Diary of a Animal Shelter Volunteer

My name is Jeanette and I volunteer at MCAS on Saturday's and more if I can. I am just starting out with this blog, so please bear with me.

What I would like to do is post my experiences as a volunteer at Montgomery County, TX Animal Shelter and if possible, post some profiles of doges that have found new homes and others in need. I also want to illistrate that ,yes, there are positive aspects when working with a County Animal Shelter.

In the future I want to show how dedicated, hard working and caring the staff and volunteers are and what a big difference they create in the lives of pets and people in our community.

It has been a month since I started volunteering there and I feel a need to share my experiences, my thoughts and feeling when it coming to working with the abandoned animals, the people and public.

To start off , here is my boy Ch.TR's River of Dreams.

Our Shelter boy "Bucky"

2-25-2010

It will be a month now this February since I started volunteering at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter in Texas. I am trying to record the experiences. MCAS is a County shelter and one working hard to become a no-kill shelter, I think the second week was the most impressive and still plays though my mind like a black and white slide show.

Week One

The first week was a bit overwhelming. I walked dogs for about 4 hours...8:30AM to 12:30PM. I would have stayed longer but had promised a client to work on his computer and had to fulfill that commitment.

First week I met Lyona, a little chow with a lion cut....done rather badly but she was so cute. She was reserved but sweet as can be. So funny yet so sad in her shaved coat. Her spine and hips showed so predominately...so thin yet still happy. I wonder what her story is.

Next was a big black boy..possible mastiff, so happy to be out and have some attention, He is no longer there and I do not know where he went.

There was a little cream girl, part lab that loved to carry sticks on her walk. She has a limp on her front right leg due to an abscess. It was healing nicely..she is not longer at the shelter either.

I met Nancy, head volunteer for the shelter hosting. What a wonderful person that started guiding me on the ways of the shelter. I wish I could have stayed longer and helped more.

Week 2

This is my first week to help with shelter hosting which is helping the public find and adopt their pet. I started by walking dogs in the morning from about 8:45 to 11:00AM in the yellow room. This is the first dog room for adoption, following the yellow, is the green and then blue rooms. Each room has I think around 30 kennels, usually housing between 1 and 3 dogs. Farther down the main hall is an access controlled door is the pink and lavender room...the place where the strays waiting for owners are kept. If the other rooms are full, adoption dogs can be kept her also. There is a small dog room along with a puppy nursery. Outside, there are also more runs.

I don't remember the dogs I walked the 2nd week room which bothers me. I need to keep a record as I work with them. I am learning.

The shelter Director, Dr. Ryan, recruited me to wash dogs, specifically puppies. No problem there since I have washed show dogs for so many years. The room is set up nicely , though no big dryer (I brought one today 03/06/2010), I washed 3 puppies all cover in poo. All the pups were covered in goo and were so happy to be clean. The pups took about an hour to wash and dry.

I was just finishing up when one of the volunteers brought in a family with a big male German Shepard, Blue. How Blue touched my heart. He was big, 86 lbs, and very thin. You could see all his ribs and hips and backbone. Poor Blue was covered in poo and smelled just horrible. The gentleman adopting him offered to lift him up into the bathing tube which stand about two and half feet off the floor. He asked me how long it would be before I would be done and I said at least an hour. The family was going to go get some lunch and run an errand and would be back. That was around 1PM if I remember correctly.

Bathing Blue - the water ran brown is seemed forever. After a full bottle of Dawn (watered down) the rinse water was still dirty. Soap him up again and again. Finially the water ran clean. Blue would just lean against me and look at me with these big intelligent eyes, eyes that were so sad yet understanding. I wish I could express them better. I talked to him, held his head, gave him kisses on his forehead and muzzle. The tail would slowly wag. He understood, it seemed, everything. David, another volunteer that has been such a good mentor to me, would come and check on him and help me move him around in the tub. Finally clean, took like 1 1/2hrs, I set up a pet ramp and Blue made it down slowly. How thin he was, how weak. He had a cough and when Dr. Ryan came by to see how it was going, she said she would get some antibiotic for him. I got him as dry as I could without my dog blow-drier. I has brought my Petsilk, which adds shine and smells great, to him. He looked like a different dog. How I wish I would have had a camera. David took him for a walk and found an outside run for him to go into. I was not going to let him go into the run he came from...a total mess with a rambunctious dog as a kennel-mate. The runs on the side of the building are for pending adoptions, rescue dogs and other special cases. I got him fresh water. Blue just stood at the gate a stared at me with those knowing big brown eyes...just tearing at my heart.

