Volunteering turns into a job

So last Monday I am settling in to do paperwork.  We had cooked a turkey on Sunday and we had boiled the bones over night and I had just finished removing the bones and starting the turkey soup and I was in the process of getting all of my paperwork out to filter through and the phone rang.  It was Jen, the shelter manager, asking if I could come in a help.  One girl had quit and one guy hadn't shown up and they were desperate.  "I'll pay you of course and just put you on the payroll."  I was flattered and told her to give me a half hour to finish with the turkey and went in.  Where as there is usually enough people to have the cat rooms and kennels cleaned before we open at 11, I didn't get the cat rooms cleaned until 3.  What a long day!  It was fun and I was flattered that she asked me to help.  Anyways, now I am on the schedule for 2 days a week which will be nice.  Now, I am sure you are saying what all is there to do at the shelter...well let me fill you in.

Cats:  We have about 100 cats/kittens.  Most of the cats are in their own private kitty condo cage.  We let the cat out, take everything out of the cage, wash the litter box and food/water dishes in bleach, wipe down the cage, dry the cage, line the cage with newspaper, fill the litter box, put in new food and water and a clean blanket, round up the cat (not usually a problem but we have a few that you can chase around the room forever!) and close the cage.  We do that with every cat/kitten every day. Then there are medications/vaccinations and of course we play with most of the cats or try to as we are cleaning the cage to make them more adoptable.  I have a couple favorites right now:  Maxwell is an adorable black kitten who came in so small that he had to be bottle fed and he and I bonded because he sits on the back of my neck while cleaning his cage.  Marvin came in ferrel and vicious and the first couple times the girls and I cleaned his cage, we cleaned around his growling, hissing body.  Now, although still reserved, he loves to be petted. I love the grumpy ones, they are my challenge.  Then there are the kittens, we just had a mama cat have 8 kittens, yes 8!  One of every color pretty much except no grey.  It is fun watching them grow.

Dogs:  Right now we have 15 dogs.  Each dog is in an indoor kennel at night so in the morning we take them out.  That in itself can be exhausting...they are full of energy and drag you around the yard.  Then the first thing is getting the laundry started.  All of those cat blankets and dog blankets, we do about 8 loads of laundry, wash and dry a day and are not caught up at the end of the day.  Then you poop scoop the morning poop out of the runs and wash down the runs, feed them breakfast and start on the indoor kennels.  Each indoor kennel gets taken apart and washed and swept and and then dishes get washed and replaced and bleached and disinfected and by the time you do the outside and the inside...hopefully you get all that done by 11 for opening then it is the little things: more laundry, vaccinations, medications with each meal, poop scoop as needed, take dogs for a walk (which honestly doesn't happen much), prepare lunch, feel lunch, collect dishes, put indoor kennels back together after they are dry, bed, blanket some treats and fresh water, more laundry and return clean laundry to the cat rooms.  Then at 4 we bring the dogs inside, clean the kennels outside one more time, more laundry and finish miscellaneous duties.  That is if all dogs are healthy.  Add in 2 sick dogs and you have to quarantine them and walk them a couple times and clean around them and time goes so fast.  Here are my favorites:  Princess, a hound that fell out of the back of a pick up and the owners abandoned him at the vet.  She had to have a back leg amputated and is doing so well.  She is really strong and sweet and will pull you all around the yard.  Tucker, another hound that is so much dog but he wants to be sweet but his energy makes him ornery, like pulling the hose into his kennel and putting a whole in it so that when we came out he was drenched with a fountain coming from the hose.  Ellie, a beagle who is so sweet but barks at strangers so no one sees the real sweet dog that she is.  Coco, a little jack russell who is a diva and has to be an only dog because he tries to fight with all the big dogs, and Rocky who is part pit bull and therefore since they are illegal in Ontario we can't even walk him and I think he is probably one of the best behaved dogs we have...oh I could go on and on.

It is hard work but very rewarding.  I come home with new scratches, bruises and nips each day but I do like it.  I am a little concerned about doing it in the winter.  My body doesn't work well cold, I get alot of pain, but I will do it as long and as much as I can.  The people are very wonderful and very friendly.

The girls are doing very well in school.  It is much more laid back which I am not sure is good but they are having fun so that is good right now.  I hope they are learning something.  The first dance is Friday night.  Tiana seems to be turning into quite the social butterfly and Tabitha is auditioning for the school musical.  They both are attending 2 youth groups during the week and the dances at the youth center on Friday nights.  We recently got a gorilla cart to help us haul rocks and the girls had fun with it...see below.

Wil is in BC this week for a meeting.  He spent 12 hours in airplanes and airports yesterday due to delays so hopefully his trip back will go more smoothly.

It is raining today, so my plans to work in my garden area are foiled.  I have an area that I want to turn into a flower garden, incorporating my plow.  But it is full of rocks so I can't rototill it so we are digging it up and hand straining the soil.  In the midst of doing the first bit, we found grubs so I have put down some grub parasites, called nematodes so now it is time to try to finish a bit more.  I have some pansies, a sunpatienc and mum that need to get in the ground before the first frost so that is what I plan on working on this week so I can get them into the ground this weekend.  I am not used to being able to plant so many cool things so I am reading up on it.  My bloomerang lilac is blooming and my black lace that was run over by the lawn tractor is sprouting.  See pics below.

It has turned very fallish.  It is crisp in the morning and evening and the trees are beginning to change.  I had forgotten what fall was like and the hot tub is so nice as it gets chillier.

We have finished clearing our land.  We found a lawn mower type thing that is for brush clearing on Kijiji which is similar to craigslist.  It is easier and faster than the industrial whipper snipper that we were borrowing.  So now it is about clearing it some more and figuring out what we can use the lawn tractor on and what rocks need to be moved.  It really has opened up our space and it is nice that the bugs have been beaten back more.  We also found 2 non functioning wells, some copper wire, some old air conditioner parts and miscellaneous other junk.

Not much else right now.  I need to go get dressed.  A friend from Kingston is driving up to pick up her crock pot today and we are going to lunch.

More later.  My love to all and I love hearing from you.

Brenda