Saturday, November 24, 2018
Caregiver Ronnie reports:
Life at Straydog from a dog's perspective. Meet Snickers!
Life at Straydog from a dog's perspective. Meet Snickers!
"I've been a shelter dog most of my life. This is a great place to live. There's always people around who care. I'm never hungry, I'm always taken care of, BUT I feel like I'm missing something. I'm missing YOU. When your family votes to get a dog as a gift for Christmas, opt to rescue! I can't promise you we'll change the world, but I can promise you we'll change yours. Read on to find out what my day is like.
Every morning at 6 a.m. we eat our first meal. Since Straydog houses many rescues, there are many bowls filled & hand delivered to us! After the first meal, everything settles down. We can get a little rambunctious waiting, but with full bellies we find a nice spot in our kennel to lie down & begin the day.
Walks start at 6:30 a.m. and this is one of the most important activities! It's a opportunity to leave our kennels and visit one of our two large parks where we get 10-12 minutes of fun exercise. Some of us play ball, some of us swim, and some of us just get loved.
Between 6 - 7 a.m. our caregivers begin cleaning kennels for us. No matter how much we destroy them, they selflessly attend to the task at hand, we love our caregivers! They begin filling in holes we may have dug and building up dirt along the fences. This helps to deter us from digging, escaping our kennels, and possibly getting hurt.
Next comes fresh water! Our caregivers clean & scrub our buckets to assure all germs & dirt are removed. I can't wait to run over when they are full to get a clean, cool drink! The rest of the time they spend raking. Raking turns over stagnant dirt that may be present, and then our kennels look really nice! Kennel by kennel, section by section, they work until every kennel is perfect.
After that is lunch for the crew. I sit & watch while they eat. My mouth waters, but I know as soon as they're done with their meal it's time for caregiving & treats! (Pssst can you keep a secret? Sometimes I stare at them with my puppy eyes and they share a bite of their lunch, but that's our secret!)
Caregiving is 11 - 1:00 p,m, This is my favorite time! The crew spends quality time with each of us, brushing, doing our nails, and most importantly BELLY RUBS. We also get plenty of treats and undivided attention. Kennel by kennel, section by section, they make sure they cater to the needs of every rescue!
1:20 p.m. Evening meals begin. The aroma of food coming from the kennel office is amazing!
Between 2 - 2:15 p.m. they begin to feed us again, section by section, until we've all been fed.
3:00 p.m. is the saddest part of the day for me. I watch as the crew slowly begins to gather their belongings. It's time for everyone to leave. I sometimes sit and wonder what if it was me they were going home to, I know how much they take care of me. How wonderful would that be to have a loving home with people who care as much as they do?
