Sunday Volunteering Part Two

For the next two hours I helped all around the shelter. I helped an adopter to walk a yellow-level dog who was very shy and didn't like to go on walks much. His name was Wade and he ended up getting adopted by the same people who renamed him Oreo. It felt good being able to introduce a dog to good owners who will give them a loving home. I also went to the infirmary and walked a couple of dogs. I helped introduce people to dogs who they would like. I also went into rooms with some of the dogs and trained with them for awhile. One in particular, named Buddy, was extremely sweet and gave me his paw and he also knew sit. It was a good shift but tiring after three hours.

Sunday Volunteering Part One

For the first hour at the San Francisco SPCA I was with my litter of puppies that I got assigned. They were three Labrador female puppies. There was one puppy in particular that kept on biting on my apron and my booties and gloves. She even tried to bite on my ankles. So instead of playing with the three of them, I held each of them individually. I carried them and would walk around the shelter. It's very calming just being with the puppies one on one because they are so relaxed and attentive to everything going on around them. I wish I could walk them at least around the shelter but they have to be over six months.

Intermediate Shelter Class Part Two

After the discussion we took a short break and went to Maddie's Adoption Center. For the next two hours we began to work with a dog named Lex and learned several techniques on how to get a shy dog to warm up to you. It may take longer with other dogs but it is a process. The idea is not to crowd the dog but rather let him/her come to you. We learned "raining food" which is where we lightly toss food around the room and the dog will slowly be more willing to come to us. We then worked with Touchdown who used to be an extremely shy terrier mix but is slowly progressing. We used treats to allow him to let us pet and touch him within his comfort zones. The key is timing and patience. We then worked with Dodger and Tasha who were bigger yellow dogs. Dodger was very rowdy and jumpy which made him a yellow dog. Tasha is reactive on a leash which made her a yellow dog. With these bigger dogs we were taught how to teach them to sit then lay down. It isn't rushed but instead you get the dog to sit, reward the dog, place your hands behind your back and then lead the dog in a laying down position ,then reward again. We also taught them to stay and several other techniques which were very useful and will come in handy to help with other future yellow dogs. At the end of the class we were given our blue aprons and I became a blue apron volunteer.

Intermediate Shelter Class Part One

This Saturday I took the intermediate shelter class at the SPCA so I could become a blue apron volunteer and handle yellow dogs. This just means that these dogs need more attention and more care. These are dogs that have behaviors that might not make them as adoptable as other dogs. They may include jumping on a person, extreme shyness, reactive on leash, reactive to dogs, and many others. For the first two hours Joe, our instructor and volunteer coordinator, talked about these dogs. He talked about why they may be so nervous, how we should assure them and bring out the good qualities they have. He also told us that we just need to be patient with them and he also said that we as volunteers are a very crucial part in the adoption process. He showed us positive reinforcement as well as why we should limit the times we say, "No". He also showed us videos of dogs that are extremely shy: their ears are flat, tails tucked between their legs, trembling, trying to make themselves smaller, yawning, lip licking, and not making eye-contact. It's very sad to see dogs like this when they should be more energetic and friendly and outgoing. That was mainly what we did for the first two hours. Joe also asked us several questions about what we learned about working with the green dogs and then went on to explain the differences between yellow and green dogs.

Big Events

Thursday I met with my mentor for a total of two hours at Spruce Pet Hospital. She had me organizing x-rays which is a project that I have been working on and am almost more than halfway done. The majority of my time is spent doing that. I also was taught how to clean the cages in the back. I took out a dog that was boarding there whose name is Cosmo. I also saw a big,  friendly dog who I have met several times before be put to sleep because he had cell cancer and was in so much pain. His name was McCovey and he was a big sweetheart. I was sad and the owners were so heartbroken but in the end it was the right decision because he was put out of his misery. I learned how the dogs who are euthanized are cremated. They are put in combustible bags and are put in a special box( I forgot the name) where they are cremated.  I helped to reorganize files and put clients into the room. There was also a cat named Angel boarding and I pet her for a bit because she looked so depressed and lonely.

Puppy Photoshoot

My last shift at the San Francisco SPCA was very interesting. I got assigned new puppies which consisted of two Shepard mixes and one Labrador mix. Two boys and one girl, their names were Earl, Eugene, and Fawn. As I was playing with them another volunteer who takes the pictures for their bio's came and asked me and another volunteer to help take pictures of puppies. We went to the photo room with the three puppies and helped to get the puppies to focus on the cameras. After that she asked if we would help get all the other puppies which were a total of fourteen and we said yes. I helped with all the puppies and they ranged from chihuahuas to dachshunds and to terriers. They were all adorable and really fluffy. Then I helped the photographer get three "teenage" dogs which were ten months old. They were very rowdy and extremely energetic but we got their pictures. This continued for a total of three hours and we got a total of seventeen pictures of the puppies and teenagers. We got a lot done and at the end we were exhausted. It was a fun experience and the photographer even offered to teach me lessons on how to photograph the dogs. I'm going to find out more tomorrow when I go to my next class. I also learned that puppies and dark-colored dogs get a white background to stick out and white dogs get a darker background. There was also a two-year old dog named Monty whom only had three legs because she had one amputated. She was very easy to photograph because she stayed still and did not move around or whine. It was an overall good experience.