You wake up tired and sore, from the long day of physical labor. The new employee didn’t show up Friday, so you’re feeling behind from the start.
You decide to check on the puppies first. The din is deafening, as they’re all happy to see one of their humans! You hope you still have some aspirin.
You refresh all the water bowls. Surprise! The puppies have left you souvenirs, so you better get to cleaning.
A few of the puppies are hogging food, so you have to separate some. The separated puppies start whining.
One of the older puppies was bitten by his brother, so you may need to separate him too.
You wish you had more kennels, or fewer puppies…
Time to check on the new litter of puppies. Even though they’ve been vaccinated, they need to be isolated for two weeks, to make sure they don’t have anything contagious. You can’t be too careful when it comes to puppy health.
You’ll get back to playing with the puppies later. Since yesterday was adoption day, in addition to your other work, you’ll have to clean and disinfect the pens, crates, and water bowls, and wash the towels and sheets used in the pens.
A bite to eat wouldn’t hurt, so you break for a quick breakfast.
On to the cat room. Litter boxes, fun! But at least the souvenirs are confined.
Some of the more stand-offish cats ignore you, but many come up for a pet. The water fountain is in good working order, and you’ll come back to feed the kitties. You do some cleaning in the cat room.
On to the dog living room, and some bowl filling and cleaning there. You take time to pet the shelter dogs. Poor things; no one will adopt them.
You let some of the older dogs out into the outdoor pens. It’s a nice day, so you hope to take them for a walk later.
The phone rings; someone has questions - lots of questions - about some of the dogs on Petfinder.
The new outdoor pens you put up are helping out, as there are so many adult dogs at the shelter right now. It’s important that the bigger dogs have enough room, otherwise, they get on each others’ nerves, and they need room to stay healthy.
Almost forgot! You start a load of laundry, wish you had a commercial washer and dryer.
Aileen helps you put some tarps over the pens, so the dogs and puppies can enjoy the fresh air without getting sunstroke.
Baby Doll needs to be separted from the other dogs; she seems to be in a bad mood. You feel tired, and it’s only lunch time.
After lunch, you decide the disinfecting of the adoption fair equipment can wait! The older dogs need a good run, so you take a bunch of them to the creek. Some of the dogs go swimming, which means more bathing and brushing for you, but that’s ok.
Then, back to the dog building. The little darlings have left more presents, but the cleaning goes slowly, since the puppies want some pets. You check the poop, always on the lookout for puppy problems, and wonder if “poop inspector” will be an asset on your resume.
Your energy is restored after taking time out take time out for loads of licks and nuzzles.
One of the dogs hardly touched his food, so you try to get him to eat from your hand. Not much success. Why do animals have to get sick on the weekend? You make a note to call the vet first thing on tomorrow. You wish the vet wasn’t so far away, but some dogs need neutering anyway…
While you’re making a list, you check the supply room. There’s bleach and other things missing! Maybe it has something to do with the disappearing dog food. You’re pretty certain that employee isn’t coming back, and you better get used to the idea of a long week.
You almost forgot – the pens, crates, and bowls from the fair need attention. No time like the present.
Time to “take a break” by making some notes on the cage cards (records) – at least you get to sit down. Then you round out your day distributing food and fresh water, petting, and doing some more cleaning. You smell really, really bad, so you want to get as much cleaning in as possible before you shower and have supper.
Tomorrow is another day, and in addition to all the usual stuff and taking the dogs to the vet, the shelter will be taking in some new dogs. Aileen will have to create records, give the dogs vaccinations, and post them on Petfinder so they get new homes as soon as possible. You breath a sigh of relief that these aren’t part of your chores, and are grateful this day was an easy one!
Colorado Springs Pet Adoptions every Saturday from 11 to 5 at the PetSmart across from Chapel Hills Mall – 7680 N. Academy Blvd.
Please visit the San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society’s website, where you can find out more about the organization and see their partial list of adoptable pets.
Please remember to spay and neuter; there aren’t enough homes for them all.
Tags: Abandoned Pets, Adopt Dog Colorado Springs, Adopt Puppies Colorado Springs, Adopt Puppy Colorado Springs, Alamosa Animal Shelter, Colorado Animal Rescue, Colorado Animal Shelter, Colorado Springs Animal Rescue, Colorado Springs Pet Adoption, Colorado Springs Pet Adoptions, San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society
