Animal Shelter Dogs

There is a Pedigree dog commercial I see on TV which catches my eye and my heart. It tells us to not pity a shelter animal. When I decided to become a Veterinary Technician, I expected to work in a vet office, but have changed my mind. I began volunteering for the Denver Dumb Friends League, at the Buddy Center in Castle Rock, about a year ago. A shelter is not always the easiest place to work, but I feel it is where I’m most able to make a difference. There is plenty of heartache, but I seem to have a knack for calming and comforting the frightened animals, and that makes me feel good. My volunteer role is to help with surgery, give the animals their medicine and process incoming animals. I also help with Humane Education, which involves speaking with groups about animal care. I know there are pros and cons to working in a shelter. In the paragraphs below I will evaluate the shelter setting and decide if this is where I feel most fulfilled. One aspect I enjoy about a shelter is the changing atmosphere. Each time I’m there a new experience will arise. Sometimes it involves different breeds of animals, such as the time animal control brought in a wolf/dog hybrid. These hybrids are illegal, but we still processed him, so he could be taken to a sanctuary. Other times, I have witnessed kittens born and experienced the amazing scene of a mother and her babies. My favorite experience is when we have a lost animal brought in, and they have a microchip, so we can reunite them with their family. A recent highlight is the story of a family who moved here from Idaho and lost their cat. It was brought to the Buddy Center, and we discovered a microchip. We contacted the family and they were ecstatic. The cat had been missing for two months, an...

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...f Buddy Center staff and other volunteers have had a tremendous impact on me. The full quote from the Pedigree TV commercial perfectly sums up my feelings:

“Shelter dogs aren’t broken. They’ve simply experienced more life than other dogs.

If they were human, we would call them wise. They would be the ones with tales to tell and stories to write. The ones dealt a bad hand who responded with courage.

Don’t pity a shelter dog. Adopt one. And be proud to have their greatness by your side.”

Working in an animal shelter is the best choice for me because of the changing atmosphere, educational opportunities and my compassion towards the animals.

References

http://www.pedigree.com/default.aspx

http://www.facebook.com/Pedigree#!/Pedigree?v=info

Works Cited

http://www.pedigree.com/default.aspx

http://www.facebook.com/Pedigree#!/Pedigree?v=info