Today I volunteered at the Humane Society. Since I was working by myself, I am only able to take out one dog at a time from their kennel. When I arrived, none of the dogs had been taken out yet (volunteers check off when they have worked with a dog on a big whiteboard in the back), so I chose two larger dogs who looked liked they had a lot of energy being so confined in their claustrophobic kennels. The first dog I released from confinement was named Freddie. He is seven years old, and seemed like he was a mutt, but most predominantly a Australian Cattle dog. He was very hyper and eager to get out of the Humane Society building and be outside. Although he was large and strong, he behaved well on leash and did not seem to need as much training and practice behaving out in the real world as some of the other dogs that I have worked with. We walked along the Bay Trail, which gave me an opportunity to work on his behavior on leash, with other people, with other dogs and also just to give him some exercise. By the end of my time with him, I was very much convinced that he was ready to be adopted and could even be taken home by a first-time owner.

The next dog that I worked with was called Theodora. She was as large as Freddie, and was a Beagle mutt. She had eagerness written all over her face when I was trying to get her out of her kennel (a difficult task when you are by yourself and you have dogs that have poop on their paws jumping all over you). At first, though, she was rather timid as I tried to get her outside the building. Because she was shy, I decided to take her to the play area first, so she could get to know me and relax more. There we worked on standard training (sit, down, stay), as well as playing some fetch. She warmed up, and I took her on the Bay Trail. Here, however, her excitement go the better of her, and she did not behave particularly well on leash (especially when we would pass another person or dog). I had to work on this with her, and hopefully by doing so she will behave better when someone is looking at her for adoption.

Working at the Humane Society is rewarding on two fronts. First, the instant gratification of seeing the dog's face when you take them out of their kennel is great. You know that you are the highlight of their day and you are giving them some much needed attention, affection, and training. Also, you know that by volunteering you are improving their prospects for the future and hopefully making them more adoptable.