I made the mistake of staying up all night long and watching "War of the Worlds," starring Tom Cruise; the movie was pretty interesting until the very end, which I thought ended really lamely with one of those 'quick fix' endings (you know, those endings that occur only because the movie has to end...now). After getting two hours of sleep, I rolled out of bed to resume my weekly dog-walking adventures.

The first dog I started out with was a cute-as-a-button white Maltese-Poodle mix (otherwise known as a Maltipoo). He was an owner surrender, and for whatever reason his former owners had decided to bestow the name Elrod on him. He seemed like a sweet dog, walked pretty nicely, got a little nervous when another dog was around, and rejected all the treats I tried giving him (I even went into the barn and came up with three other different types of treats, but all were rejected).

Then I traded dogs with another lady that was having trouble controlling the little Cairn Terrier she was walking. Her name was Charlotte, and for a little dog that barely came up to my knee, she was strong! She kept lunging everywhere, pulling her leash so hard that even I had a little trouble getting her to walk the opposite way I wanted to go: she was THAT strong.

The first thing I wanted to work on with her was her leash pulling; I actually managed some success in that area , once she figured out we weren't going anywhere if she kept pulling, her bursts of spritely energy only happened sporadically. She wasn't as picky as Elrod with her treats; at least she ate them, which makes it easier to train the dog behaviors you do want them to do.

Then I discovered for all her energy, Charlotte only wanted to play with the other dogs. As a firsthand eyewitness, it was very cute! There was a little Min Pin that came our way and, after giving each other a little sniff, Charlotte started bouncing up and down on her hind legs, her tail wagging so fast it was a little blur. The Min Pin reacted similarly, and when it continued on its walk Charlotte tried to chase after it, then started whining quietly when it was gone. Then whenever a dog came nearby, she would try to greet it in acceptable doggie fashion, and then would bow down towards it, her little bum in the air, waving her tail.

Unfortunately, with all the potential dog friends around, that meant her interest in listening to me became non-existent. As we exited one of the off-leash pens, there was a group of dogs gathered nearby with their walkers. Of course, Charlotte wanted to go off in that direction and play. I was more than happy to do so, but first I wanted her to work for it and go around the trail with me one more time. Well, that plainly was not in Charlotte's mind, and as I turned to lead her in the opposite direction, she firmly planted herself down in the middle of the path. When I say firmly, I mean so firmly it was like she was cemented to that spot: I couldn't budge her! Well, I didn't want her to think I would just do whatever she wanted, so since she didn't want to walk in my direction and I didn't want to walk in hers, we ended up standing in one spot for a good ten minutes. Every now and then Charlotte would whimper and walk a few steps towards me, but as soon as I tried to continue our walk...plop. She would cement herself to her spot again.

Eventually I had to give in and move her in the direction of the other dogs, because we became kind of a dangerous obstacle around for the other dog walkers, and it was the only direction she would go in (Charlotte 1, Me 0).

It was very heartwarming to see two dogs playing happily together, as it's usually the opposite reaction we see more often. When I left for the day, I saw Charlotte alone in her kennel, whimpering softly. I think it would be nice if she was adopted into a home with another canine friend for her.

Cat Tails

The shelter is flooded with cats at the moment, from teeny weeny little kittens to big, plump, senior cats. I often develop favorites during my shifts at the shelter, and when I come back for my next shift they are often not there anymore, either having been adopted or sent to foster care.

That's a good thing.

Unfortunately, there have been a few cats who have still been around for my past few shifts. Considering I only come in every two weeks, it means they've been at the shelter for at least a month or two, which is very stressful for the cat and very sad in general that they haven't found a home yet and are resigned to being in a cage for most of the day.

These are some of the cats:

Thunder:

This big boy has been there the longest, since the beginning of April. Poor guy. It's probably because he's not the kind of cat that will jump to the front of his cage, wanting attention and pets. He is a nice cat, but more on the independent side. He gets along well with other cats and likes to play with them, especially the kittens. He loves his Temptations treats and will follow a trail of them right back into his cage without a fuss.

Annabelle:

At a year and a half old, she's such a tiny girl but has already had a litter of kittens! They've all found homes and now she's waiting for her turn. She's very quiet and like Thunder, doesn't really seek out attention. But once you have her in your arms she's very affectionate, likes to be held and cuddled. Also has been there since April.

Whiskey:

This cat was an owner surrender. All owners have their own reasons for giving up their pets (especially with the economy as it is), but this one? "Didn't want anymore." Just like that! Why they didn't want this cat, I have no idea. She is very sweet but was very scared at first. Now she always sits at the door of her cage, waiting to be let out. Once we do, she's like the cat room ambassador; she lets everyone that comes in pet her, likes to lounge around on the top of the cat tree watching the world go by, and likes to play like a crazy kitten with a stuffed mouse once in a while.

I could go on and on about the cats that haven't found a home yet, but there are just too many.

Lastly, my favorite cat for this shift: Nala, a beautiful white Turkish Angora cat.

Such a sweetheart! She was very timid and didn't want to venture too far out of her box, but at the same time wanted to be petted so badly that she just rolled around on her back, rubbing her face against your hand and drooling a little while you stroked her soft fur. If only I could take her home...

