Hello Again

A month has lapsed since I've written on the blog. I kept thinking, Kelsey, you should really write something about your new job. And your friends visiting. And the parade you and Bisbee were in. And family vacation. And and and...so it kept getting postponed and postponed until it felt too overwhelming to even take on.

So this is my sad attempt to jump back in to blog writing! Let's start with work.

Work has been going fabulously. It's so fun to go in and find out what kind of animals came in while I was gone, and to watch animals get adopted into loving families. Also, I get to wear jeans and a standard polo shirt every day.

The biggest adjustment so far is the workplace size and environment. I've always worked for big companies (hospital systems, retail stores, etc), so a standalone shelter with ~10 employees is a huge change. The staff dynamics are very different as well...not bad, just different!

My daily tasks involve: 

• Taking pictures of new arrivals and posting to our electronic records, Facebook, website, and various pet adoption sites like Petfinder
• Responding to Facebook and website inquiries
• Assisting with the front desk as needed, including answering the phone and processing adoptions
• Finding foster homes for animals
• Managing the volunteer program
• Planning fundraisers and thanking donors

Would've been such a cute picture if it didn't
make me dizzy every time I looked at the unfocusedness.

The most frustrating part so far is my ineptitude with a camera. I have these grand visions of how photos should look and am constantly disappointed with fuzzy picture after fuzzy picture. Every now and then I will accidentally take a decent picture, but that's far and few between.

Plus, posing pets is harrrrrrrrrd. Especially puppies. I have yet to get a passable picture of a puppy.

Everyone asks me "Isn't it hard to work at the shelter?!? I would want to bring all of them home!" My friends and family are unconvinced when I assert that I will NOT be bringing any animals home.

Honestly, the only animals that are tempting are the old ones. Like Herbert, the 10+ year old lab that came in as a stray. Sweet as pie, that old man. And well-trained...he had obviously had a loving home at some point.

I mean, look at that happy lab face!

Luckily he found a great home.

I did bring a pregnant mamacat home to foster, because as the volunteer/foster coordinator, I wanted to have the experience of fostering so I knew what I was talking about when I told other fosters about how to do it.  The hoarding habits of the farm's past owners were to my advantage in this siutation, as I'm keeping mamacat in the weird whelping room in my garage.

But, she and her future kittens will be going right back to the shelter when the kittens are old enough. Three cats (and two dogs, and two horses, and four chickens) is plenty for me, myself, and I, thankyouverymuch! 

Tanner, god bless his patient soul, came to work with me this past Thursday. The shelter was running "Critter Camp," a day camp for kids to come and learn about animals. I volunteered to bring in Tanner, and the shelter director said he was welcome to come for the whole day so I didn't have to run home multiple times to pick him up or drop him off. So he hung out in one of the large outdoor grass kennels, watching the activity and occasionally whinnying to the dogs and cats.  The kids got to paint him and walk him on the dog trail behind the shelter. 

And that's a little glimpse into my new job! So far, so great.