i spent the entire day yesterday
volunteering at our local Humane Society .. i still can't believe its
been a year since i signed up for my training and began volunteering .. i
know i've been lucky to have been teamed up with people who are willing
to spend their time teaching me and training me in several areas of the
shelter
i was curious
to see what (if any) changes have taken place now that the city of San
Jose opened their own Animal Care Center on October 1st and will be
responsible for a large percentage of the animals that were previously
the responsibility of the Humane Society
there
are currently 6 cat kennels at the humane society .. "KR", "Adoption
Room B" and "Kitty City" are designated as the adoption kennels .. the
nursery, Cat Room A and Cat Room C are the stray and holding kennels
we
spent the majority of the morning setting up Cat Room A as an adoption
kennel instead of a holding kennel, transferring the cats and kittens
still in their holding period into Room C, and then sterilizing and
cleaning the room which holds approximately 20 cages, from top to bottom
.. we had simply run out of room for the cats that had passed health
check and were available for adoption
the
dog adoption kennels were also filled to capacity .. so healthchecking
additional dogs into adoption just wasn't feasible since there were no
adoption kennels available
we
started out with behavior check on a confiscation due to an abuse
complaint .. a local man was arrested after being seen beating and
kicking his pit bull on a public street .. it was our job to evaluate
the dogs temperament and behavior .. sadly and predictably, the dog was
not suitable for adoption .. situations like this make a lot of people
angry .. its not the dogs fault, yet the dog is the one that pays the
ultimate in consequences
the
next dogs to check on the daily list were the small dogs that have been
placed on a "preferred breed" list .. we vaccinate and healthcheck the
dogs but rather than place them in public adoption, they are returned to
the holding kennels until the Special Needs supervisor can call the
people that have paid $50 to be notified when their preferred breed is
available for adoption .. cocker spaniels, pomererians, maltese, shih
tzu, jack russell terriers, pugs. are all popular dogs and are first
offered to customers on the preferred breed list before going up for
public adoption
playing with the smaller dogs while checking their behavior really is a lot of fun :)
i
got to take a break from that for awhile when Sarah came in and asked
for my help in the feline healthcheck room .. 2 people are required for
taking blood for the feline leukemia and FIV tests .. even though it had
been several months since i assisted in cat healthcheck, we breezed
through the 10 cats in just a few minutes with no problems
i
had just returned to the canine healthcheck room when the supervisor
asked for my help cleaning up one of the socializing areas for the dogs
.. Shelly (the supervisors own dog) had been paired up with Tank .. a
silly little 6 month old bit bull boy with an abundance of energy ..
Tank's parents had been confiscated for attacking their owner causing
her severe facial trauma .. since aggression is a learned behavior, we
need to keep a special eye on him to make sure he didn't pick up any of
his parents aggression
last
weekend he passed healthcheck and spent a week in adoptions without
showing any signs of dog or people aggression .. saturday, he was pulled
from adoptions for a reevaluation when he growled at customers and
started "fence fighting" with other dogs while being walked past other
kennels
i've explained
Shelly's responsibilities at the humane society .. she is a wonder dog
at evaluating other dogs temperaments .. she is well trained at keeping
younger, rambunctious dogs in check .. disciplining them and teaching
them some much needed manners
while
Shelly and Tank are left alone in the room, we had a baby monitor set
up to be able to listen to find out if any squabbles started ..
throughout the day we stopped by their play room to give Tank some human
socialization .. bringing treats for both Shelly and Tank .. by the end
of the day Shelly taught Tank that if he's calm and sits on command
he'll get to share some of the treats
Shelly
continually watched over Tank during the day, keeping him calm and
continuing to place her paw gently on his back whenever he passed near
her to show him that she was in charge
i'd
have to say that being able to spend so much time with a pit bull that
shows promise at being a perfect companion with some training and
socialization is the biggest change in the humane society .. a mere week
ago we wouldn't have had the man power or time to concentrate on Tank
the
other change i saw immediately was that the dog socializers have now
paired up to work together to socialize the dogs .. since its important
to keep the dogs social skills sharp, they are often paired up with
other dogs of similar size or breed in the adoption kennels, which makes
socializing difficult at best .. now that they've been instructed to
pair up its a lot easier for 2 people to socialize the larger paired up
dogs in adoptions
the
last dog we healthchecked before i went home was a small australian
cattle dog .. a 4 month old puppy .. cute as the dickens but she
immediately showed signs of dog aggression, fence fighting with every
single dog that we passed on the walk to healthcheck .. i literally had
to pick her up and cover her eyes to keep her calmed down .. she also
failed the food test, scoring a 10 by attacking the hand we use to test
for food aggression .. thankfully rescue had already put a hold on her
with instructions to send her to rescue if she failed behavior check ..
