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| Blogs > New2Midlo > Fun with a normal white guy... |
When Volunteer Work Becomes A Bit More Challenging
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When Volunteer Work Becomes A Bit More Challenging Preface: This entry is not intended to evoke a pity party nor to solicit platitudes for my volunteer work. It's simply a 'get it off your chest' post. As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, volunteering at the local SPCA has been incredibly rewarding for me. I can see genuine results of my efforts in the form of dogs finding homes. And I get to play with dogs, which is always fun. However, over the past few weeks, there have been some rough days for me at the shelter. It'll help if I set the stage a bit. What most people don't realize is that many of the animals that come through our facility have never been pets or have been in 'the system' for so long, they've forgotten how to be one. As a result, they can often be quite difficult to work with, spooky, and sometimes aggressive. When I get done at the shelter, it sometimes feels as though I've been in a bar fight, because some massive animal has been fighting me on a leash or body slamming me in excitement. Bottom line, you can't do this sort of work without possessing a sincere, genuine love of animals. But you wind up facing a double edged sword, because as much as you love these dogs, even the more challenging ones, you have to be able to switch your emotions off when you leave at the end of the day. If you don't, you'll wind up a complete mess and unable to do the work you've committed yourself to. It's a skill I've become adept at over the six years of so I've been on the volunteer training group. Some of the things I've seen, with respect to the condition dogs arrive in, I refuse to speak or think about. You have to shut those thoughts out. But every now and again, there are dogs that won't allow you to just walk away unscathed. For one reason or another, they steal your heart and won't let go. So, as much as I try to cultivate my cold, bulletproof persona, I'll admit to there being times I've driven home with a tear in my eye. That happened this past week, but it was more of a tidal wave. The story starts in September of last year. There were two German Shepherds that came into the shelter together; one was a 'standard', the other a beautiful white one. They had clearly been in the system for quite some time and were so shut down and flat that they were almost spooky. Like most dogs, they were incredibly stressed in the shelter environment. They were were loving, gentle, and scared out of their minds and for some reason, these two captured my heart. Two gorgeous dogs like that would normally find homes in a heartbeat. The white one alone would be adopted before I could finish typing this sentence. Except they had become emotionally dependent on one another and could only be adopted as a pair. Because of their codependency, I couldn't really work with one at a time, so I spent hours with both, gaining their trust, giving them love, treats, and generally trying to make their stay a little stressful. I know it helped a bit because they didn't wag their tails at all, when someone came to visit; they began doing it for me but only me. Obviously, adopting two massive dogs requires someone special. Yet, some time in October, it happened, but came back within a month, when their new family had to move and couldn't take the girls along. They went back out in March and I thought they'd struck gold, being adopted by a family with a farm. We were all encouraged by the photos of the girls playing, which no one could get them to do at the shelter. Then, on Thursday, I saw a sign on one of the kennels - 'Reserved for X & Y'. My girls were being returned (through no fault of their own) and it felt like my heart was being ripped out. I'm not ashamed to admit there were a few tears even before I left the shelter that day. But I'm taking all of the emotion and turning it to motivation to get the dogs adopted. That means breaking them up, if at all possible, but only if it can be done without harming their emotional well being. I'm the only one they trust enough to venture out without each other, so the task falls to me. I'll spare you the details, but I began yesterday and am encouraged by what I've accomplished so far. Long post, with multiple admissions of vulnerability, but it needed to be written just to get if off my chest. Thanks for reading. |
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Woof
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I admire you for all your efforts and applaud you for your generosity
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