Charlie revisited and Bo Bo

The shelter didn't get any help from community service folks, so they were behind on laundry and dishes. Since I hate folding laundry, and the dryers take 30 minutes or more per cycle, I got things caught up in the dish room.

After that, I took Charlie out for another walk. He seemed even less interested in me than the other time I walked him and had no interest in treats until we got back to his kennel. I worry that the longer he's in the shelter, the harder it is going to be for him to adjust to his forever home. He seems sweet enough, and despite the warning that he doesn't get along well with other dogs, he seems to ignore them when he's out for a walk. He did see a squirrel in a tree, though, and could barely contain himself.

Bo Bo is the kind of dog I could spend a lot of time with -- he's got a ton of energy and loves treats. When I came to the front of his cage, he was so excited to see me that he jumped straight up, getting all four paws up to my shoulder height. Once we got outside, he settled down a lot, and, with some encouragement, was able to take many, many treats from my hands without taking my fingers with them.

Red

I had to keep my visit today to only an hour, as well as fit in some dishes and a bit of cleanup, so I only got on a walk with one new friend, Red. As you can see from his picture, he has to most amazing icy-white-blye eyes:

I was surprised every time I looked him in the eyes. Red was super jumpy in his kennel when I went to take him out. He had to wait for a bit while I cleaned it up, and was so happy to get outside. Once we got out, he started by walking right with me. Unfortunately, I may have been too kind without being clear what I wanted, so by the end of the walk, he was pulling a bit. For the most part, he was quite a pleasant guy to take on a walk, and if I'd've been able to give him more treats he would have been spoiled rotten. He has a great sit -- very enthusiastic.

I went to link to his HSBV page this evening and couldn't find it immediately. Maybe cleaning his cage got him out of there quicker!

Charlie and Bailey

Walked one new dog:



Charlie is a pretty dog who had very little information in his packet from the guardians who surrendered him, other than,"Doesn't do well with other dogs." He is a pretty sweet dog on the leash, not very interested in treats or water, but quite gentle. It wasn't until we were on our way back to the shelter that I noticed why he doesn't do well with other dogs -- most of his left ear is gone, presumably from a bad encounter. He didn't seem to mind the other dogs as we went in our out of the kennel, though.

I also got to visit with Bailey again. As much as I love her -- she is so sweet and beautiful -- I don't really want to see her in there again. She and Jack (who is now out of his cast) both have been there over a week, which is as long as I've seen since I've started helping out.

Dixie and Jack

Got myself involved in dishes again, so only left myself time top meet two new friends:

Dixie is super gentle on the lead, but definitely a bit shy.  She put her toes in the creek when I brought her down to it, but it seemed like she only did because she thought I wanted her to.  

Jack was in a condo with an E-collar on.  His profile said he loves to chase balls, but somehow he must have hurt his foot, and had a cast on.  He definitely had a ton of energy and seemed frustrated dealing with a limp and a foot on the mend.  He's wide, enthusiastic and very fuzzy.

Ghost, Rider, Bailey

Thanks, probably, to all the traffic from The Cause for Paws, the kennel was pretty quiet today. The whole time I was there, I was thinking about how now there's more room for transfers (like Calvin) to come in. Three lucky dogs got a chance to go outside with me today:



Ghost is definitely a puppy and the first dog I've walked that didn't know how to sit for a treat. (Who can fault him, though -- he's only 6 months.) He is very soft with a cute stumpy tail. He did like to jump up, which I would have enjoyed except it's bad form. He'll figure out quick that the treats come faster when he doesn't. I brought him down to the creek and he seemed to like drinking the water.

Rider is much cuter than in this picture. He wasn't sure about the water at all -- he looked at it, but was not interested in getting his paws wet or taking a sip. He liked walking around and around me, causing me to do a lot of 360s at first to keep untangled. (We did get things figured out pretty quick.)
I was going to leave after those two, but Bailey really seemed like she could use some outside time. We went out in the front play area, since the place was so quiet, and she wandered around happily for a while. She has a really cute face and a super huge smile when she ran over to me.

Wish I could spend this much time everyday...

