Shelter Journal 4/25/13

As I walked through the swinging door into the back area to get keys and sign in and such one of the staff members pointed at me and she said "She would be a good one." I asked, "Good for what?" "For this dog," and I was shown a picture of a white and brown pitbull. The paper is one that is put on kennels when the dog has been adopted and paid for. Cricket. It was explained to me that she's shy, skittish, but once she gets out she warms up. Awesome, I'm great with the shy dogs!

I got her out first, forgoing my normal routine of getting Sugar first. I walked up to her kennel and she was hunched over on the far end. I spoke softy, calmly, and upbeat to her. "Hey puppeeeey, hey sweet girly.. hiiii there," and then squatted down to roll some treats under her kennel door to see how brave she was. I took a few steps to the side and turned my back a little, but so I could still see her. She crept forward and ate a couple treats. Ok, not bad at all! I continued speaking softly and entered the kennel. I stood sideways and let her sniff me before putting the leash on. She walked great to the interaction yard; I gave soft verbal encouragement to her as we walked. "What a braaave girlie, yes you are, look at you," so calmly and gently but in an upbeat and cheery tone. Once in the yard I took the leash off and silently went and sat down on the bench. No need to crowd her, she needs time to explore and check things out. She was circling a lot in a pacing manner, panting hard but not too heavily. She crept, legs bent with body low to the ground, head lowered even with her body, tail kept low or tucked. I walked around the yard a little and again spoke softly, patting my leg as I knelt down. She circled around me, and stopped directly behind me. I felt her nose sniffing my back, hot breath and little nuzzles. I started petting her and she loved it. Fur was coming off in handfuls, a difficult feat for such a short-haired dog. I massaged her cheeks, ears, neck, and shoulders for several minutes. I slowly stood and got the brushes, then returned and sat crosslegged on the ground next to her. Not something I normally do because I know how much pee and poo happens in there. She was sitting but then she melted happily into the ground and I brushed with one hand while petting her with the other. She was slowly warming up and coming out of her shell. She got up to walk around and explore a couple times but would come back to me for more brushing and massaging. Treats were also offered and she took them, which is a good sign. Dogs that are too stressed, scared, or excited cannot eat. After a few more minutes- it must have been nearly half an hour by then- I finally felt she was ready to play. I got up and got a stuffed toy and tossed it. She chased it! She played with toys and had a blast for about 10 minutes before a dog entered the neighboring yard and she got nervous again. I stopped playing and sat on the bench. It was up to her if she wanted to sniff and check out the new things, or stay by me. She did a bit of both, but was braver than I anticipated. Her tail went back down and she was panting but not terrified. I thought it would be best to put her back so I got the leash but when I approached her she scooted away. I knelt down and she came up to me, and I gave her a couple treats then petted her face as I put the leash on. I took her for a short walk around the parking lot and she did very well, warming up again. Cricket did take a long time to warm up and was quick to get nervous again but she is an incredibly sweet dog and whoever her adopter is will be taking home a great dog!

Nervous! Paw raised, weight back, tail low

Creeping

 

Warming up, but still panting and a little nervous

Play!!

Much more relaxed and happy!

When I was putting Cricket back I could see through to the next row of dogs and the one right in front was whining and yelling and yowling in an excited high-pitched barky annoying sound. I made a mental note of her kennel number since she was only a few down from Sugar, then went to get miss Sugar. I wasn't greeted by a happy Staffie smile jumping up on the kennel door and a card on her kennel said why- she was spayed today! She was flat out on the floor, hind legs stretched out. I called to her softly, "Hey there Sugar Bear," and her tail thumped the floor but her head didn't lift and her eyes could barely open. "Oh, sweetheart," thumpthumpthumpthump, "You'll feel better in a couple days!" thumpthumpthump.

Alrighty then, let's switch things up today and seek more dogs that are going nuts and haven't been out recently. Starting with the annoying yeller though regardless of when she'd last been out but I assumed she hadn't been out lately. Britney is her name! [No link.] And as I expected, she hadn't been out in over a week. She's been out twice this month, the 3rd and I think the 15th or thereabouts. Oh my, this girl was going to be tough to get out. I managed to push into her kennel and she went ballistic. Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, banging around the kennel, tail wagging fast and whipping everything. I kept my back turned, one hand holding my leash and the other an open palm held toward her, blocking and letting her sniff me some. I slipped the leash on and off we went. Pulled hard of course but I did my best to help her take her time and keep her from strangling herself. In the yard I took the leash off and she exploded, running all around, much like Sugar did the first time I had her out. I grabbed a ball, ready to throw it when she approached to distract her from jumping. Didn't help at first, and as Sugar did she really threw her weight into her jumps. I was able to stop most jumps by lowering my hands and turning my body. I did resort to raising my knee a couple times when I could tell she was launching herself. Poor girl hit with a thud and seemed stunned a moment but was then off and running again. Not a peep out of her at least, no shrill yelling whining barking noises. I turned the hose on to spray down a poopy spot Cricket had left (didn't want to scare her with the hose) and Britney seemed to like being sprayed a little. I didn't want her soaking wet so didn't do much but mist her a couple times. She was finally able to chase and play with toys and calmed down considerably. Again as like Sugar, the slightest touch would at first be entirely overstimulating and send her into an excited frenzy. With time and play she settled enough I actually got to brush her which was great because she had almost as much loose hair as Cricket had. I'd brush her and pet her for no more than a minute or two before she'd start to get overstimulated. Tossing a few toys would get her calmed down enough for more brushing. I brushed and brushed and brushed and got a ton of fur out of her. Overall I had a good time with Britney and her ears are fabulous! I'm not sure if she's mixed with another breed but she has long ears for a pittie.