I had two other clients to help and after placing 2 cats and one other dog I don't remember, I went back to check on him. Blue was laying on this nasty wet blanket....so off I go to find him decent bedding. Well, learned where the laundry is :-). Picked out a nice comforter and a few towel and made him a bed in the sun. Blue looked so much happier curled up on his blankets.

I keep waiting for his family...3PM still no sign and I am getting worried. I can't leave him here. Back inside and help a woman and her husband adopt 2 cats...how wonderful! Assisted another family in adopting an older hound...even more wonderful!!

Where is Blue's family?? I wait outside and look for them...se a car, is that them? No, someone else bringing in a dog to drop off...Creep. Another car arrives and unloads a bunch of puppies..I Hat People. More people arrive, not Blue's family more losers bringing in an older dog, a cat, more puppies...~sigh~

4pm David comes find me, Blue's family is here!! They are worried they can't find him and his paperwork. They see Blue enjoying his bed and looking like a different dog and I bring him out to them. They had adopted a female GSD 2 years ago and wanted another Shepard and came to the shelter to find one. How super they are willing to take this old boy and make him part of their family. I am so happy I give the man a big hug and try not to cry. Blue has so touched my heart, I give them one of my leashes and collars for him. Also give advise about introduction to their female, feeding, etc...Minda gives them his medicine and a bordatella vaccine for their girl at home. How I wish I had a camera...they walk out the dog and I can barely keep the tears back...Blue looks back once and that look still comes to me in my sleep. The sadness is there but a look of hope and I would like to think he said thank you to me. To this day I still think of him and my eyes fill with tears. He is the reason i wanted to start a journal and start taking pictures of the dogs and cats with their new families.

Lat adoption of the day...Witch of the year. How mean and demanding this woman was. Her poor kids. I helped them with 2 different dogs by the request of David. I would give advise but she would not listen. She wants perfect dog NOW. She calls her husband and waits for him to come to see what he says. I have to call it a day at 4:45pm. David stays with her. What a wonderful volunteer and person he is. A good day and yet one that stays with me with Blue. I still see him like a black and white slide show...the bath, those eyes, him on his bed, walking out the dog with his family. I wonder how he is doing??
Until next week.

Week 3
I arrived around 9:30AM and do not get to walk dos, straight to the stay holding romm to get a mom dog, a little black lab with puppies covered in poop. What a poor baby, so very scared. She doesn't want to leave her babies and have to coax her out. While making it down the hall, she goes poop big time. I had her off to someone, I think customers and ask them to take her out. I clean up the mess after finding cleaning supplies. A chart filled with puppies rolls through the poop making even a bigger mess. I finally get the hall clean and go find Mmomdog. Into the bath we go...ah what a relief on her face. I can tell she feels so much better. Dang, I only have 2 towels...off momdog and I go to the laundry and out the side door to dry her in the sun. I want my big dryer...grrrr... Finally take her back to her babies. Now about 10:45.

Minda finds me again and asks me what I think of a dog, a pretty little shepard/chow mix that is a total wild child. Luckily I have my leash and chair collar. He is a total wild child...has this dog ever had a collar or leash on? I get him to settle for a moment, talk with him..tap his head and tell him to get some brains back. He looks up and me and something clicks between us. Again, those eye...so smart and knowing.I feel him relax and we begin walking, a couple of pops and he is walking on heel with loose lead. I show him sit and he begins sitting on command almost immediately. Minda finds me and asks what I think. This lil guy is something special. She says go ahead and move dogs around and put him in one of the outside runs.

