It Never Is The End

As the last day of high school approaches faster than ever I came to a final decision. I have never been more glad to have attendees iPoly because of all of the opportunities I have received. My senior project has lead me to the shelter and all of the wonderful animals there. Due to all the craziness of this month, sadly, I have not been able to go to the shelter. I miss all the puppies and even though I am exhausted at the end of the day I am content. Being able to help the animals at the shelter is a great feeling. Plus the greatest things in life are free and as a volunteer playing and seeing the dogs wag their tails is great. Through my senior project I want to make a greater difference for the shelter animals and I know that even though my senior project as come to an end my life at my shelter has not. I will continue to help the animal and strive for no kill shelters everywhere. I know I am not alone with this goal and I will join with the rest.

A Little More Extra Perhaps?

March has been quite the month for me. Even if volunteering at a shelter seems uneventful sometimes there are great stories that can be told and for me those stories happened this month. I love my shelter and I can't say it enough and I love all the animals even more. From the Chihuahuas to the Pit Bulls, they are all great animals and I can't wait until they find their forever home and it makes me so happy knowing that I can help them find it. The days for me at the shelter start off as any other day I go in. I grab my key, log into the computer, check my locker, grab my badge and look into all the puppy rooms to say hello to all the doggies. I look at all the doggies we have not only to see if the same puppies are there but also to see what kind of new breeds came in, this way if a potential adopter comes in, which has one time, asking if we have a certain breed I can answer their question with ease and lead them to the dog they are interested in. On March 23, there were so many cute doggies! I was in love with all of them but then again when do I not fall in love with all of them. I said hello to Val and Bell. Both of them are Pit Bull Terriers but Bell is a mix. I love them so much and they are the sweetest dogs I know, I just wish I could take them out on walks but they are to strong for me. I do pet them for a while though. Anyways, I saw this man with a little boy and I walked up to them and asked they if there was anything I could help them with. At first I noticed the man's accent and thought to myself maybe he spoke Spanish so I replied to him in Spanish but he didn't say anything, leaving me to think maybe he was Italian. After a while later talking with him I finally asked if he spoke Spanish because we were outside with a German Shepard that his son wanted to meet and pointed at a wood pecker and said mira, which means look in Spanish. It took a while for me to ask him but I got it. He told me how he lived in Ranch Cucamonga and how he went to their shelter looking for a German Shepard because that is what his son wanted. When he got there and asked for one the shelter declined him the ability to adopted. I was astonished at this because yes I know some shelters do this but as he kept talking he told me they kept asking how many hours they would play with the dog, what is the dog going to sleep on and where. When he replied that the dog would be staying in the backyard they responded by saying that type of dog does not stay outside. Again I understand why some of these questions are necessary for some shelters to ask to adopters but to tell an adopter they can not adopt with these types of questions is something I cannot understand. In my opinion if an adopter would be declined, in this case, because they are worried that a young child may be hurt by a big dog such as a German Shepard is after determining whether or not they know how to handle such an animal. I believe the questions that should be asked would be: is this your first dog, have you had any experience with large animals before, how many dogs have you had before. These types of question will be able to give an insight on how much knowledge the adopter has on dogs and whether or not they are capable of taking care of a large dog.  At the end of the day I was able to show them a dog they liked and was interested in buying but they shelter was closing they were not able to receive any information, I just hope they come in again asking for the dog. On another note, I went into the kitty room. I hardly go into that room and this time I went in to interact with some of the cats there. I saw this really cute and I wanted to pet him. He was so cute and he was purring so much, at one point he put his front paws on my chest while he kept is back paws on the floor of his kennel. He started to rub is check across my face, it was completely adorable and I couldn't stop laughing and when I least excepted it he bit my nose! Talk about battle scars. He was to cute to stay angry with anyways. So those are just two stories that has happened to me at the shelter and I would write more but this post is already long enough.

Another thing I would like to write here, and I know it is not part of my topic, is about the awareness of Pit bulls. The fist thoughts that come up when a pit bull is mentioned is aggressive and dangerous. However, I believe these thoughts should not come up when considering a pit bull for adoption. The truth is that pit bulls are really great dogs, they can be trusted. It has been show in a temperament test that Pit Bulls score the highest at a 85% followed by the Golden Retriever. Also the reality is that Pit Bulls do not have the same chances as other dogs in shelters. On average the intake of Pit Bulls and Pit mixes is around 33% nationally. In large cities it is around 40-65%. Around 75% of these dogs that enter municipal shelters are put to sleep immediately, they do not receive a chance at adoption. Also when a shelter is experiencing overcrowding Pit Bulls are chosen to go first. Per year, studies estimate that around 1 million Pit Bulls are euthanized. Also an organization Animal People did a study that reports a 93% euthanasia rate for these dogs and that ONLY 1 in 600 Pit Bulls find a forever home. Sadly it is because of the unwillingness of the people of wanting to adopt these beautiful dogs and the many dogs that go unfixed. The need to educate the public on spaying and neutering is essential to help lower the number of dogs that are not finding there homes because there are to many. Please before you begin to say Pit Bulls are an aggressive breed inform yourself about the facts, they are truly beautiful and kind dogs. I volunteer with some and I love them so much, help me find their forever homes!
http://www.examiner.com/article/pit-bulls-and-euthanasia-rates


Cute Karma came and jumped on my lap while I was eating. So cute!


The kitty that bite me, still love him.


I had too! He was just so cute sleeping with his little cone of shame!


A super cute border collie mix! She had a blue and brown eye.


Just Val, my baby Pit Bull, looking super cute!


Don't you just love his face!!


