# Visit to local Humane Society was surprising



## HappyFurKid (May 31, 2014)

I had been wanting to volunteer at my local Humane Society, but just never seemed to get around to it. They close at 6PM which is about the time I'm leaving work, so the only time I can go is on the weekends. Since the weather was so beautiful on Saturday, I decided to finally get signed up and see what they needed. The first thing that amazed me was that they only had 6 dogs waiting for adoption and all the cats had been adopted out. 

The next thing that surprised me was how clean the place was! Because the weather was so nice, all the dogs were in outside runs and the inside kennels had been cleaned. They were spotless and it smelled better than a lot of homes I've been in. lol The third thing that surprised me was that they were nearly overrun with volunteers! lol Every one of the 6 dogs was out being walked or was in the play area (which they limit to one dog at a time to prevent any fighting). 

When one of the dogs had been returned to his run, I went and got him, and did a little clicker training with him. He was a black mouth cur mix and was obviously very food driven so he was catching on pretty quickly to basic commands (I had brought some very yummy dog treats with me). I saw a young couple that kept watching him, so I took him over and introduced them to Arliss and asked if they were interested in him. Turns out that they were, so I got one of the staff to tell them specifics about his age, breed, temperament, etc. Before the afternoon was over, they ended up adopting Arliss! I was so happy that I got to be part of that. 

I know it's not GSD related, so I hope it's ok to post here, but I was just amazed at how clean and organized the local Humane Society is--especially after all the stories we've seen about overcrowding and horrible conditions. They work closely with our animal shelter here and take in as many adoptable animals as they can. I'm glad to say that we have a no-kill shelter here. Anyway, just wanted to say how impressed I am with our local Humane Society. Since I'm dog-less right now and don't plan to get my next GSD until I retire at the end of the year and can be home full-time, I'll be spending more time at the Humane Society this year.


----------



## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Good you found time to volunteer, I'm also surprised there were so few dogs/cats, noticed the same thing around here, both at the local shelter and HS.


----------



## KathrynApril (Oct 3, 2013)

Volunteering is awesome, isn't it? Glad to hear of your experience!


----------



## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Thank you for volunteering and for helping Arliss. We don't care he isn't a GSD. We are all dog lovers. That is awesome. Some shelters do a really good job and are wonderful to work with. A huge part of being a good shelter is having great volunteers.


----------



## BARBIElovesSAILOR (Aug 11, 2014)

Great post. Keep up the good work


----------

