First Day of Volunteering
Apr. 21st, 2016 11:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogI had an exhausting and quite positive day. I got to the shelter around 6, where as a first-time volunteer I was asked to wait until that shift's captain arrived. She did soon enough, and I started helping with kennel cleaning and watering dogs. There are about six dogs there now, which is low for the shelter. (Good!) After the chores and a quick round of first walks for all the dogs, volunteers take dogs on longer second walks. There were more volunteers than dogs, so three of us took Jax, a big, energetic pitbull, on a long walk around a park and up a steep sledding hill. I've walked dogs that were *much* more difficult on a leash; Jax pulled a little, but really wasn't that bad. He's just excited about life.
After walks and feeding, if there's time, people spend some less active time in individual rooms with dogs, giving them some social time. I and a few other people sat with April, a friendly and enthusiastic pitbull (most of the shelter dogs are, frustratingly and I suppose predictably, pitbulls) whose most aggressive behavior is vigorously licking your face and ears. There's a little pit puppy named Remy who I took on a brief walk during social time too. Since the two rooms had dogs in them, I took him into the back run. He walked around a bit, then jumped up onto me where I sat on the bench and gave me attention similar to April. Soon though, he wanted to go back in. Once inside though, he'd just have to go into his kennel again, and once I put him there he started whimpering again, so I took him back outside. I think what he really wanted is more people around, but I did what I could. He's so small; maybe ten pounds, and just adorable.
Other than that, I mopped the floor, learned how to do some other tasks, and have started getting to know other volunteers a little bit. I feel really good about this.
So today included six miles of biking to Aldi and back for grocery shopping, six miles of biking to the shelter and back (it's actually across the street from Aldi!), and probably most of a mile of dog-walking with Jax. I'm tired! I thought I'd gone over-budget on food; I was starving. Then I realized that Fitbit hadn't updated my activities yet, and I went from 200 calories over to 300 under. So I had a small ice cream sundae. Talenti double-dark chocolate gelato, a package of Sixlets, and a little chocolate syrup. It's *sooo* good!
So it was a particularly positive day. I did have some bike issues. My front fender had cracked in two due to too many times being bent while being transported in a car. I glued it, but the glue gave out on the way home this evening. I hate to buy another fender set when I only need the front. Maybe the Recyclery might have just the one. And the tail light of the set I bought at Aldi stops working at the slightest bump. Tomorrow, I'm going to bike back over an exchange it. I had to take sidewalks back home to avoid being in the street without a tail light, so it was a slow ride.
After walks and feeding, if there's time, people spend some less active time in individual rooms with dogs, giving them some social time. I and a few other people sat with April, a friendly and enthusiastic pitbull (most of the shelter dogs are, frustratingly and I suppose predictably, pitbulls) whose most aggressive behavior is vigorously licking your face and ears. There's a little pit puppy named Remy who I took on a brief walk during social time too. Since the two rooms had dogs in them, I took him into the back run. He walked around a bit, then jumped up onto me where I sat on the bench and gave me attention similar to April. Soon though, he wanted to go back in. Once inside though, he'd just have to go into his kennel again, and once I put him there he started whimpering again, so I took him back outside. I think what he really wanted is more people around, but I did what I could. He's so small; maybe ten pounds, and just adorable.
Other than that, I mopped the floor, learned how to do some other tasks, and have started getting to know other volunteers a little bit. I feel really good about this.
So today included six miles of biking to Aldi and back for grocery shopping, six miles of biking to the shelter and back (it's actually across the street from Aldi!), and probably most of a mile of dog-walking with Jax. I'm tired! I thought I'd gone over-budget on food; I was starving. Then I realized that Fitbit hadn't updated my activities yet, and I went from 200 calories over to 300 under. So I had a small ice cream sundae. Talenti double-dark chocolate gelato, a package of Sixlets, and a little chocolate syrup. It's *sooo* good!
So it was a particularly positive day. I did have some bike issues. My front fender had cracked in two due to too many times being bent while being transported in a car. I glued it, but the glue gave out on the way home this evening. I hate to buy another fender set when I only need the front. Maybe the Recyclery might have just the one. And the tail light of the set I bought at Aldi stops working at the slightest bump. Tomorrow, I'm going to bike back over an exchange it. I had to take sidewalks back home to avoid being in the street without a tail light, so it was a slow ride.
