Rant!

Damn it, people! Spay and neuter your pets!


From my first orientation at the Wake County Animal Center (WCAC) I understood the difference between them (the county shelter) and all the other rescue societies (like the SPCA). The WCAC is a county government entity and does not get to pick and choose who comes in the back door. And it doesn’t matter if all the kennels are full. If an animal is brought to the intake area it will be processed into the WCAC. As I’ve said before, everyone I’ve met (staff or volunteer) at the WCAC loves animals and will do everything they can to make sure that no animal has to be put to sleep because there isn’t enough room. But guess what? It happens. It happens every day and it’s a damn shame.


In September, the WCAC took in 1,344 animals. That’s a 25% increase from 2009, but understandable as WCAC became the only intake for all of Wake County as of July 1st. We did have an 82% increase from this time in 2009 in adoptions and transfers to other rescue groups, which meant that 498 animals went to good homes in September. (Yay!) We are pleased that the euthanasia rate from September 2009 to September 2010 dropped by 10%, but still, 660 animals had to be put to sleep in September because there were just too many for the WCAC to handle!


I know I’m preaching to the choir to most of you that read my blog, but please, spread the word. (List of low-cost spay & neuter services http://www.wakegov.com/pets/fix/services.htm)


Like I said above, I understood from the beginning that some of the cats and dogs I met, photographed, and fell in love with would not end up in a happy home. But I was still shocked to find out that the litter of Pittie puppies that I first wrote about were all, yes ALL, put to sleep. They got upper respiratory infections and there was no room to treat them. Their intake record said that they were an “owner surrender of an un-wanted litter” and that’s what got me ticked off about spaying and neutering your pets.


I’ve been tracking the animals I’ve taken pictures of, and here is the sad record of those who didn’t make it (mid-May thru mid-Oct) and why…

The Pittie Puppies consisted of Dina, Caroline, Theresa, Danielle, Ramona, Bethany, Kim G, Mario



Pittie Puppies - Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)



Lemon Pepper - "Fear Biter"

Veronica - Too many cats at the shelter/She had been there too long

Qdoba - Agression

Raken - URI

Delilah - Too Many/Too Long

Maggie - Too Many/Too Long

Gertrude - Multiple age-related health issues

Charlie - URI

Doug - URI/Fear Biter

Lady - Aggression

Cream - Aggression

Tasha - Stress/Anxiety-related illnesses

Bruce - Dog Aggressive

Missy - URI

Ace - Aggression

Dennis - Aggression

Dingo - Aggression

Nina - Infection that would not heal

Reese - Aggression

Boris - URI

Midnite - URI

Chilli Pepper - URI



Deva - URI

Archie - URI

Nathan - URI

Bubba - Too Many/Too Long

Jack - Dog Aggressive

Mercury - URI

So what to do ... adopt ... encourage others to adopt ... join the WCAC's foster program ... volunteer at the WCAC ... train your dogs to be good dogs and encourage others to train their dogs (it's not their fault they were aggressive; they lacked proper pack leadership) ... spay, spay, spay and neuter, neuter, neuter.

It’s All in the Eyes

A couple of weeks ago I told you about a beautiful boy named Bear. He was such a sweetie and it was a real boost to spend some time with him. I got some pretty good photos of him, but I was still worried because he was older and heartworm positive. Well, let the happy dance begin — he was adopted last week!

Bear’s new family sent this message …

"I don't even need to meet him to know I want him.  I can look in his eyes and know he's the little guy for me."

I’ve said before, as a WCAC volunteer, that I have no problem “wasting” time taking photos of dogs that get adopted before I can get the photos processed and posted to the website. As a photographer, it tickled me to no end to know that yes, a photo I took had that kind of effect on someone.

This past Thursday I didn’t get to as many dogs as I would have liked, but there are always a few cuties I want to talk about and post a photo of. Some of my time was spent scoping out some Hound puppies for a co-worker whose family is looking for a dog. Kinsis (the more I say his name the more I like it) was a sweetie. The first thing he did after I got in his kennel was to lay his head on my knee. He definitely knows how to work it. For being a puppy he wasn’t all that crazy, but that was his seventh day at the WCAC, which means he got to go for his first walk so he may have been tuckered out.

Hermione was just too cute and mighty quick. She almost escaped when I went to get in her kennel. They can be tricky like that. You walk by their kennel and they sit there all nice and pretty and quiet, but put on the yellow gown and unlock the padlock and they spring into action. I never could get the photo of her I wanted. Then again, that’s the way it is with most of these guys.

Hurley was another one that I didn’t get a truly good photo of. He’s one of those special cases where you want to do all you can to find him a home full of the love he deserves. He was picked up as a stray with his brother. His brother was super aggressive to the point that there was a note in the system for staff to wait for the owner to extract him from the kennel. When the owner came to reclaim the two dogs he said he didn’t want Hurley. Hurley is this big beautiful white “Bully” mix with the most beautiful crystal yellow-green eyes. But he’s so frightened he shakes in the back of his kennel like a little Chihuahua. That’s not right. I’ve seen it before and it has the potential to bring Hurley to an undesirable end. Several of the volunteers have taken a liking to him, though, and are working on building his confidence and finding him a good home. I’ll stop by and visit him again. If I sit with him awhile maybe he’ll get a smile on his face for just one good shot.

