Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Monthly Update - February


Not a whole lot has been going on so far. We've all been volunteering once a week, and not that much has changed from last semester. One thing we have noticed, though, is that a lot of the animals have not been staying as long as they used to. Last semester, we could remember some animals that were at the shelter week after week. It was good news to see so many empty cat cages last week. Another thing that has been a change for some of us is that we are now volunteering on different days and different time periods, so we are learning new jobs that go along with those times. We also were planning to try and volunteer together this semester, but that hasn't worked out as well either. It seems that none of us are ever free at the same time, and there are only certain time periods where volunteers are needed.

One experience that I (Cathy) had was when there was an event in the evening, and I was volunteering that morning. They hired a groomer to come and give the dogs baths so they would be clean for the event. For some reason, the groomer decided that I should wash the dogs by myself, when the only dog I've ever washed in my life is my own and he already knows me so it's not that bad. This was a different issue though, because these dogs don't know me that well and probably have never had a bath before. I was a little bit aggravated about that because I thought it would be the groomer's job to wash the dogs, and she just kind of left me alone. She even gave me her special smock/shirt so I wouldn't get as wet. And then she went to do something else.

In the first few weeks of this semester I (Caitlin) was bitten for the first time by a dog. I was walking all of the dogs that day because I was the only volunteer at that time. It wasn't anything horrendous or horrible, but it hurt afterwards and was bruised. In a way, it helps me in a sense to get over my fear of dogs. I am afraid of larger dogs, and will at times avoid walking them. Now, however, I have experienced one of the worst things about larger dogs, and can now be more confident around them.