at finishing out her days on a nice couch:
RIP - 01/10/09 -- Stella developed cushings disease while still at the shelter and was put to sleep.
A handsome little mutt:
This big guy doesn't like other dogs much, but he loves people:
Brandon-where are you going? You are going to be gone like 2-3 weeks right? You cant leave us!
Have an awesome trip! I know I don't need to say this, but take TONS of pictures and spam the hell out of us when you get back. :-)
Have a safe & fun trip Brandon! I looks forward to your return pictures
I am always so moved by your beautiful pictures! I am so glad you are willing to do this. I do not have the fortitude
And safe travels!
Sunday was an interesting event. On Sunday mornings I volunteer with another lady named Katy. We work together with the PA dogs and each dog gets a bit more time with a human while they are outside. We have been working Sunday mornings together for about a year without a single mishap, until this week.
We were on our third set of dogs, three out at a time in three different fenced areas. We brought out a little Rat Terrier (Dozer) last, so that we could take him in sooner if needed, it's cold out and Dozer is not built for it. Dozer is also kind of shy and doesn't like to much interaction at this point. We got all three out and I had to run inside to use the bathroom. When I came back out Katy was scooping some poop. She said that Dozer wasn't interested in her so she was leaving him alone, I look around for about 30 seconds and I can't see him. I ask where he is? Katy looks around, and then we both get kind of a terrified look on our faces. We check the fence line and in a corner there is some messed up fence. I don't think it was this way before I went on vacation, might not have even been like that on Friday, since I had him in the same yard and he did not get out.
So Dozer was on the run, but to where? The humane society is situated on about 20 acres of land, mostly forest and overgrowth, a million places to hide! So we tell the staff and go out looking, I even call Jennifer (my wife) and she comes out to help look. The staff was less concerned than I would have liked and only one of them came out to help for about five minutes. Anyhow. We searched the grounds for two hours, nothing. Not a single sighting.
I'm feeling pretty down at this point, the fence shouldn't have been like that, but we both felt guilty about not noticing the fence problem first. Then an announcement comes over the speakers, Dozer had been spotted near a McDonalds over THREE MILES AWAY! He got out and ran! Most shy dogs hunker down and hide. Also, he traveled along a four lane highway! So I ask for an exact location of where he was spotted and I take off in my car, I wasn't waiting around for animal control to get to it. I drive above posted speed limits to the spot and as I am approaching I see two girls in a parking lot with a Rat terrier, kind of just sitting there with him. After pulling into the parking lot I run up to them, and it is Dozer! They were going through the drive through when they saw him hanging out in the drainage ditch.
They had a leash in their car (and their bulldog) so they took the leash and lured him in with cheeseburgers and sausage biscuits from McDonalds and got a leash on him! I was so relieved that he was ok and I could return him safely to the humane society. Dozer was not happy with me when I took him away from the nice girls who were feeding him cheeseburger. So it was a good ending to a very bad/stressing situation.
maybe those gals will come adopt him!
I hope things work out for him and that he enjoys his forever home!
While this guy doesn't appear to be a purebred, you should still like him Rui:
(We think he's a Leonberger mix, he also likes the snow)
Recently the shelter has been getting a pretty decent amount of Australian Cattle dogs in, and well, they pretty much do terrible all around at the shelter. They are so high energy that they just loose it after awhile. They are a lot like Border Collies. Their energy level is just through the roof, and I think they can focus on something harder than any other dogs I've met. This little guy always wants to herd the dog in the next fence over, it looks like he is a little angry, but he is just frustrated. While he is in this mode, I just couldn't get his attention, or get him to focus on me. After about 20 minutes he calmed down a bit and played some ball:
RIP 04-01-2009
RIP 04-01-2009
This guy is a big goof ball. Always trying to destroy a toy and play keep away.
This old guys owner is going to jail. He's a sweet old dog, I hope he gets moved up to adoptable soon:
Don't know about the Leo mix, but depending with what he was mixed, mixes can throw you off.
I'd take him home if I could, that's for sure! And the brown Pit that wants to hog the toy!