since she's going to rescue, she'll get the training she needs to
hopefully cure her of her aggression
on
a more personal note .. i do believe i've been "cured" of my crazy mad
crush on the supervisor at the shelter .. apparently he's already found
the love of his life and now i am forced to cross him off my list .. so
ok, he was the only one left on "the list" so i suppose i should just
throw the damn stupid list away
for
the life of me, i can't figure out why i'm so disappointed .. it was
the perfect "fantasy" (while it lasted) and he's hooked up with his
ideal partner (as far as i can tell) and i should be happy for them .. i
know i should just be thankful that his dream lover decided to confide
in me that they had been a "couple" for several months now before i made
a complete fool out of myself and approached him indicating my own
interest
maybe she simply confided in me to cure me of my crush eh .. regardless, it worked .. back to the drawing board .. or maybe not
::big sigh::
thanks Nadine for sending me the image
sheesh .. puts my poor pathetic pictures to shame doesn't it? ;-)
via united way and highlighted in
a local news story last night .. in order for a parent and preschool
aged child to live in Santa Clara County and afford basic expenses, such
as housing, medical expenses and child care, and not receive public
assistance, the adult must earn $27 per hour
in San Francisco County, the amount is $23 per hour, in nearby less expensive counties, the amount is $20 per hour
1 in 4 families here in the Bay Area can't afford basic expenses
the article below goes on to hint that the responsibility to "fix" this mess belongs to employers
4
years ago my daughter and i were forced to find a new place to live ..
it took me 3 months before i was even able to find ONE apartment that
was available .. a small 2 bedroom 1 bath in nearby Sunnyvale for $2,200
a month .. by 10 am there was a waiting list of over 30 families for
that apartment
visitors to the Bay Area could plan on spending a minimum of $300 a night for a hotel room IF they could find one available
there
were auctions being held on available housing .. i recall one friend of
my ex-husbands having a room to rent .. he encouraged interested
parties to "make an offer" .. what started out as $500 a month ended up
going to the person that bid $2,000 a month for a single room rental
in
the last 2 - 3 years there has been a mass exodus from Santa Clara
County .. dot coms going under .. massive layoffs in the semi-conductor
industry .. more housing is available now than in the last 3 years ..
and the prices? they haven't moved
during
the time when rental costs in the Bay Area were rocketing out of
control, the cost of living was (if i recall correctly) upwards of 7% ..
while my employer had normally given out annual cost of living
increases, 3 years ago they refused to match the 7% and instead handed
out increases of 2%
(currently, the San Francisco/San Jose area is back down to a more reasonable annual cost of living increase of 1/2 %)
my
own little cottage used to rent for $900 a month until i moved in ..
knowing it was a "sellers market" the landlords increased the rent to
$1,700 a month
i moved
to the Bay Area in high school .. a million years ago .. well, ok, more
like 30 years ago .. while i would love to plan on retiring here, there
is NO way under the current housing situation .. once both my children
are safely tucked away in college i'm out of here
you can read more here on the findings by United Way ...
BAY AREA / 1 in 4 families can't afford basics / United Way study finds widespread poverty
Comment from: rebafandj
"I'm
curious though (not sure if you know), what's the most popular reason
why people give up their dogs/cats? What was the most stupidest reason
they gave up their dog/cat. For me, the most stupidest thing I heard of
giving up a BEAUTIFUL Tan colored Angora who is 11 years old. No health
problems....the cat was given up because the fur color doesn't match
the owner's new furniture. Isn't that a HOOT?! Luckily, she was adopted
quickly..BUT c'mon!? Love your Humane society stories...keep it up! ~DJ
"One pet cannot change the world, but the world will change for that
one pet."
