Volunteer Shift

When I went to the shelter to volunteer, one of the first dogs that I walked was an all white husky named Mulan who was in the infirmary. Dogs that are in the infirmary at the shelter have either been transferred or surrendered and are waiting to be transferred to the main part of the shelter where they could potentially be adopted. Mulan was a very energetic little puppy and left white fur all over me. She was really playful and happy to be out on a walk instead of in her cage. I also walked a dog named Osito who was reactive with other dogs and cried a lot. I showed a dog called William to potential adopters and went on a walk with them so they could see how he acted. He was adopted later that day by the family and is in a good and loving home. I got to see some of the puppies that were just transferred but they were all sleeping. Overall it was a good shift at the shelter.

Behavior Class

This Saturday, I took a behavioral class at the SPCA with an instructor named Gina. She told us about how the dogs that are in the shelter come from all around the Silicon Valley. They come from the Animal Control Center across the street or from Merced County or Stockton. All the dogs are extremely stressed and some have had harder lives then most. One dog in particular, Troy, had a rough background and was abused both physically and mentally. He went blind in one eye. Gina instructed us on how we have to make the dogs feel as though they are in a safe environment and show them as much love and affection as we can. She showed us that we have to communicate more through hand motions to teach a dog tricks. She also showed us how we can tell if a dog is happy, excited, scared, or nervous. The point of the class was picking up on the dogs behaviors and doing our best to get them out of bad habits and from habits that will make them adoptable. I walked a Labrador puppy mix, named Beezer, who was a very excited little dog and was reactive to other dogs. I learned how to distract him and keep his focus on me rather then other dogs through a game called "Find It" which is where I throw a treat and the dog looks for it. Overall the class really helped to show me how to interact with dogs and how to properly help them overcome the stress of being in a shelter.