Tuesday, September 22, 2009

In all fairness...

I've finally set myself up here in Washington and am on the road to starting my life, college, driving, work, and all the other things that come with growing up.

To offset the boredom I've been experiencing sitting here in the suburbs, I decided to take a volunteer job at the new Everett Animal Shelter. This weekend is my formal training for Kennel Hand. I'm pretty excited, but after listening to the whole intro, I found something that set me off quite a bit: The Dangerous Dogs act that is imposed in Everett. Apparently, and "Pit Bull" or dog falling into the "Pit Bull" category are not allowed to be placed in a home if they are older than six months - instead, they are euthanized. What I found a sight more shocking was the fact that they had a dog detained in the back who had actually ripped a woman's breast off and then mauled her arm, losing a tooth and leaving it embedded in her skin, and yet the dog was still in holding. Maybe a quarantine period, but still, I will crap my pants if the owners are able to get their dog back. They also had your assortment of cattle chasers and livestock killers, all alive and well and looking to be adopted. Another thing that bothers me is that they have some sort of dog training guru (can't recall the name) that they swear by at the shelter, and when we're trained, we MUST follow his teachings exactly. I've had amazing luck just using verbal and hand cues, and I haven't been bitten since I was a small child. I prefer to implement NILIF, with positive reinforcement and praise. No listen = no reward, but it never equals harm to the animal.

Maybe this post is a tad pointless, but it's something that really irked me. I will be more active now that I have my own laptop (thanks Mom!) and through my work I will have more of the posts you guys crave... To asshattery!

3 comments:

DogsDeserveFreedom said...

Saw your post on my followers list and popped over.

Glad to hear you are volunteering!!

Remember ... you are there to help. Every time you go, you help. Even if you are only there to walk the dogs. It may seem like common sense right now for me to type that out, but in 6 months' time, review it!

Regarding the euth policies ... yep, there should be a 10 day holding period for quarantine. If the owner reclaims, there will likely be some penalty. If not, it wouldn't surprise me to see it euthed.

Pit bulls ... well, that's a can of worms I'm not going to open! (The rescue I volunteer with always moves them quietly out of Ontario if they are an illegal dog - anything under 5yo ... if not, we find them educated homes and list them as mix breeds)

I can just imagine your house in 6 months time ... DO NOT fill it! It is SO easy to take one home ... then another ... then another. Next thing you know, you have 12 dogs and 24 cats ...

Anyway, that's my 2 cents and my warning. Keep posting!

LegendsLiveOn said...

Hi DDF!

Glad to be back in the business again. I'm really excited to start - it gives me something to fill up my time.

And oh yes, will I ever be tempted to come home with a car full of dogs and cats, but atm, since I'm not really in a situation to own a dog full time, I've opted to badgering my father into letting me get a free elderly ferret from Poulsbo... comes with cages, supplies, etc. I saw the ad and it just broke my heart that someone would give up their pets after 8 years of loyalty... Hopefully, I can pick her up and give her a nice home where she can cuddle all day. ;)

Dogs Lover said...

Awesome Article. This is a great information on dogs grooming. I don't think that I have read such an amazing writing/blog before. Keep up the good work. Thanks. I have also written something useful on Best Dog Shock Collar