Saturday, January 28, 2012

Dark Times

It is that time of the year when there is less light and you want to wear turtlenecks and wrap yourself in an afghan, stay home, and drink hot cocoa.




Izzy and Bullett tried to keep Loki warm but he said, "You are doing it wrong!"





We don't have turtlenecks for the dogs so we improvise.







Loki's coat wasn't enough to keep him warm so while Izzy and Bullett had a rousing game of chase and wrestle, Loki got some relaxation and warmth in the arms of a volunteer.




Loki looks to be the next adoption project by volunteer Loreen Skinner.



You see, Loreen's last project was the adoption of Hercules! Well, it isn't quite a done thing yet. He's on Pawsability.


Loreen found non-traditional ways to advertise dogs for adoption when she put a magnet on her car. Hercules was already used to sitting in his foster mom's car so Loreen put him in her truck and advertised his availability by parking her truck by the front door of the shelter. Then volunteers began taping hand-made posters on their cars.

Posters appeared on a sandwich board out front and in a local city garage.

Magnetized versions began appearing on cars.

The word got out state-wide through Craigslist and a potential adopter saw our videos and photos of Hercules. She had been looking for just the right dog for a year. And Herc was the right one for her. Keep your paws crossed for him but so far so good.

A number of adoptions came through since Christmas. The shelter is at an unusual low in terms of numbers of dogs. It has been a blessing because a number of the staff are involved in dealing with the Malamutes.

Just as the light starts increasing and our moods begin to lift as we look towards Spring, everything seems sunnier. Seeing happy dogs play on Play Group Sundays is a huge boost for us.


Dogs like Bailey get happy-crazy eyes and flapping tongue from being able to run the entire parking lot. We get happy from watching them get happy. How could you not feel that warm and gooey feeling when you see this photo taken by Debi Beardslee, our action photographer?


So while we wait for it to get warm we aren't in our PJs and afghans, we are still in our Carhartts and out there with the dogs. Volunteer participation in dog-walking has dropped off dramatically but the Feisty Fido Crew and staff are out there!

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