Motivation

You’d think with a building bursting with fuzzy cute animals for me to visit that motivation wouldn’t be an issue. How could anyone who cares turn her back on a face like this?

I’ve been volunteering at the Wake County Animal Center since the end of May. I’m there every week for at least two hours and spend another couple of hours at home working on stuff. In the beginning I had a real sense of pride seeing my photos on the Adoption Gallery web site. There were only a couple of us taking pictures so it was easy to spot my work, so many of my friends told me. Yet these days the really good photos are being taken outdoors where the light is good and the dogs have cute little scarves on. It’s not my preferred doggie photo shoot method. I work by myself inside the kennels. With so many photographers, it also means that the majority of dogs have good photos; the ones that need a good photo taken are usually on the hyper side, which is a challenge.

I’ve taken on other duties that give me satisfaction: Organizing the volunteer supply area, writing biographical summaries, and keeping the Foster Board up to date. Even so, there is so much to do in these areas. I feel completely behind in the Foster Board upkeep and haven’t written any biographies in weeks. I didn’t think I spent that much time on the volunteer supply organizing … again, energy levels are quickly dropping.

Last Thursday I gave up taking photos after only two dogs, Lucy and Buster. My enthusiasm was sapped. It was hot and muggy. I was tired of the gown and glove changing hassle. I didn’t have the energy to deal with the chaos of some poor pup so desperate for attention that it literally loses its mind when you unlock its kennel. The lights had been turned off for the evening. Yes, I know how to turn the lights back on but it added to the loneliness of it all, that and most all of the staff were gone for the day and there were only one or two Fido Fitness volunteers. That was the first time that my two favorite things, photography and dogs, were not enough to combat lack of motivation. How could that be? Look at these little faces. How can they not be completely motivating?

So, how do I get my volunteer energy levels back? Well, I love the Center. I’m inspired by the people who work there. Folks who love animals as much as any “rescue site” volunteer, but who have one helluva job to do under the constraints of county government and the overwhelming influx of the most adorable animals you’ll ever meet. I will remember that just because I am one of many does not mean that my contribution is any less valuable to these cats and dogs. Every effort made by every single volunteer is vital to making sure that one more cat or one more dog finds that permanent home where they will be loved as they deserve to be loved.

I am a small town/farm girl from Minnesota. I know how to pick up and keep going. I will be at the Center every Thursday after work (unless I have Bible Study and then I’ll be there on Tuesday). I will make a master plan to get all the foster babies on the Board. I will find an extra couple of hours over the weekend to write biographies. I will not let these animals down.

Unexpected Encounters

You may have noticed that all my paparazzo work is about dogs except for the occasional stray cat (funny!) and there has been a reason for that – my own cat Spice. He’s 16 years old, suffering from gradual kidney failure and lost almost half his body weight about a year and a half ago. We have his weight stabilized, but I want to be careful about bringing home even a kitten cough at this stage in his life.

I have given myself one reprieve to staying out of the cat adoption rooms … holidays. On the Fourth of July Charlie went with me to the WCAC to cuddle; he cuddled cats and I was cuddling dogs until I realized that there were lots of people there walking and cuddling puppies and dogs, but Charlie was the only one in the cat room. I joined him for the last half hour and had a blast. So on Labor Day I volunteered to go in and cuddle cats and kittens – Charlie chose to sleep in and take Tippi for a mid-morning walk.

There were so many kitties. I looked at all the kennel cards to find out who had not had any cuddling for the longest. Tiggy was my first of the day. The kennel attendant said he was very nice. He certainly was meowing and complaining as I stood next to his kennel. I gave him some chin scratches and even picked him up for a proper cuddle for a minute or two. I decided that he was just vocally cranky; he never scratched or bit me, but he did complain constantly. Next I opened up Scooter’s kennel. He was directly below Tiggy. He didn’t want any attention, but he wanted someone to be “with him” while he ate. So, I stood there with the kennel door open and chatted at him while he ate. I never realized that cats were “social eaters” until I discovered months ago that the longer I was in the kitchen, where Spice’s food is, the more he ate. We now keep food on my computer desk and he’ll graze while Charlie studies or while I’m surfing the Net.

My final cuddle of the day was with two tiny “Basement Kittehs.” They had been grabbing at me while I was hanging with Tiggy and Scooter, so after I had cuddled several other cats for the day I gave in to them. They were, of course, very cute. And I was able to hold them without too much trouble; my biggest complaint was that they kept biting my finger tips and knuckles looking for milk… silly kitties.

