I know I already told you guys about Bony being adopted, but I was thinking about it, and I think I am going to blog about my time at the animal shelter in general. Volunteering there is a pretty big deal for me—it is a cause that is near and dear to my heart but I have never really felt emotionally capable before, if that makes any sense. Nobody wants a volunteer who cries at all the animals! But this place is just so friendly and so happy. These animals come from terrible situations in most cases and somehow these people have made this place happy. Also, a lot of you seemed to really enjoy hearing about my struggle to get Bony into the shelter. So with that in mind I thought you might enjoy hearing a little about the animals that I will be working with. Plus the whole Bony adventure happened the same week I started this blog, so perhaps fate is telling me that they should be intertwined.
Today (Saturday) was orientation. It mostly consisted of showing us around the building—where the cleaning supplies were kept, which animals we, as new volunteers, have unrestricted access to (most of them), what kind of interaction is helpful with the animals. Really the answer is almost all interaction as the most important thing the volunteers bring to the table—aside from pure help in cleaning and maintenance—is helping to socialize the animals. We ended with choosing a dog to take on a walk.
I chose Rosie as she was the only dog I saw whose kennel door still said “Please walk me” as opposed to “I have been walked today.” Actually I chose her based on her door completely as I could not see her at all (the dog runs have inside and outside portions, with dogs doors connecting them, and Rosie was outside). Turns out Rosie is a part pit bull, part boxer who is friendly but very hyper and strong willed. She was found abandoned in a trailer park. As a result she is not chosen to walk as often by the volunteers, so I was glad I took her. I have a lot of experience with large dogs so I was not particularly concerned. The workers clearly were though as 2 of them came and checked on me. The first time it was helpful, as I had walked Rosie up a somewhat steep embankment, which she promptly tried to take advantage of by trying to pull me over, and the first worker was helpful in getting me untangled. I was wise to her after that and we walked on a flat path. The second worker walked with me and seemed really reassured and pleased at how well Rosie behaved. So hopefully between that and the cupcakes I made a good impression! I am really excited to go back later this week and spend more time there. Although I am more of a dog person, I am especially interested in checking out the cats as I have been told there is no age restriction in playing with the cats and Alex would be welcome as long as I am with her.
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