First Volunteer Visit to Kent

As I mentioned in my last post, Nick and I recently volunteered to walk dogs at Kent Animal Shelter, and today was our first day. I nearly told Nick to go alone, as I've been battling some sort of nasty virus since last Wed, which really put a damper on Thanksgiving and our Ten Year Anniversary, as well as preventing me from doing a lot of other things I had looked forward to over this past weekend, including visiting several friends. Worse, I have been looking longingly through the windows at the unusually warm and sunny fall days and thinking of all the walks my own dogs lost out on. But today, I was on the upswing, so I thought a little fresh air might be just what I needed to help get me back on my feet.

After a brief orientation, where we learned that the shelter has been open over 40 years and that they are planning a new facility which will double their kennel space, we decided to go ahead and take two dogs out for a stroll. We headed over to the noisy kennel area, where an employee brought out a large, spotted male dog named Snoopy and held out the leash, which Nick took, and then she returned shortly with a medium-sized smaller dog, who she handed over to me. "This is Casey," she said, or at least, that is what I thought she said, as it was hard to hear her over the din. I led Casey outside where she immediately play bowed at Nick's charge.

We decided to walk the dogs separately since we didn't know how they got along, and each dog was thrilled to be out of their kennels on such a gorgeous day. Nick reported that Snoopy was an incredibly strong, happy fellow with loads of energy.

Casey, my dainty black and white mix, was pretty mellow. She pulled a little when we first started out, but after a while she settled in, even checking back at me from time to time, which was pretty good considering she had never met me before.

As it turns out, when I looked up her information in order provide a link to it, I learned that "Casey" is actually "Kason" and she is actually a "He," which means I probably confused the heck out of him by praising "Good Girl Casey" every time he glanced at me. If I had to guess, this guy is about 45 to 50 lbs, appeared to be dog friendly, and I noticed he was also a leaner...which he did each time I sat on a bench to take a short break from walking.

Unfortunately I didn't think to bring my camera for this visit and I could not find a photo of Snoopy online, but you can read about him HERE. Snoopy is listed as a Dalmatian/collie mix, and he did sort of look like a large border collie speckled with black spots throughout his furry coat. Both dogs are under two years old, sweet, playful, neutered, and waiting behind bars for their forever homes, as are so many other deserving dogs and cats - so please don't forget to check your local shelter next time you are on the hunt for a new four legged family member to join your clan. You can find some wonderful animals in shelters - which I can personally attest to, since both Leah and Toby are shelter dogs too. And if you're not presently searching for a new pal, here is a list of other things you can do to Lend a Helping Paw over the Holidays.

UPDATE: These dogs have been adopted!!! Yay!!!