Photo from SDDAC

Britney walked pretty well back to her kennel then I continued my search for dogs that had been locked up too long. Only a few kennels down was Coco [Petfinder link], and she too hadn't been out in over a week. Her card said she was a sweety and a lap dog. Wouldn't know it by the crazy thing spastically trying to sneak out of the kennel. I didn't even make it in before she got out. I could tell I wasn't going to be able to get in without her slipping out so just stuck my arm and leash in to snag her. In the yard she flipped out and ran all around. Didn't jump on me much, and did settle pretty quickly. I tossed some toys, brushed her, and found that she really is a sweety lap dog! I brushed her a lot (I was into the brushing today!) and we snuggled and played.

 

Photo from SDDAC

While Coco was out, a family with a few young kids came into the middle yard and a staff member was showing them Sierra, the shepherd mix fetch master that is a volunteer favorite. Coco did alright and didn't fixate on Sierra but so as not to ruin an adoption I took her back. I decided to try Snoopy, not knowing how he'd be with Sierra next door. He pulls very, very hard on leash so we were taking it slow anyway, and we walked slowly at a distance by the yards. He noticed her and wanted to pull toward her but didn't seem entirely fixated, obsessed, or worked up about her. I kept him on leash when we went into the yard (having learned my lesson from Pickles the other day) and Sierra ignored him but he got extremely excited every time he saw her move. I had him in the yard less than 5 minutes before deciding my hands hurt too much from holding him back and that I really didn't want to stress Sierra. He would lunge and strain and pull every time she moved; he was ok when she was laying down but he was too much to handle at the time. I knew immediately which dog would be good to have out which Sierra was meeting with potential adopters- Duke!

Duke was sweet as ever. Easy to get out of the kennel, walks decently on leash, and was calm and playful and sweet in the yard. The family decided to adopt Sierra (woohooo!!!!!) and I snuck out to say bye to her real quick.

With Sierra gone I could take a chance on a new dog without worrying about ruining an adoption. I found Herman [no link], another dog who hadn't been out in far too long. He pulled extremely hard on leash, but as with the other dogs after some time running and playing he managed to settle down. He too had fur coming off in handfuls so got brushed lots and he loved it. He's a really sweet dog, knew how to sit, and once some of that energy was gone he was a lovebug.

First dog I've had out that's hopped up on the toy chest bench!

 

"Never stop brushing me!"

Photo from SDDAC

The last couple weeks I've been trying to find the words to describe how I feel after I'm back in my car after 3 hours and handling around 6 dogs. It doesn't seem like much and I'm glad I've not taken on more. Maybe in the future I'll want more. More days, more hours, but this is good for now: Twice a week for 3 hours each time. When I start my car and drive away from the shelter I feel numb. Like my eyes have glazed over. My hands, even though I wash them, still smell like grimy dogs, dirt, and hand sanitizer. My ears are puzzled by the silence. I roll the window down to let the breeze hit my face and pull through my hair. I try to avoid thinking about how sad shelters are and I still haven't let myself truly think about it, let alone dwell on it. Over 100 dogs are at this shelter, living on concrete floors (heated concrete at least!) in kennels, many with minimal human interaction. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. Some dogs do go crazy but the vast majority get by and find families. Most are not there more than a few weeks; the long stay dogs have been there a couple months and only a few oddballs have been there more than a few months. Lock a human in a kennel for even a couple hours and they'd be bored, irritated, antsy, stressed. Lock a person in there for 10 days with nothing but a plate of food pushed in at meal times. Will they start beating their heads or hands against the walls, as dogs start to lick and chew their legs and paws to the point of bleeding, and beat their tails naked and raw against the walls? Will they start banging the door, yelling and pleading to get out every time anyone approaches, as dogs jump up screaming and barking? I try to not think about the mental anguish and stress caused by being locked in a kennel with nothing to do and nobody to interact with. It's solitary confinement with fleeting glimpses of people and other dogs hurriedly passing by or pausing all too briefly to peek in at the crazed or shut down being within. Instead of focusing on all the negative, I focus on doing what I can to help. Get those dogs out as much as possible, let them explode, let them run and play. Teach them to sit and lay down, and help them learn to not jump up. Brush them so they look clean and attractive. Make them as adoptable as possible. Have fun with them, learn about them so potential adopters can know anything- likes the pool, prefers balls to stuffed toys, loves to be brushed, loves belly rubs. It does me no good to pity the dogs, nor does it help them. I do wonder when they'll be adopted, if I'll be able to do enough to help and if a note I write may be a death sentence for a dog like Pickles or Snoopy that they are reactive and lunge at other dogs and try to fence fight. Pitbull type breeds are already tough to adopt out, and Pickles is black and Snoopy is a dark blue with very little white. The darker the dog the tougher it is to get them adopted. What if nobody wants them? What if they get worse and it's simply not safe to adopt them out? It's not fair to live in solitary confinement. I have these thoughts but not while I'm at the shelter except for split seconds. I save it for the car.