He was so sweet, he's a licker too!


Another super cute pit bull that presses his body side ways so I could pet him!

It's Feburary!

For the month of Feburary I haven't volunteered as much as I would have liked to because my new soccer schedule interferes with the days I can go volunteer at my shelter. However, on a good note, I have been trying to find animal adoption events near where I live because since my second answer is going to be focusing on this it would be good for me to experience an event first hand. I have been to an event where puppies where up for adoption but the event was not focused completely on animal adoptions so that is the type of event I would like to attend and see how it is held. Another thing that I have in mind is to communicate with the manager of the shelter and see if we can either attend or host an event to obtain hands on experience. Also just knowing I would be helping some of the animals find a new home is a great sensation. I love all the animals at my shelter and even though I get sad when they are adopted I am happy they can go to a new home and family. There is this one dog at my shelter, a German Shepard mix I believe, that when I got near his kennel he picked up his food dish and began to walk in circles. It was the cutest thing ever! I was so surprised to see he could do that and could stop squealing. Some days at the shelter can be a little slow but days like these just make me so happy to be volunteering at the shelter. I hope to receive many more pleasant surprises in the following months!

Oh December!

This month has proven its self challenging yet worthwhile. I was able to attend the holiday pictures my shelter hosted to help raise money. I admit I did not really help during the event because the opportunity did not present itself, I was able to see some really adorable puppies at the shelter. (I call all dogs puppies or doggies regardless of age.) I was able to see a beautiful Saint Bernard up close and let me tell you be was so cute and fluffy! Anyways it was fun to see them bring the dogs and have them pose either with their owners or by themselves. After that it has been usual business at the shelter. On some days I am so busy I do not know what to do next and on other days I just wander, checking on the puppies if they need anything. On days like these I like to take as many as possible on walks but sometimes it gets dark outside so I can't and I have to stay inside. However being around dogs can never be boring. I have fallen in love with another baby. He is new at the shelter so he does not have a name yet but he is an Australian cattle dog and he is gorgeous! One day I was pointing for him to move to the other side of his kennel and he decides to put my finger in his mouth. I couldn't stop laughing! I have been talking with more people and have been able to have more smoother conversations and even laugh along with some of them. It is nice now that I am not so shy anymore. As for pictures, I was having problems trying to find the pictures I took and transfer them but in my next post, I hope soon, will have all the pictures I needed for this months post. :)

It has been slow...

It has not been very eventful this month because of my busy schedule. However I do try to go to my shelter when the opportunity presents itself. Unfortunately I have not been able to get pictures but next time I go I will make sure to take plenty. I cannot wait for December because on the seventh the shelter will be taking pictures of pets who's owners bring in. Almost how you have your child take pictures with Santa, it's the same but with your pets and I don't think there is a Santa. All the money in this event will be for the shelter. I am so excited because it is so cute and fun to take pictures of pets. Besides this is a perfect opportunity to interact with more people and see how I should react around them. Maybe they may even adopt an animal. All I know is that it might get busy. Until December :)

It's Not Bad to Choose Something New Right?

 

I finally got a mentorship, yay! However, it is not in my original choose boo. Even though I was not able to find a clinic that was willing to accept me I am still working with animals that are so cute. I am volunteering at the Upland Animal Shelter and even though I finish exhausted I love what I do because I am able to spend time with all types of animals. When I arrive at the shelter I usually head straight to the kitchen and dry some dishes, then I check on the laundry, and finally I look around the shelter saying hi to familiar furry faces and to new ones as well. Then I repeat, cleaning around the shelter on occasions as well. It might seem as a simple job however there is always the possibility to get bumps and scratches. One time I was helping a girl clean a rabbits cage and while I was holding the bunny it began to kick and it tore my gloves and it scratched my arms. Plus animals are not the only way to get hurt. I have received several shots now trying to fold blankets as I took them out of the dryer, this will be a long mentorship of dangerous work. I work on my EQ every time I go to the shelter because when visitors drop by I go up to them and ask if I can help them out in anything. Sometimes they just want to know what the kennel cards mean or they want to be able to interact with a puppy or cat. I have the ability to take out the animal of their choice and take them either outside or to a little cubicle so they can pet the animal and see if it is the one. Sometimes I encourage the visitors to take the pet home and sometimes I just watch, answering questions they might have. Either works because some visitors don't need a push to adopt the animal. I will continue to work hard and try new methods of how to promote adoption.


Starting from the top left corner moving to the right and around: A new kitty on display, the laundry room, the kitchen, a volunteer (I can't remember his name), Ed with Bernise (a cute giant schnauzer), same new kitty on display, Evelyn outside with Enano, Maria sweeping the cat isolation room, Timber enjoying the outdoors, Lollipop in her kennel, Ed shaking Bernise's paw, Timber making is way towards me. In the center is Timber looking majestic.



So Far... Not so Good

At first I believed this interview would be so much easier to do but I guess it's because the person I want to interview is very busy. The person I would like to interview is Courtney Pomeroy and she is the hospital manager of VCA animal hospital. The reason I would like to interview her is because I would like to get her perspective on the job rather than a doctor for my first interview. In the meantime though I began to search for other veterinarians I can interview and I was able to get one! His name is Dr. Gabriel Flores and I was suppose to go to the clinic yesterday but he asked me if I could email the questions to him in advance so he could have the answers ready for me. When I checked my email later he had sent me all the answers so I couldn't meet him in person. My search will have to continue! As for my mentorship I would like to go back to the same clinic because after calling around eight other clinics they finally accepted me and all the staff members there were really nice to me. Fingers crossed!