i just wanted to comment on DJ's recent comment in my journal about owner surrendered pets at the Humane Society
the most common reason i've seen for people to surrender their pets is is "moving to a place that doesn't allow animals"
thankfully
its never happened to me, but i do sympathize with people that were
forced to give up their pets .. it would be too easy for me to sit here
in judgment claiming i'd NEVER surrender my pets .. but just because it
hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't ever happen so i try not to be
hard on those people .. i'm sure the majority of them feel bad enough
when
an animal is surrendered, we try to get as much information as possible
about the pet .. habits, likes, dislikes, where he spent most of his
time (indoors/outdoors - with people/alone) .. what saddens me are the
dogs that are surrendered that spent 100% of their life outdoors with
only a small percentage of their time with people .. it just doesn't
feel right that people would go to the effort of bringing a pet into
their home only to banish it outdoors and not make an effort to make him
a part of the family
although
we DO ask why the animal is being surrendered .. the majority of the
time the answer is left blank .. as long as the reason for the surrender
isn't due to a behavior or medical issue, we don't insist that people
share that information with us
i've
only spent a few hours in customer service where people surrender their
animals .. but i do have access to the owner surrender questionnaires
.. we go over those thoroughly in healthcheck when we're checking the
animals health and behavior
i've
never run across anything like DJ wrote about, a pet surrendered
because it no longer matches the furniture (sheesh) .. the reason that
bothers me the most is where a relative died or is hospitalized and the
surviving relative surrenders the pet to the humane society .. that just
breaks my heart
just
last week a gentleman's father passed away and he surrendered his dads
14 pigeons .. when we explained that there was a $10 intake fee he
threatened to go outside and free the pigeons .. rather than have that
happen, we waived the fee .. but all he had to do was ask to have the
fee waived
the
majority of the animals i've seen at the humane society are strays ..
i'd venture to say that at least 80% if not more .. some of the dogs are
so ferocious and threatening that we actually perform the behavior
check IN the stray kennels .. usually a quick food test or the eye
contact test (staring contest) lets us know if the dog is sociable
enough to be taken out of his kennel for a more thorough test
when
we arrive at the stray kennel, refraining from speaking to the dog in a
comforting voice, we hunch down to the dogs level making eye contact
(staring) .. with the kennel gate closed of course .. stares can be
perceived as a threat or a challenge to dogs .. if the dog attempts to
attack, he is not suitable for adoption .. period .. thankfully the
majority of dogs react with submission when greeted with a stare
what
puzzled me initially is when some of the dogs wag their tails ..
something i initially perceived as a friendly greeting .. boy was i
wrong .. if the dog lowers his head, takes a firm stance .. his shackles
raise, his eyes bulge (referred to as "whale eye") indicating that the
dog is nervous or afraid .. if the stare isn't broken, a nervous or
ferocious dog will begin growling or snarling or sometimes attempt to
attack
without knowing
what the body language really means, i can understand how some people
get bit, seeing only the wagging tail and believing that its a friendly
greeting
on that note
(i guess i wandered a little off the original subject eh?) i need to go
be a momma .. my daughter had two of her permanent teeth removed
yesterday afternoon as requested by her orthodontist .. the extraction
ended up being more painful than anyone had originally expected ..
hopefully her pain is more tolerable this morning but i've already
decided to stay home just in case she isn't up to going to school
knowing
she was nervous about the appointment, i had the dentist give her a
prescription for valium .. thankfully she slept before her appointment
and most of the day after her appointment
in
two weeks we go in to have two teeth on the other side removed .. i am
so not looking forward to that .. something about my baby crying in pain
that just makes me want to hurt someone .. i've tried to be consoling
and reassuring .. but explaining to a 13 year old to try to get her to
understand that some pain is necessary is one of the most difficult
challenges i've faced as a mother
i
guess i wasn't really surprised when the dentist refused to give ME my
own little prescription for a couple of happy pills .. life just isn't
fair sometimes
whoops .. i almost forgot to mention that my daughter made sure and asked her dentist to give her the teeth he removed
afterwards,
she handed the teeth to me, telling me that "after what i went through,
these teeth are gonna cost the toothfairy some BIG BUCKS"
Twix
(<-- click here on his name to read more about him) finally made the
Humane Society webpage, so here is his picture and the information
they've posted about him
Name: TWIX ID#: A439787
Pit Bull mix
Age: 2y Male
Solid, stoic Twix
is a gentle giant who loves to snuggle and receive attention. He leans
in by your side, putting his big soft head in your lap for petting and
stroking. This touch-tolerant, affectionate boy accepts treats with a
very gentle mouth and enjoys receiving hugs and scratches. Due to his
large stature, Twix will be best suited for a family with kids at least
12 years of age.
there
is a sweet tempered gal there that has also captured the attention of
several of the employees .. she's an older, very affectionate lady by
the name of Erika .. here is her picture and information
Name: ERIKA ID#: A034936
Labrador Retr/Rottweiler mix
Age: 12y Spayed Female
Delightful
Erika is a confident, affectionate, and energetic lady. She is
food-motivated and not shy to let you know when she wants more treats by
vocalizing her desires! Erika enjoys petting and touching, usually
staying close to your side for attention. She has lots of energy for her
age and is very eager and excited to go out for walks. Erika seems to
get along with other dogs and is happy to make friends with everyone she
meets.
