Adventures in Dogwalking: Chewy

Now that I have weekends off, I've decided to fill in my Saturday mornings with what else...dog walking!

Today, I took out Hanna again, the dog I walked on Thursday. She seemed more nervous today; she basically kept her nose planted to the ground the whole time we walked, and as soon as she saw another dog or came near another dog, she started whimpering and crying. I didn't have her out too long as everytime we came near the kennels, it seemed that she wanted to go back. But once I put her back, she would stand on her hind legs and look at me with her sad eyes; I think she wanted company in there. Poor baby...

Next up: Chewy! Chewy is an adorable, young, pudgy Lab mix. At first, he kept barking because he wanted to go out. Once I had him on his leash, he nearly pulled my arm off as soon as we got outside! Definitely a very strong, excitable dog. I kept trying to keep him by my side in an attempt to train him to walk better, which was successful for about ten seconds before he took off and dragged me along behind him.

Apart from the pulling, Chewy was a great, affectionate dog. When I played fetch with him, he eagerly retrieved the ball and brought it back to me, dropping it at my feet with his tail wagging the whole time. One time, after returning to me, he dropped the ball and lay down. As soon as I started petting him he rolled over onto his back and growled playfully as I rubbed his belly.He also responded well to direction. He's the only dog there I've ever gotten to sit on command when there wasn't a treat dangling from my hand. He lives up to his name, though; when I tried to introduce him to a brush so I could groom him, he instantly thought it was a new toy and grabbed it in his mouth. I had to tell him to drop it multiple times before he let go. Even so, as soon as I walked away to get something else, I saw him jump up and try to grab the brush again from the place I left it. Sneaky!

Blaaahhh....I really want my own dog!

Adventures in Dogwalking: Hana and Bruno

This is not one of the dogs I walked. This was, however, the dog named Bear that was so excited and so horny that he kept jumping onto the back of the other dog in his kennel to try to hump it. The other dog did not appreciate this, and kept running around all over the kennel in an attempt to avoid Bear. The attempt was unsuccessful, as Bear would jump onto the other dog and hump while clinging onto it, creating a double decker dog combo zooming all over the cage.Did I mention the other dog was also a male? This is what happens when you don't spay or neuter your dog!

Izzy, the dog I coveted last week, came down with a cold, so he was put in Isolation so the other dogs couldn't get infected. I wanted to visit him, but couldn't. Boo! There's also a pending application on him, so I probably won't be able to see him again. (Big unsmiley face here!)

This is Hana, the dog I did walk. Isn't she pretty? She's probably the closest thing to a puppy I've gotten to walk, and was very well-behaved on her leash. She's still afraid of a lot of things, so when something started to scare her, she would start to whine. She had the softest fur, though, and she was the most popular dog there, as all the other dogs wanted to play with her. One dog even snuck in a kiss while they were nuzzling their noses together. So cute!!


The other dog was named Bruno. He was a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix, and the biggest, widest dog I've ever seen. I'm not even exagerating here, he was as wide as my coffee table; literally like a big cardboard box with four legs and a head and a tail attached to it.Naturally, I was slightly wary of taking such a big dog out, but it turned out my fears were unfounded. He was such a big cuddly teddy bear, he would have his tail wagging the whole time if you lavished all the attention and pets in the world on him.

He also knew exactly what to do to get a treat...I probably fed him about 6 treats before I realized there were special "diet" treats to give out. I fed him one, which he ate, but the next one I gave him he spat right out onto the ground and didn't touch it. Whoops, I've tainted him now!

Neither of the dogs I walked wanted to play fetch. Is that something they learn? Some of it might depend on the breed I suppose (Retrievers retrieve, shepherds...herd?). I tried try to pique both Hanna's and Bruno's curiosity by waving the ball in front of them, and then giddily throwing it while shouting, "Fetch!" No reaction. They just continued prancing around the pen as if I had just stood there and done nothing.

Until next week!

Adventures in Dogwalking: Izzy

What a wet morning! Even so, I trooped on over to the SPCA for my weekly dog-walking outing. The dog I walked was the smallest dog I've ever walked so far, but was soooooo cute! Look at his face! His name is Izzy.

Unfortunately for poor Izzy, the rain and the mud did not combine well with his white fur. Pretty soon, he looked like he had been dipped in chocolate from the legs up to his tummy. One other volunteer said, "What happened to your dog? He's all wet." Well, of course he is, it's raining! I don't have the power to not be rained on because the dog I'm walking is white!

Anyways, it was a very uneventful walk. Izzy got anxious when the bigger dogs came nearby and barked at them. I think once he got used to me, though, he seemed less anxious and didn't bark so much afterwards. When I took him back into his kennel, I managed to dry some of him off with a towel, an act he was happy to contribute towards by shaking himself all over the place. Sadly, as soon as I left the kennel, he ran right up to the fence and started whining really loudly. It took all my willpower not to run right in there again to cuddle him...because that would've started some really bad habits for him.

Yes, a very uneventful morning. Which is why this is a very uneventful blog.

Woot.

How Do You Surrender Something Like This?

This is Spike, an adorable one year old kitty at the SPCA. She's cute, she loves cuddles, she's not aggressive or mean. She used to have a home and a family.

