This is going to be a little more of a rant, but hey, we’re all human and we need the opportunity to vent every now and then. I volunteer at my local shelter and am amazed every single day (and not in a good way). One thing that really bothers me are “know-it-alls”. I think we all have the ability to continue to learn every single day. There are always people more knowledgeable than us, new information coming out, and new products being invented. But back to the know-it-alls.
Normally, I am able to go about my routine at the shelter without having to talk to any people. Those visiting the shelter see that I am on a mission and tend not to interfere. I had a few occasions today where I almost lost my marbles.
First, I will tell you about Taeka. Taeka has been at the shelter for months and it is beginning to show. She gets very excited when she sees she is going for a walk that she literally bounces off the walls and makes all sorts of noises. As soon as you get her out, she is your perfect, happy go lucky girl.
As I was getting Taeka out of her kennel, a woman approached me and said, “That is a mean dog”.
I tried to explain to her kennel frustration and how it affects dogs. I told her how sweet Taeka is outside and that she is actually amazing with her commands. The woman proceeded to roll her eyes at me as I talked, so I moved on.
Next, I decided to walk Mercedes. Mercedes is a Doberman Pinscher. I always wait for the dogs to call down before I enter their kennel. As I was waiting, another woman approached me and said, “Oh, she’s a Doberman? She might as well be put down. Those are vicious dogs”. Once again, this woman knew nothing about the dog other than her breed. I replied that she is actually a very sweet girl and went about my business.
You would think my story would end after two dogs.
After I’m done walking dogs, I like to take the time to go to each kennel and love up on the dogs. One I am particularly fond of is a little pit bull. This sweet boy would drench you in slobber if you’d allow him. A THIRD woman made a comment to me about how there are too many pit bulls, they’re all vicious, and they should just be put down if they make their way into the shelter.
At this point, I am fuming and simply walk away.
I spent the drive home crying and trying to understand these people. Where did their ideas of these breeds come from? It is because there is so much breed specific legislature out there? Did they have a bad experience with a dog and it just happened to be one of those breeds? I will never understand breed specific legislature.
No breed is inherently aggressive. These are behaviors that humans have inflicted on them. Why are the dogs being punished? The dog is an amazingly resilient animal. Take a look at Michael Vick’s former dog fighting dogs. So many happily ever afters.
So please, when you visit a shelter, take what you see with a grain of salt. These dogs are cooped up in a poor environment and that definitely takes a toll on them. Remember, there’s more to a dog than it’s breed.
Will you help a shelter dog find his happily ever after?
Kelsie. Excellent ‘rant’. Please hang in there and know you are helping these shelter animals. We deal with these attitudes every single day. We just have to keep our chins up and continue educating until we get all these babies a perfect home. Some days are harder than others, I will admit. Thank you for volunteering! 🙂
I absolutely love coming in and wish I had the chance to do it every day. I just wish people would be more open-minded. I do really appreciate you allowing me to help out when I can!
Ohhh man. This post really hit home for me. I worked in a shelter for a year, and I experienced this on a day-to-day basis. SO much pit bull hate. I have not once had a bad experience with a pit bull – even the “bite cases” that were brought in by police. They are the goofiest and most loving breed out there. I think there is so much discrimination simply because of how much bad media there is on the breed. Whenever you see a dog bite story, there is sure to be a pit bull involved…it’s so unfair.
While working there, I had this really close bond with a Jack Russell terrier who was blind. He had been there for over a year and was starting to go a little “kennel crazy” – very typical in shelter dogs, but customers didn’t know that. He would jump and bark loudly anytime someone passed his kennel, and this was only made worse by the fact that he could hear and smell them but not see them. Because of this, most people believed he was a snappy, hyper dog – no one would take him on a walk or visit with him besides staff members. But once you got him out of the kennel, he was extremely calm, sweet, and docile. Thankfully, he got adopted by a sweet woman who had had a blind rescue before, but I hate when people make snap judgments about shelter dogs.
So sorry for the rant, but man…I have some horror stories, too. Reading your post made all the anger come right back. 🙂 You’re right; a shelter environment is super stressful for a dog and can affect its behavior. More people need to realize this.
I love hearing that people have similar experiences to mine, but I hate that they happen. It would be awesome to find a way to educate the public more about shelter life. I’m just not sure how to go about doing it.
I got a kennel aggressive dog from the great falls shelter and he is wonderful (Blake) not sure if you were familiar with him or not I went looking with my brother and when Saint (Blake) came up to the kennel he was very aggressive and my brother instantly said no I had no doubt in my mind that he was an amazing dog so for all of those people that didn’t give a chance I say thank you because I won…lol
Sounds like you won the doggie lottery! 🙂
Prejudice exists, whether it’s toward categories of people, types of dog or even species of animals. We all do our best to enlighten, one person at a time. You did an admirable job. As for Taeka, Mercedes and the pit bull, I have faith that they will end up in furever homes with someone who has an open mind and an open door.
–Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats
It’s an unfortunate truth that such prejudice exists. I’m deeply saddened watching these dogs at the shelter, but I know eventually they will end up spoiled and pampered.
The problem is people take their own personal feelings about dogs and apply them to a breed. There are dog breeds that I’m not fond of and wouldn’t want to have as pets. That doesn’t make them bad or evil, it just means we wouldn’t be good housemates. I also know that my dogs would drive certain people crazy. Some of those people are dog lovers who have breeds I wouldn’t like and live happily together. They found a breed that works for them, they just would go stark raving mad trying to live with mine.
The difference is I don’t tell other people what kind of dog is right for them.
While not practical for the number of homeless dogs, it is also why I love the foster care that so many breed rescues do in our area. My two dogs lived with families and had fairly normal life experiences once rescued. It made a huge difference in how they adjusted to being adopted.
I completely agree. Not all breeds are meant for all people. I love all breeds, but I know that some would definitely not match my lifestyle. That doesn’t mean they’re a bad breed. I think people don’t completely understand how stressful shelter life is for dogs and that it could take a month or two for a dog to really settle in. Our first dog was adopted from the local shelter and he definitely wasn’t what we were expecting. We loved him regardless