It takes so little, to give so much!!!

First of all... I am really bummed that I didn't post yesterday.  I just didn't get around to it.  And it's not that I was really so busy doing things... I just didn't get around to it.

So... what a day it has been for me.  I finished my training at the Jersey Animal Coalition... oh boy!!!  I've been working with the cats and kittens up to this point, but today I got trained on working with the dogs.  The puppy socializing is to die for... right now, we have a litter of eleven 6-week old mutts.  Part of what I do is get them used to being held and prodded by their Vets (I actually have to lift up their tails so they can get used to a thermometer getting stuck up their butts). I wanted to say, "Lifting up their tails is NOT all they'll need to get used to the idea of a thermometer up their butt.  Do we have any Doggie Ecstasy?" But my trainer was very serious and I didn't think she would take too kindly to this kind of joking around.


(these aren't them... but aren't they cute?!)

In dealing with the Shelter's dogs, there is a rating system to help distinguish the dog's behavior... basically, GREEN means GO (there's little to no problems with these dogs), YELLOW means they are dog aggressive, BLUE means they are leash pullers and can be nippy, RED means they are aggressive, BROWN means don't even go to the cage and BLACK means they haven't been diagnosed yet.  Unfortunately, 40% of the dogs are not to be handled by the volunteers because they are Yellow, Red or Brown dogs.

Here's my dogs that I can walk: Mamma Dog (pointer mutt), T-Bone (Pit Mix), The Two Tickles (one was hit by a car and is very nervous), Gucci (Shephard Mix), Pudgie (a fat weiner dog), Brenda, Charlie, Tazz, Lickerish, Onyx, Lemmy, Clara, Jayne, Baby Jane and possibly Angie (she is very dog aggressive though and getting her out of the kennel is a huge challenge).

Here's the thing... I love this shelter... it is a no-kill shelter and they are doing the best they can with what they have.  But it is ROUGH going through there.  The place has a very distinctive smell... even now, after having showered and shampooed, I can still smell it.  But the actual place and dogs are tough on the heart.  There are 5 basic areas where the dogs are kept and I will be walking pooches from all of them. 

The front area/lobby has cages in it that are due to overflow.  One of my favorite dogs is here... his name is T-bone.  He is a big, love-bug of a pit/brindle mix... so his chances of getting adopted are about 25%.  This dog is the sweetest thing ever... I can't believe I am actually crying while I type this.  Here's why... this dog was abandonded, probably because he just got old... he probably was no longer the cute little pit puppy!  He came in with his full body covered in mange... with medication, they were able to clear it up, but he's getting it again.  He also has kennel cough... which is pretty standard for a lot of these dogs from living in such close quarters.

There is the quarantine area... this is where the dogs are that are not so well off.  I'll be walking a couple dogs from here (the one that got hit by the car).  But there's these two little maltese that just came in that had such matted fur when they arrived, that you couldn't see their faces.  They are very sick and it feels like there's a concern that they might not make it.

The back hallway also has overflow in it... there's this one little nippy dog that I just want to squish his cute little face, but was told that he actually sent someone to the hospital... so I should stay clear!  There's also this HUGE German Shephard out there that you're not even supposed to make eye contact with.

The Training Room has a large amount of dogs in it... because I am a guy, I've been given a fair amount of these dogs, which are bigger and can be a little agressive (I'm walking green and blue dogs).  Charlie is a cute lump of a thing... once again a pit mix, tan, sweet as can be... but when we were taking him out, he went after one of the other caged dogs.  I leanred fast about holding the dogs on a short leash when transporting them in and out of the shelter.

And then the roughest one for me is the Kennel... as soon as you walk in (actually this happens with the Training Room too), all the dogs bark at you wanting your attention, wanting to go out, just wanting to get affection.  The room is set up with two-level cages (dogs about 4 feet up and dogs below them).  My favorite dog from the group is Lemmy... he is a BIG pit mix, black and white, sweet as pie.  But he's afraid of heights and because of the overcrowding of the lower level cages with large sized dogs and the Training Room, he's having to exist in an upper cage.  He is scared shitless when trying to get him down... I'm so scared of injuring him getting him in and out.  You can ask a kennel-tech to help... but they're very busy themselves.

The thing is... there's not enough volunteers to walk all the dogs.  Anyone who owns a crated dog knows how it mortifies them to poop in their cage... so, short walks are better than no walks.  But I feel like I am gyping the dog of any kind of socializing or sense of play because I want to get the other dogs out of their cages too!!!

The people at  the Jersey Animal Coalition are doing the best they can, with the limited resources they're given.  All the animals are in air-conditioned rooms.  The cats have classical music playing for them.  Vetrinarians see the animals if they become sick.  No animal is ever put down.  Their dedicated staff always has the best intentions of the animals in mind and they do everything they can for them.  There's just an overwhelming amount of animals, a limited amount of funds and not enough time in the day.  Every animal interacts with people... even the toughest BROWN dogs.  But they get the trained people to handle them.

The stories of these animals will just rip your heart to pieces... but I'm going to have to be strong.  These dogs come alive as soon as they leave their cages and they just want to be loved.  It takes so little, to give so much!!!  And actually... the dogs themselves (and the cats too... in their own superior way) give back so much.  They are such sweet, loving creatures.  They didn't ask for this life... they didn't ask to be thrown out of a moving car... or horded like inanimate objects... all they asked for was to be loved and treated with kindness.  I will do whatever I can... however small it is, to help these animals get some sense of that wish!  And in return... I am a better person for it!!!