There are two momdogs dry up in 2 smaller runs that are major noise makers. I finally get them to quite on command. I head to the back to move a black lab into another run and the community service guy back there is trying his best to clean runs. I give him a few tips and find an open run for the lab. Poor smart puppy has bloody, running diarrhea. I see Dr. Ryan and let her know, she asks if I think it is Parvo and I tell her no, doesn't have the Parvo smell. Probably clyamida or Giardia. I set up his run, get him water and a few toys, put up a barrier between him and Raven, a female black lab that is dog aggressive. The idea of fostering creeps into my mind. He came out of the stray holding area and has been here a month. I think with his bloody diarrhea and kennel cough and not eating he might be one that goes down....he is too special and needs out of here.

Again, begin working with people on adoptions and when things slow down I start cleaning up the outside area. Dr. Ryan instructs me to get a community service person to scoop poop up front and I get him set up and working.
I help with LuLu and super sweet dog that is an owner give up that is having a very hard time, so thin and the other dogs bully here. She is in with Crazy Cosmo, a border collie that is getting the kennel crazies. I adopt out a wonderful small black girl and her kennel mate is really laid back. I move LuLu to this run along with her paperwork and she seems to relax a bit. Again those big sad eyes. I worry about her.

Lyona, the little chow has a new kennel-mate and seems to being doing ok.

I keep an eye out on the lil special guy and make a decision to foster him. Call Shawn and tell him to get a crate ready. I am coming back tomorrow, Sunday, for New Volunteer orientation. The shelter people think that is funny but I want to make sure I do things by the book for record purposes.

Witch shows back up and starts giving Nancy grief, she sees me and starts in on me. She has a little golden lab girl, sweet dog...poor dog. Anyhow, she wants reimbursement for medicine she got from her vet. I basically tell to eat it...but she won't have anything to do with it. I send her to Jane..let Jane chew her up.

After the orientation that had lots of people in it, Ava says maybe only 10% will be back...how sad. People do not like the reality of the shelter. It is hard but without the volunteers, it would be so much harder on the dogs. They are so important. The staff does a wonderful job but there is so much to do and so many animals coming in daily. To have people just walk the dogs, spend a bit of time with them, go potty on grass, see the outside so helps them mentally.

I get the medication (Alban/Metro) for Bucky (our foster). I head out a bit early to pick up rice, chicken and stuff to cook for him. He is not eating and I am worried but if anyone can get him to eat, I can.

Week 4
Adopted Pets Picture Gallery for March 6th, 2010


This week I am going to try and take pictures of the pets adopted and their new family. I would like to make this something I do every week so we can have a positive photo record. I still want to do shelter dog photos just so they are remembered.

Today I arrived at 10:30AM. Brought extra bottled water for the staff, my show dryer, wipes, collars, leads and lots of treats.

First off I helped an older gentleman look for a laid back dog. There was an older dog, a little beagle girl that is in rather sad shape but oh so loving. I think he really liked her but wanted to think about it and hopefully he will come back tomorrow and get her. I have her picture on the adoption page I am setting up. I bathed her up and trimmed her nails and she was feeling so much better. Her nails were so bad that they curled under making it hard for her to walk.

Next was Anie, from the Wells Fargo building. Her and Bobby adopted a beautiful little male Shepard mix. I am so glad she asked for me. I have her email and plan to stay in touch.

A lovely lady wanted a kitty and found a sweet grey girl :-)

Another family adopted a puppy from the puppy room. I set up som blankets in the corner so they could sit down and interact with the pup, which I think really helps with the selection and adoption process. They adopted her.

Cleaned up the bathing room, restocked towels etc...

Two men brought in a poor emaciated boxer that they said was very sick and they wanted to euthanize him. Dr. Ryna did check him out and he was put down. To their credit, they did take his body.

Lyona was not there today....now am wondering about her. I hope it was adoption and not the other. I didn't see LuLu either

There is an Akita possibly mix that was in the Rescue hold area, I did not get to check him out due to being busy.

Buddy, a long time resident went home today...yeah!!!!