beginning October 1st, there is going to be a drastic change in the way that the humane society functions
currently
the Humane Society is the only drop off location for all owner
surrenders, strays, investigations and confiscation's for the cities of
San Jose, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Monte
Sereno, Sunnyvale and Campbell .. serving a total population of almost
1.7 million people. Last year the shelter cared for almost 30,000
animals
October 1st
the new Animal Care Center in San Jose will open for business and will
be the only facility accepting strays and providing animal shelter
services for residents of Milpitas, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Saratoga and
San Jose.
the humane
society will continue to accept owner drop offs, (referred to owner
surrenders) from all cities, and strays from the remaining cities in our
county. it is estimated that the new facility in San Jose is equipped
to house 20,000 annually
what
this means for the humane society is that the number of strays or
injured animals will essentially be cut by one third, allowing the
humane society to concentrate on the "more adoptable" pets, becoming
more of a "no-kill shelter"
the
only reason any facility can claim "no-kill" status is because they are
allowed to be extremely selective in which animals they will allow to
be accepted at their facility .. if any animal is deemed unadoptable for
ANY reason (whether the animal has behavior or medical issues) they
will not accept it
what
this change means to the Humane Society is that instead of focusing the
majority of their man hours in processing unadoptable pets, is that we
will now have the privilege on focusing on spending more quality time
with the adoptable pets to ensure that they find suitable homes and to
ensure that their stay at the shelter, regardless of duration, is a
positive experience for the dog or cat
i
am so looking forward to the changes .. the thought of being able to
spend as much time as necessary with each animal in behavior check ..
being able to spend more time socializing adoptable dogs rather than
being faced with a daily processing list of 20 - 30 dogs to process in 8
hours
dogs like Twix
are going to benefit .. when he was healthchecked last weekend, he was
so happy just to spend time with people .. the lovable big lug was
content to sit at our feet and watch us.. once he greeted each one of us
making sure we knew he was there, all he wanted to do was watch ..
content to feel included i suppose
yesterday,
after a week in the adoption kennels, he wasn't his goofy self .. he's a
large imposing boy who can't help that his previous owners decided to
chop off his ears to make him look more ferocious .. he just wants to
play like any of the other dogs
sadly,
the volunteers, the "dog socializers" pass him by .. there wasn't one
socializer card in his envelope after a week .. why? i've seen the
volunteers make their way, from puppy to puppy, even though there are
dozens of larger dogs who have been there for months
why?
yesterday we had NO open kennels in adoptions .. each kennel had
anywhere from 1 to 4 dogs each .. half the day was spent attempting to
partner up the dogs in the single kennels with another dog to free up a
kennel .. unless you reach a certain experience level in dog
socialization, you are not allowed to remove any dog from their kennel
.. you socialize inside the kennel .. put 2 dogs (or 3 - 4 small dogs)
in one kennel, PLUS a socializer, there simply isn't room to breathe let
alone play .. you put 2 pits or other large dogs together in one kennel
and only the bravest most experienced socializers will dare enter the
kennel
why? the
puppies are more fun .. it doesn't take any skill or training to play
with a puppy .. the larger, stronger, sometimes fierce looking dogs are
intimidating to the young girls who volunteer at the humane society to
play with the puppies and kittens
i
understand completely .. i really do .. but my heart still goes out to
the dogs who sit day after day in the adoption kennels, only being
socialized when those of us that work in healthcheck aren't bogged down
with processing 20 - 30 new dogs daily
dogs
need time to be socialized with as many new dogs as possible .. it
keeps their social skills sharp, allowing them to be more adoptable to
families who already have pets at home .. if a dog spends too much time
alone or with a single kennel mate, they can quickly lose their social
skills
you can read more about San Jose's new Animal Care Facility here:
Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services
or here:
Humane Society Can Focus on Core Mission: Finding Loving Homes for Pets
like
the phone call i got sunday morning from my daughter while i was at the
Humane Society .. "mom, i know you're going to be upset but .. " and
then she told me how she and her friend had just taken my son's beloved
Cadi out for a little spin in the parking lot .. and after they parked
it back in the driveway "it smelled like burnt gasoline" and a "whole
bunch" of warning lights came on telling them to get the engine checked 