At the very end of my day, a young fellow who came in with his girlfriend to look at kittens said to me, "Thank you for your time, and thank you for your help. And thank you for taking care of the animals."

Aww.

Adventures in Dogwalking: Cookie and Trooper

Now that my favorite dog Hendrix is gone from the Surrey location (he was transferred) I have no preference to which dog to walk as they are all new to me. This morning I scanned the kennels to see which dogs were available to walk and saw a handsome, yellow Lab Retriever named Trooper barking eagerly to go on his walk. When I said I would take him out, the coordinator said skeptically, "Are you sure? He's pretty big and strong...did you look at him?" As I am always super confident about my strength, I said I had and would give him a try.
Well, my confidence was quickly shattered about two seconds after I started walking him. Trooper was not only big and strong, he was REALLY, REALLY STRONG. Usually if the dogs pull on their leash at the beginning, I stop and stand there until they get the idea that we aren't going to move until they stop pulling. With Trooper, I didn't even get the chance to do that because I couldn't control him at all! He just kept pulling forward, and even as I tried to dig my heels into the ground and use my weight to counter him, he was strong enough to pull me forward, which meant I had to jog along or end up with my face in the dirt.
I managed to get a little control over Trooper as I utilized my arm muscles, and walked him over to a grassy part of the SPCA to try to get him to calm down. At this point, I would be proud to say I got him to walk about half a meter without pulling before he got bored and reverted back to his excitable behaviour. Then a few dogs walked by and he got all worked up and tried lunging towards them, so I quickly let him drag me onto the wooded trail to divert his attention.
On the trail, he became so excited by all the new things that his strength knew no boundaries. I couldn't even stop myself in one place to tie my shoe because I was afraid that he'd take off suddenly and I'd be pulled along for the ride, but on my face (it's happened to someone else there). Karen, the coordinator, was behind me on the trail, and she called out, "Are you ok?" I was getting very sweaty, my arm was tired, and it had only been fifteen minutes into our walk. "I think I need to change dogs!" was what I managed to gasp out as Trooper kept bounding all over the place.
We walked him over to one of the pens so we could safely trade dogs without any incidents taking place. The dog I ended up with was ten times tinier, a really cute Tzu Shih mix named Cookie. It's too bad the SPCA hasn't updated their page with either of these dogs' photos: they are so cute! Cookie has this little black and white fringe that covers her eyes a little, so when you look at her all you can see is her little pink tongue hanging out.
Needless to say, Cookie didn't give me any problems. She was as sweet as her name; when walking, if she found herself ahead of you she would stop and look back, waiting for me to catch up. It was so hot this morning, so I took her to shaded area and we sat together, me on a bench and her sprawled out on her belly. She was very nice and affectionate.
Since the heat was really coming down, we didn't have the dogs out too long; one of them, an overweight Pitt Bull, was having trouble breathing, and then vomited due to the heat. The hot weather even slowed Trooper down: I saw him plodding along with Karen later, still pulling, but to the point where it was still manageable.
P.S-Hendrix is still at the Langlely SPCA. Someone adopt him!!

In Memorium

This past weekend was not a happy one at the Surrey SPCA: three dogs were put down, three dogs that had been there a while, had not shown any aggression towards people, but unfortunately had not been guided positively with other dogs. They paid the price for their owners neglect and ignorance.

Mocha: she was a chocolate Chesapeake Bay cross who was surrendered by her previous owners because she attacked the other dog in their home. Everyone loved her; she was such an enthusiast of playing fetch and would often pick up a ball and walk around with it in her mouth. She was really smart and knew a lot of commands, and was just happy to be out of her kennel and around people. Sadly, the dog aggression she showed with her previous owner's dog reared it's ugly head again plus the frustration of being at the SPCA had her go after more than one dog; she attacked the dog she was rooming with (that was Viva the dog, who was quite shook up afterwards), and when a family came by with their two beagles and their children, wanting to adopt her, she attacked one of the Beagles and pinned it down. The SPCA felt that a dog that unpredictable couldn't be considered adoptable, and she went to sleep on Saturday.

Zenith: such a beautiful dog. He was a black lab with a glossy coat, and just getting into his adult years. He was found as a stray, and the SPCA's assessment concluded that he had not been socialized properly, and could be fearful and defensive if provoked. According to the people who had a chance to walk him, he was very well potty-trained, very playful, and loved getting affection; he was one of those dogs who liked to lean into you as you petted him.

Ashton: also a beautiful, black lab. Poor Ashton, he was also found as a stray and there was some evidence he had not been treated very nicely in his short life; he had some scars across his muzzle, possibly indicating that he might've been used as a guard dog who was often tied up. He was very sweet with people, but was extremely dog aggressive, the kind of aggression where the dog is going to attack if it gets the chance.

It seems Aston and Zenith had a particular hate for each other: dog walkers reported that whenever they passed each other they'd stare at each other really hard and start getting worked up. On Friday, whoever walked Zenith left him alone in one of the outside pens, accidently leaving the gate unlatched as well. Zenith managed to get out, and when he saw Ashton went right for him. They got into a major dog fight, to the point where they had mauled and torn each other to bits. The dog coordinator apparently tried to break it up, but got hurt as well. After that, they were both euthanized.

All of them never got a chance to experience a true loving home. RIP.