Well, the boys have wanted a dog for several years now and we have been waiting to complete residency before getting one. Since we are SO near the end the boys are just beside themselves with pining for a dog!
In order to help them stave off the desire to bring that puppy in the window home, and to help give back to our Rochester community, we decided to become volunteers at the local Paws and Claws animal shelter.
This week was our first hands-on training course with the dogs and the boys couldn’t have been more thrilled! I don’t know who’s tails were wagging faster, the boys tails or the dogs tails!The boys decided to be dog walkers at the shelter and with that responsibility comes a minimum of 3 hours of walking per month. They have been SO ENTHUSIASTIC that they have already walked for 2 1/2 hours in the last TWO DAYS! Enthusiastic, ha, yeah, VERY enthusiastic! But it is neat to see them give back and get so much dog-lovin in return!
In their walks they have found a couple of favorites.
Bubbles was a little Pomeranian and the boys decided he was too small to be considered for their dog, but he was kind of fun to walk because he had little tinker-bell steps.
Ravioli was a wild walker, but a lover type when she calmed down, with (the boys declared) too much hair to brush!
Chance was a good walker and stayed by your side, but LOVES to run when you run! The boys really liked him a lot!
This experience has been so good for them, the dogs, and the community. In a way this has been better than getting our own dog, because instead of only doting-on one dog, so many benefit from the boys love and affection! For those of you out there who don’t prefer animals in your home, but DO enjoy their company, I would definitely suggest volunteering at your local shelter. It’s teaching the boys compassion for animals and it’s a great FREE way to spend some quality time as a family!
Just in case your wondering the boys have a ‘green -level’ of dog they are allowed to walk in order to ensure the safety of the dog and the child volunteers. As you gain more experience as an ADULT and go through training classes on dogs, you move up levels, but the children are only allowed with green level dogs. Smart!
Green Dogs - Docile, Family Friendly Dogs
Purple - Timid or High Energy Dogs that need more attention
Orange - Injured or Physical-Needs Dogs
Red - Dogs with Manageable Aggression issues who are being trained
Here’s the public service announcement part:
If you’d like to learn more about the shelters in your area, go to petfinder.com and click on the ‘shelters’ button an it will lead you to a shelter in your area.
Lucy was Chance’s sister and crate-mate, a very submissive female. A little leash shy she was more comfortable following behind the boys rather than walking beside them. She was admittedly fun to pet, but a very shy, shy dog and will need lots of loving to come out of her shell.
Cole was next in line and the boys discovered that he liked sticks. After carrying a stick all the way through the park during our walk the boys found a nice ball for him to play with and we went to the play room to let him off leash. Definitely a good friendly family dog with just the right of energy for two growing boys and really good at fetch! Hmm, how many more months to go? A few, just a few!
This experience has been so good for them, the dogs, and the community. In a way this has been better than getting our own dog, because instead of only doting-on one dog, so many benefit from the boys love and affection! For those of you out there who don’t prefer animals in your home, but DO enjoy their company, I would definitely suggest volunteering at your local shelter. It’s teaching the boys compassion for animals and it’s a great FREE way to spend some quality time as a family!Just in case your wondering the boys have a ‘green -level’ of dog they are allowed to walk in order to ensure the safety of the dog and the child volunteers. As you gain more experience as an ADULT and go through training classes on dogs, you move up levels, but the children are only allowed with green level dogs. Smart!
Green Dogs - Docile, Family Friendly Dogs
Purple - Timid or High Energy Dogs that need more attention
Orange - Injured or Physical-Needs Dogs
Red - Dogs with Manageable Aggression issues who are being trained
Here’s the public service announcement part:
If you’d like to learn more about the shelters in your area, go to petfinder.com and click on the ‘shelters’ button an it will lead you to a shelter in your area.
Happy Volunteering!
No comments:
Post a Comment