Today I went to the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA in San Mateo, where I have been volunteering for over two years. I have been volunteering in the dog behavior department of the Humane Society and today I underwent training to advance to a higher level of a dog TLC volunteer. The purpose of the training is so that I will be able to take out and work with dogs that are harder to handle for various reasons; they might be more aggressive, more physically demanding, ill-behaved with other people or dogs, or they might be overly timid. For this training you have to be over eighteen years old, have had worked at the SPCA for at least three months, and be observed as being comfortable with dogs because most often when working with the SPCA dogs you are alone and need to be able manage any problem by yourself, should one arise.

I also was trained today on taking dogs out on the Bay Trail. Most of the time when a volunteer is working with a dog, he or she has to stay within the confines of a play area, and this does not offer much exercise. Also it is advantageous for a dog to be walked along the trail because it offers opportunities for the dog to interact with the outside world (i.e. strangers, other dogs, animals, cars, etc.), which helps the dog overcome behavioral issues and become even more adoptable. For this training, I worked with a dog named Pavarotti. He two-year-old, male Chihuahua; and is very excitable and outgoing. Unfortunately he has been at the Humane Society for a while most likely due to the fact that there are a lot of chihuahuas at the SPCA and that he has some behavioral problems like barking and jumping at people, as well as being rather hyper. However, with the help of the dog behavioral staff and volunteers, he will be adopted soon.