Most people have an undying love for dogs, but imagine that love and passion for animals increased a thousand percent. Well, that often what happens when you work at an animal shelter. No dog or cat is just an ordinary animal. You learn so much about their personalities and their own social cues. Although, it is amazing to be able to hang out and walk dogs for a couple hours, you learn a lot about who you are. It makes you realize how inhumane people can be. On a positive note, here are five things you know to be true after you work or volunteer at an animal shelter.
1. Naming dogs is the best thing ever.
When you work at an animal shelter, you are able to interact with the dogs or cats on a more personal level. This gives you the opportunity to really learn about their personality and who they are. After spending time with them, a Shih Tzu named Freddy should no longer be called Freddy, but Fetty Wap Jr. or when you meet a pitbull named Cassisus that you decide should be renamed as George or William. No explanation necessary.
2. Everyone who walks through the door and wants to adopt may not be the best choice.
I wish that every potential adopter who walks in would have the best intentions, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Often many people do not know how to treat animals, and get dogs for all the wrong reasons. You can usually see this when they interact with the dog they are potentially adopting. It's through the interactions with the dog and how they react to the dogs' mannerisms.
3. The sight of poop does not gross you out.
Dogs and cats poop, and, well, they poop everywhere. Whenever you walk a dog, they end up doing that almost all the time, and in every possible place. It happens so frequently, where it comes to the point that whenever you see it, you are never grossed our. Simply because everyone poops.
4. It's emotionally struggling when some dogs are shipped off to different shelters.
Unfortunately, there are so many stray and abused dogs and cats all over the country. There are 3.9 million dogs in shelters all across America, while there are 3.4 million cats. This means that a lot of the times shelters are stretched thin with resources and help, often forced to ship off dogs and cats to other shelters to make room for more animals. Naturally, as humans, we get emotionally attached to dogs or cats when we spend time with them, and when they are shipped somewhere instead of being adopted, it sucks. Worst part is the dog or cat does not even know what is happening to them.
5. Whenever a dog gets adopted, it's a victory for all.
At the end of the day the goal is to find a loving home for this cat or dog. Though it may be sad to depart with the dog who pooped on a tree, or is fascinated by drainage systems, it's a victory when the dog is adopted into a loving home.
