Sick Shelter Dogs
Apr. 20th, 2017 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogThe shelter I volunteer at has a case of canine influenza. All the dogs who were not already infected have been boarded elsewhere and the ten or so who are left are coughing and sneezing, though not too badly off.
It was a long evening. Though you might think that if all the dogs are sick hygiene would be less of an issue, but it's actually just as important if not more so. We need to prevent any secondary infections. One of the dogs has pneumonia and is under the care of a vet; we want to prevent more such things.
So each shift, each kennel gets disinfected. We hose it out, spray it with antibacterial stuff and let it sit ten minutes, hose it out, spray it with diluted bleach and let it sit for five minutes, hose it out, scrub with soap and water, hose it out, and dry it. As some people take dogs out to walk them around, other people do the disinfection.
And because the dogs are sick, they have to stay on property instead of going to the nearby parks as usual. The lack of interesting activities and stimulation makes their kennel stress even worse than usual so their behavior can be difficult.
I walked three dogs. One wanted to zoom everywhere and wouldn't hold still. One got easily overstimulated when walking fast and would start jumping on me and nipping at my clothes. But the last one was wonderful. Harvey, a forty pound brown mutt (whose fur has surprising depth and beauty in direct sunlight) spent most of his in his kennel barking plaintively at volunteers. When I had him out, though, all he wanted was to press up against me when I sat down and snuggle. After a little walking, I sat at a picnic table. He climbed up next to me, pressed his head and upper body against my chest, and just sat peacefully with my arms around him.
We looked out at the cars and up at the stars and it was a deeply peaceful fifteen minutes or so. It reminded me strongly of a couple of nights I spent up in the Keweenaw Peninsula years ago with Kuma, my Akita. Nights there were lit with an incredible number of stars, and sitting with Harvey here in Evanston, even under a starless, cloud-filled city night, put images in my mind of being out in a wilderness with a big dog of my own. I didn't get to do that very often, but oh, I miss that.
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I'm taking many precautions to avoid exposing Piper to the flue. I wore a set of disposable booties and gown out of the shelter. I stripped them and my clothing off immediately after getting home and got in the shower. My stuff is in a garbage bag to be washed tomorrow. A less rigorous process seemed to work last week when the illness had just started and staff thought it was kennel cough, so hopefully that will be the case this time too.
I'm so tired. I thought I had more to say but I can't remember. I had meetings today with my therapist and psychiatrist. My therapist is graduating soon, and I'm thinking about finding another one. I visited my family over Easter and had a great time. Our housemate has talked about possibly fostering a baby. But I'll have to cover those things another time.
It was a long evening. Though you might think that if all the dogs are sick hygiene would be less of an issue, but it's actually just as important if not more so. We need to prevent any secondary infections. One of the dogs has pneumonia and is under the care of a vet; we want to prevent more such things.
So each shift, each kennel gets disinfected. We hose it out, spray it with antibacterial stuff and let it sit ten minutes, hose it out, spray it with diluted bleach and let it sit for five minutes, hose it out, scrub with soap and water, hose it out, and dry it. As some people take dogs out to walk them around, other people do the disinfection.
And because the dogs are sick, they have to stay on property instead of going to the nearby parks as usual. The lack of interesting activities and stimulation makes their kennel stress even worse than usual so their behavior can be difficult.
I walked three dogs. One wanted to zoom everywhere and wouldn't hold still. One got easily overstimulated when walking fast and would start jumping on me and nipping at my clothes. But the last one was wonderful. Harvey, a forty pound brown mutt (whose fur has surprising depth and beauty in direct sunlight) spent most of his in his kennel barking plaintively at volunteers. When I had him out, though, all he wanted was to press up against me when I sat down and snuggle. After a little walking, I sat at a picnic table. He climbed up next to me, pressed his head and upper body against my chest, and just sat peacefully with my arms around him.
We looked out at the cars and up at the stars and it was a deeply peaceful fifteen minutes or so. It reminded me strongly of a couple of nights I spent up in the Keweenaw Peninsula years ago with Kuma, my Akita. Nights there were lit with an incredible number of stars, and sitting with Harvey here in Evanston, even under a starless, cloud-filled city night, put images in my mind of being out in a wilderness with a big dog of my own. I didn't get to do that very often, but oh, I miss that.
-----------
I'm taking many precautions to avoid exposing Piper to the flue. I wore a set of disposable booties and gown out of the shelter. I stripped them and my clothing off immediately after getting home and got in the shower. My stuff is in a garbage bag to be washed tomorrow. A less rigorous process seemed to work last week when the illness had just started and staff thought it was kennel cough, so hopefully that will be the case this time too.
I'm so tired. I thought I had more to say but I can't remember. I had meetings today with my therapist and psychiatrist. My therapist is graduating soon, and I'm thinking about finding another one. I visited my family over Easter and had a great time. Our housemate has talked about possibly fostering a baby. But I'll have to cover those things another time.