After a successful but wearying bus/light rail trip to the DTC and back, I got to spend 4 1/2 hours at the shelter today recovering. I cleanup up some kennels, and walked a bunch of dogs. Many of them are no longer shown (just a few hours later) on the webpage, so congrats to the few I can remember who are now in their homes: Jackson, Buddy and Holly (again, I don't name 'em, just walk 'em.
Hammy is definitely a ham -- he knows he's super cool. I like the fact that he looks like a chihuahua with a golden retriever jacket on. He was fun to walk, but all business.

The highlight, though, was spending two hours shadowing Dawn, an Animal Welfare Associate. She was mostly handling animal meets, and we did quite a few of them. One was for a couple interested in a cat, which was a nice change as I've been focusing on the dogs. Some of the dogs that we let people meet:

Gunny will probably be going home with a teacher who has never owned a dog before, but has wanted to for a long time. There will be a lot of adjusting for her, but I think she'll figure it out.
Lady is a super, super friendly girl and has a ton of energy. The couple who met her thought she was great, but (probably correctly) decided that she was a bit much for them. She'll find someone else to shower with kisses soon enough.

The most touching meet was with Ziggy:


The man who met him had recently lost his dachshund/beagle mix of 12 years, and had just yesterday missed out on a puppy. He was so a burly man who looked like a gruff construction worker, but as soon as he got together with Ziggy, he was rolling on the ground, snorting and giving Ziggy some serious love. His wife was on her way over, but I don't think there's a crowbar long enough that could have kept the two of them apart.

And, in the most emotional moment I had, Yoko (a favorite from yesterday who I walked again today) went home. Dawn had me go grab him from his kennel, and although I failed in my attempt to help, she chipped him so he'd be ready to go. Yea!

Got to get to bed -- I'm supposed to be back at 5:30am to help with the Cause for a Paws benefit road race!

Yoko, Crayola, Jada

Today, when I arrived at 5pm, not only were there were a lot of people looking at the dogs, there were a lot of dogs that hadn't been out in a while. The first half hour at the shelter was a race to pick up the poop in the kennels and get the dogs outside faster than they could put down new poop. It was definitely a losing battle until a few other volunteers showed up.

I did walk three nice pooches, though:


Yoko is very polite and eager to please. This picture does not do him justice -- he's very cute and engaging. I did watch a couple sit outside with him and slowly fall in love. He's got a hold, so they may be serious about him.


Crayola has a lot of energy and pulled a bit, even on the Weiss walker, but loved treats whch made walking a lot easier.


Jada barked at all the other dogs she saw. I expect she really wanted to play and get her wiggles out.

Time flies while I'm there, and I wish I could focus on my regular work as well as I do the shelter jobs. Unfortunately, as I was leaving, the clouds opened up and I got soaked biking all the way home. It was that first reality-check (time to buy some good clothes) ride of the year, and as usual, I'm probably going to do nothing. Maybe after the second or third reality-check ride, I'll finally go shopping.

Daisy and Hercules

Washed a lot of dishes and pushed a few loads of laundry, so only met two today:


Daisy reminded me a lot of Lewis. She loves treats.


Hercules is energetic and friendly. He did a four legged pounce on a bug when we paused for a moment on our walk.

Cassie, Sammie, Girl and Chelsea

Cassie is very sweet. She pulled a bit on the leash, but was very excited to be out. One time when I called her to me to give her a treat, she lay down and rolled over, expecting a full blown tummy rub.

Sammie is a beautiful dog, and was great on the lead -- he stayed right next to me the whole time. I probably wouldn't have needed a lead at all if there hadn't been bunny rabbits around.

Girl is a sweetie -- she liked to jump up a bit, but was quite gentle and had very soft paws.

Chelsea is a beatiful dog -- light brown spots on a beautiful coat. She was pretty excitable, so I used the Wiess walker on her. We went out for a quick walk because someone was getting ready to meet her.

Spaghetti and Max

So, I should start with my own dogs, but before these disappear...

Walked two dogs today:

Spaghetti: A sweet, but really shy girl. She's in with her sister, Cannoli. (I don't name 'em, I just walk 'em...)
http://boulderhumane.org/hsbv/go.asp?mode=profile&aid=5788816&astat=adopt_dogs

Max: Energetic, big, soft, friendly puppy. Brown spots up front, black in back...
http://boulderhumane.org/hsbv/go.asp?mode=profile&aid=4633322&astat=adopt_dogs