Service Learning Journal - Week Seven

Tuesday of this week was probably the most enjoyable time I have had so far at the humane society. My supervisor wanted me to take care of a couple of husky mix puppies that had just come up for adoption that day. Neither of them was exactly trusting, so I had to stay in the cage with them for over fifteen minutes waiting for them to sniff my hand. After a while though I decided it would be more prudent to play with another dog and come back a little later. So I went back to see the huskies again a few more times, and despite my best efforts, the best I ever did was to get a leash on one, who then refused to leave the cage. But at least I was able to get them both to the point that they would let me pet them. The people there were great again this week; they were happy to show me where some of the cleaning supplies are kept after two of the puppies decided that the kitchen floor looked like a bathroom. What made Tuesday especially enjoyable was not only the huskies, but also the fact that Crystal came in to do the last of her volunteering that afternoon. It was fun helping each other take care of, and clean up after, the puppies. And it was really nice being able to share tales of past experiences at the humane society with someone.

Service Learning - Week Six

After a Spring Break that was not much of a break, it was nice to return to the humane society to help out where I could. Everyone seemed happy to see me, especially the dogs. The only real downside to this week was that the storms had turned all of the play yards to mud. But none of the dogs seemed to mind, they were perfectly happy to run around in the mud and then jump on me, or each other. At one point I did have difficulty with a few dogs though. The humane society had placed three very energetic dogs into one kennel together which made it difficult to get only one dog in or out at a time. Lucky, the people who work there are very nice, and one of guys helped me with those particular dogs so that each of them got a chance to burn off a little energy in the play yard. Several people came in to look at the animals while I was there, but unfortunately most of them left without taking an animal home. What made me sadder though was a dog that had been adopted a few weeks ago was back at the shelter and up for adoption again. Also, one of the dogs I played with two weeks ago (the last time I was at the humane society, remember last week was Spring Break) was still there. It occurs to me that I need only volunteer for two more weeks in order to reach the goal of twenty-four hours. I am not sure just how I feel about that. I enjoy volunteering and playing with the dogs, and the humane society doesn’t seem to have oodles of volunteers so I sort of feel like I’m needed. Yet at the same time, I don’t know if I should continue after I reach my twenty-four hours or not, since the semester will be over not long after that and I will move back home to Oklahoma for the little bit of the summer that I won’t be on vacation. At any rate, it certainly is a question that I will need to consider and make a decision on in the not too distant future.

Service Learning Journal - Week Five

Tuesday was a busy day at the humane society as far as volunteering went. Three other people besides me showed up to volunteer and walk the dogs. It was nice to see that the puppy room was still fairly empty; some of the front kennels outside were empty too for a change. One of the puppies seemed pretty traumatized; he tried to urinate on anyone who attempted to get him out of his cage. Then he proceeded to leave large puddles in the front room next to the main door. And once I got him outside he refused to walk with the leash! When I finally got him to the play yard all he would do was jump on me and scratch my arm. I honestly did not know what to do with him. I was simultaneously afraid that he would hurt me and that he would hurt himself by thrashing about against the leash. I didn’t get a chance to play much with the older dogs that stay outside, but the ones I did play with were very nice. The humane society even had a spaniel that was trained. Whenever I would crouch down, it ran right over and sat down in front of me – ready to be petted. Overall, it was a nice day, and I managed to get home without any bug bites this week!

Service Learning Journal - Week Four

Once again, the weather was nice to go volunteer at the animal shelter. This week my friend J.J. went with me and helped me play with the dogs. I guess the weekend before the shelter took a lot of puppies over to Petsmart where many of them were adopted. So the puppy room was almost empty on Tuesday, which means that we had more time to spend with some of the bigger dogs too. Having J.J. there made the whole day more fun, and it helped a lot too since some of the dogs would not go back into their cages. However, I did learn an important lesson this week – just because it was February did not mean that the bugs hadn’t come out yet. I highly recommend to anyone else that volunteers at the humane society to go buy something to keep insects, and especially ticks off. This is because when I woke up on Wednesday, I found a tick on my shoulder. So for your own good – buy some Off!