A family that decided to give her up to the SPCA because they were having a baby.

Is that fair?

Adventures in Dogwalking: Shadow

First off, my sweet dog from last week was adopted. Huzzah (but I'll miss her)! Pirate, that dog I thought was trying to eat my hand had his owner pick him up (After a month of being missing?? That's suspicious owner behavior!) And the beautiful white Malamute I wanted to walk was not there (Boo-urns!)

The dog I walked today was a Rottweiler mix just recently named Shadow. There's something about the appearance of these kinds of dogs that immediately give me a "Will it try to bite my arm off?" kind of twitch. Shadow turned out to be a pretty good dog, except for the fact that he was really strong and initially pulled on the leash A LOT. He's probably the only dog that came close to pulling me off my feet, but being the female Hercules I am (mwahah!) I managed to hang in there.

Things were going well...until I tried to beat him at his own game. Since he kept pulling, I thought I could match him by jogging along with him (besides, I have some sushi rolls that have yet to be burned off from my tummy!). There I was, leisurely jogging and working up a sweat while Shadow jogged ahead of me, until I realized that somehow, the leash loop had slipped off my hand, and was dragging on the ground farther and farther ahead of me as Shadow caught on that I wasn't holding him back any longer. "Shadow!" I shrieked, trying to pick up my speed, but if there's anything I'm slow at, it's running, and dogs in general can hoof it pretty fast. Luckily, another girl managed to grab him before he could make an escape. Unluckily for me, this is the second time I've accidently dropped the leash! Gah! I fear I'm developing a reputation for losing dogs. Perhaps I'll be the first volunteer fired from the SPCA for not being able to walk a dog properly :(

Lastly, something for all pet appreciators and owners: The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.

Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run. I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required. The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door: TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS: (1) They live here. You don't. (2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture. (3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. (4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly. Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they (1) eat less, (2) don't ask for money all the time, (3) are easier to train, (4) normally come when called, (5) never ask to drive the car, (6) don't hang out with drug-using people; (7) don't smoke or drink, (8) don't want to wear your clothes, (9) don't have to buy the latest fashions, (10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and (11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children ..

Adventures in Dogwalking: Missey

I arrived nice and early at the SPCA this morning. By this time, I had come to a realization that I do not like pitt bulls or any kind of pitt bull mixes, therefore Pirate (the dog I walked last time) was forever on my "I ain't walking that dog!" list. During my previous shift with the cats, I passed this beautiful, white Husky Malamute, and made a mental note to try to claim him to walk.

Unfortunately, he was away on a vet visit, and after scanning the list of dogs to walk, it didn't seem like there were any cute and fuzzy ones left (What? I'm entitled to like cute and fuzzy animals!).Then the gate banged open and out came this nice looking Collie mix, dragging behind her this poor older lady who was obviously having a bit of trouble controlling the dog. The co-ordinator looked at me and said, "You're pretty strong, right? Do you want to take Missey instead? I think (insert name here) will have a hard time with her, as she pulls a lot." We both looked at the lady who was being pulled and twirled all over the place as Missey the dog went this way and that way. I agreed, and went to take over.

Missey turned out to be such a sweetheart, much like my beloved Ruby (the first dog I walked). She did pull a lot on her leash, and I had to pull her back a few times. Most of the pulling was probably pent up energy from being in her kennel all the time; once we did a few walks around the trail, she calmed down and didn't pull as much. She also LOVED to play fetch! The SPCA has fenced in areas to let the dogs off their leash so they can run around freely. Once Missey was in there, she immediately picked up a ball and brought it to me so I could throw it for her. She was really picky with what kind of toy she wanted to fetch; the ball she initially got, she decided it wasn't good enough and dumped it onto the ground , then went sniffing all over the place until she found a toy she liked better. After that, I spent the next ten minutes or so throwing it for her, and she would grab it in her mouth and bring it back. Instead of bringing right to me though, she would go and drop it into a corner near me, which meant I would have to walk over there to get it so I could throw it for her again. But towards the end of our time together, she actually started bringing it right back to me and tried dropping it into my hands (the toy kept bouncing off my hands and onto the ground, so on a few occassions it seemed like Missey was giving me these exasperated looks because I couldn't catch it properly. Whoops!)

At one time, while I stood chatting with another volunteer, Missey simply lay down and waited for me to finish. As soon as I was done, she jumped up with the ball in her mouth, and ran over to give it to me so we could keep playing. Such a good girl!

The only thing I thought was a little strange was she didn't seem to like those Milkbone treats that they have to give the dogs. The first few times I tempted her with them, she followed through on my command, but when presented the treat, she merely licked it and turned her head away. Further attempts to have her eat it went ignored, so I just put it back into the container (yes, even though she licked it already. It's still good!) Perhaps it was because we had just started our walk, and she wanted to run around instead of have treats. She ate some later, but she didn't gobble it down like the other dogs. If anything, it was more of a placatory gesture, like "Ok, you keep trying to give me these treats, so to appease you I'll eat some...but I don't like it." I guess it's not really so strange that she didn't like them, if she was picky while choosing her toy she'll probably be picky elsewhere too.

I left today a whole lot happier than last time. I also left with a curtain of dog hair all over my clothes; maybe someone will be good enough to give Missey a nice brushing.