I came back on Tuesday and devoted my shift to taking photos of “puppehs.” The new “sticker” system seems to be doing great now that we have happy icon stickers instead of the Baby Blue Stickers of Death. I still prefer going from a list of who needs a photo, and now that I have access to the database as a biographer I can get their room locations… except when they’ve been moved and the database hasn’t been updated… do you hear the annoyance in my voice? I can only imagine how annoyed staff get when they try to find a dog they’ve been told to go get.

My favorites of the evening: Thunder and Jeffrey. Oh, Midnite was a ball of fluffy fun and Gizmo was a sweetie, but Thunder and Jeffrey were special. Thunder is a beautiful chocolate brown stocky lab water dog. He’s about seven years old and was just as gentle as can be. I wasn’t planning on taking his photo, but a cuddler was in with him and he just seemed so at ease with her petting him while he was eating. I took his photo through the open kennel door And although he didn’t try to make the mad escape that most dogs do he did slowly push his way out … kind of like a river barge. I finally realized that he was just about to get away from his cuddler and I went to push him back in his kennel. He is solid, there was no pushing, I had to stand directly in front of him and keep shuffling forward until he backed up into his kennel again. What a lover!

Jeffrey was another one that I wasn’t planning on taking a photo of Tuesday night. The last thing I did before leaving the floor that night was to walk through Dog Stray and see who was coming up in the ranks to go to the main adoption floor. [Side Note: Dogs come in to Dog Stray first for behavior assessment and if they are on Stray Hold it’s to make sure their owners find them before they get put up for adoption.] There he was fluffy, Chow-like, sweet disposition, available for adoption and had been in the Center for a week. I didn’t get to cuddle with him, but he got the majority of my treats and I got some good shots of him.


One last note - there were two other dogs that caught my eye that night, Batman and Tommy. Batman was some sort of Pittie mix (I can’t tell the difference). He was solid black and I saw him right after he got back from his walk. He was panting up a storm … and there it was, that was how he got his name: When he panted like that his face scrunched up, his eyes became slits and he looked like a Batman mask! Tommy, on the other hand, was just pitiful. I see on the web page that he’s become available so I hope that means he got over his initial fear. It is a crazy loud place, the Center, and this big black lab was stretched out in his kennel trying to look like one of the side walls. His eyes were huge and full of fear and his paws were quivering … that’s a Chihuahua look, NOT a Lab look … and it broke my heart. I tried to stop and talk to him, but the dogs in the kennels around us were so wound up hoping for some attention. The sign on Tommy’s kennel was right - he needed a couple of days to get use to the patterns of the Center and then maybe he’d be ready. 

Thieving Little Pups

It’s funny how used to something you get. As I drove to the Wake County Animal Center it seemed like it had been forever since I’d been there. Then I realized it was only last week while I was in Minnesota that I had not been to see all the puppies and kitties. Wow, they’ve really become a regular part of my life.

I realized something else last night, too. I don’t really get to know the dogs. I’m always looking for the ones who don’t have a good picture or a biography. I meet them once and don’t have the need to see them again, so I usually don’t. I think it also comes down to the number of photographers; all the cute, calm, and cuddly dogs have had their photo taken by the time I get there. I’m not looking for a dog to meet and sit with — I’m looking for who needs me. I’m not sure how I feel about that. In some ways it is probably good because I haven’t had that urge to bring them home with me, but it would be nice to connect with some of them the way I did with Shelby and Kesha.

By the time I got caught up with updating the Foster Care bulletin board and pulling together a list of dogs that needed to be photographed, there was only time to do a couple of puppies and one sweet little brindle-brown Pittie named Kimmie. My story today is about the two puppies, Twinkie and Smores. Twinkie is the brindle-brown pup while Smores is the black pup with white paws of course. They’re only two months old, but you could only fit one of ‘em in a breadbox. I really didn’t think about the difficulty of getting in and out of the kennel with two little shorties trying to rush me, but I got in okay. Whew!

They were puppies and they were excited to have someone to play with and chew on; my fingers are apparently quite tasty. Smores is a tugger. She immediately nabbed the corner of my “gown” and was having a great game of tug while Twinkie jumped all over me trying to lick my face. I think it was their way of distracting me, as they’re a couple of little thieves. While one would be trying to chew the diamond off my wedding ring, the other would be tugging at my camera strap … and then they’d switch!

Getting out was not going to be as easy as getting in there because now they were both wound up. I decided to put my camera out first. I cracked open the kennel door and laid it on the floor in the alleyway. Next I did the back-out-while-holding-off-wannabe-escapees dance with success. Whew, that will drain a person’s energy. Then, as I stood outside their kennel putting the lock back on, I heard all this noise at my feet. I looked down and saw my camera bumping up against the kennel door. They had stuck their little noses under the door and nabbed the strap to my camera and were trying to steal it again!

Thieving little puppies!