Hurley Update 10-18-10: We changed his name to Marley and he's got a cough so I couldn't get better photos tonight as he was in isolation. One of the volunteers who came in specifically to walk him went back to hang out with him awhile ... keep working on that confidence building.

Pictures Don’t Do Justice

So, how do we do it? How do we convince you to come down to the shelter and meet all these wonderful dogs? We know that if we can get you to the shelter we’ll be able to find one to go home with you.

I’m looking over my photos from this week (WCAC Paparazzi Set), Precious, Nathan, Snickers (a.k.a. Rerun), Simba, and Deva. Deva is the only one that “looks” like the dog I hung out with on Tuesday night. In all the other cases, they look cute, but it’s just not how I remember them in my head. Nathan’s photos are especially funny as when we were playing and I was petting him his ears were always up. And Simba looks much more “pointy” in her pictures that the loveable lug she is. Okay, so Snickers looks like himself; I’m just trying to figure out how such a “contrasty” dog doesn’t have one sharp photo. I guess I was too busy watching where his feet were ‘cause the first thing he did when I got in his kennel was go slipping through his poo. [Note to self: Next time, even if the poo is in a nice little pile in an out-of-the-way corner, don’t do it. In their excitement they’ll forget, step in it, and make a mess of the place that you just can’t get out of the shot.]

Deva is such a beauty. She has some very nice outdoor shots in the WCAC Adoption Gallery (http://services.wakegov.com/adoptiongallery/), but I like the photos I was able to get of her. She really is a Pittie beauty. She is a sweet, sweet girl. Doesn’t have the super soft Pittie lips, but doesn’t snap your fingers off when she takes her treats.

Funny, I went from not being too sure about all the Pittie mixes to now making a point of putting my fingers in their mouths when I give them their treats. It’s all Kesha’s fault; she had the most wonderfully soft lips. It’s like I said at the beginning. We can publish all the photos and biographies we want, but it’s really through visiting with them that you really see their beauty.

Back in the Saddle

I had a wonderful time last night at the WCAC. I took pictures of seven dogs, three of which I would bring home in a heartbeat if we had a bigger house. It’s so funny what can change your mood; the lights were on and there were occasional staff sightings. And I changed my tactic too. At lunch I looked at the adoption gallery and wrote down the IDs of several dogs who had been in the shelter for some days and still didn’t have a good photo. I looked up their locations in the database and once I found one I worked that room for the rest of my shift.

Bear is sweet and oh, so soft. He’s four years old and heartworm positive. I really hope that someone will take him in and get him through the treatment. I sat with him awhile and stroked his head. He even let me kiss his nose.

Karina was the next one that I picked. Yes, she was chosen because she was petite, mellow, and has soft fluffy fur. Don’t let the picture fool you; her eyes are as clear as can be.

Chilli Pepper’s card says that she’s an “Easy going gal!”; somebody must have written that after she’d already been on her walk ‘cause she was very bouncy when I got in her kennel with her. She is a sweetheart.

I had walked by Cookie on search for Bear. She looked more like a little red fox curled up in a ball than a Chihuahua and Rat Terrier mix. She’s very young, only a year and a half, but she’s already had a litter of puppies. She and I had a great time hanging out. She did one of my favorite things; she came and sat down beside me and leaned into my hip. She also climbed all over me. I kept telling her that she was not a mountain goat and I was not a mountain, but I think we must not have been communicating.

Mercury is a sweet, sweet little puppy. Okay, puppy yes, little no. She’s seven months old and already around 40 pounds. She’s been labeled as a Hound and Pit Bull mix. I see more Hound in her than anything else. She is timid; when I first got in her kennel she cowered in the corner. I wasn’t getting very far giving her treats so I decided that we were taking this bull by the horn and I squatted down next to her and started petting her. She was so cute when she started wagging her tail and getting the pitiful look on her face. I wish I could have gotten a photo of her that way, but the camera was having a hard time focusing on her.

Speaking of having a hard time focusing, both Jack and the camera pointed at him had that trouble. He was in the kennel next to Mercury and was putting up a fuss the whole time. You can’t see it in this photo, but he has the cutest white patch on the tip of his chin. He’s also short and has a stubby tail, which is too cute when he wags his entire back end.

Sarge got a photo shot mostly because I have a cousin with the nickname Sarge. He’s handsome, just like my cousin. And very sweet. I haven’t had a chance to look at his records, but based on his kennel sheet stats he must be an owner surrender. Someone has to take him home soon. He can give an intimidating look and then give you a look that will melt your heart. He was very easy going as I got a little “crazy” with my petting.

A good night, lots of sweet dogs to hang with and a sense of real accomplishment in getting several photo shoots completed. I hear they’re getting Halloween costumes for us paparazzi to use … I usually work alone … don’t know how that’s going to work.