After much heart searching I decided several months ago to volunteer (dog walking) at my local shelter - Lakeland Animal Shelter (LAWS)in Elkhorn, WI. Even though I had been a member for years, it was a hard decision for me because I knew that I would love and want to save them all! The last time I went back by the "dogs" was several years ago and I ended up adopting 200# of Awesome Sam & Clyde. At that point, I started to leave my donations by front desk for obvious reasons. I also knew that as a volunteer, if I found out one of them had to be put down, I would be very upset so I decided to never ask if I saw one of them "missing". (Although I have asked!)

So I did decide to stuff all the emotional stuff down and volunteer anyway to bring some joy to the very boring & stressful lives of shelter dogs. I thought that if everyone decided to not volunteer for selfish reasons, these dogs would never have a chance! The more volunteers the better because these dogs need to get out and exercise to burn off some stress, for some interaction & socialization, and for some peace & quiet as it is extremely noisy in the kennel areas during the business hours of the shelter.

I have had many positive experiences as well as a couple negative. For the positive it is great to see the joy and excitement when you go inside a kennel to harness them up for their walk. You are met with loving eyes, wagging tails, wet kisses, and sometimes almost maulled but in a nice way. It is great to find out that a friend has been adopted and went home. It is also great exercise (walking, hiking, playing ball, practicing basic commands) as well as stress-reducing! I would recommend volunteering at a shelter to anyone. I usually take the large dogs and the energetic pullers but there are less active dogs and smaller dogs available as well. The cats are also very much in need of affection, care, and interaction to help them with their stress and to keep them more adoptable.

For the negative, I have found out that one dog I knew was put down for a bite. Our shelter is an extremely low kill shelter but bites give a strike against them even if it is a small one. (Any dog can bite or nip - accident during play, getting a hyper dog too wound up during play, pain if you step on them, sickness, acting out due to extreme stress, abuse, fear - You need to educate yourself of warning signs, how to interact with diff types of dogs as well as not freak out and scream if a dog play bites you as this can cause fear and a real bite. Shelters need to do more training in these areas to help volunteers and make them long term volunteers) This dog was getting very wired from shelter life even though he was very well trained when he came in. People cause most of the homeless former pet problems and shelter suffering when they get an animal without thinking about the long term & monetary commitments, when they buy a dog (or cat) instead of giving a shelter dog a chance (When demand decreases - so will supply), when they abuse or neglect an animal, when they do not spay or neuter, when they do not train a pet or seek help from a trainer for a problem and just give up and then turn their former family member into the pound!

Another negative is that I feel so bad when I have to leave and there are no other volunteers there yet, I have to walk past all of their sad eyes and hopeful wagging tails just waiting for their "turn". I may stay for a few hours but I spend extra time with each dog so I only get to about 6 in that amount of time and I feel sad for the rest. Please help your shelters and rescues!

Two Happy Moments came recently when I found out that 2 of my best pals found a home. Jolly Old Dixon (Found in a UPS Truck, driver did not close the back at a stop. - Why don't people check the shelters for their lost pets AND use tags!) and AWESOME Pro Ball Player Buddy 3!!!



Hoping for a home for my pal Ritchie (Pit / Shep Mix) he is a great walker, stays in his spot next to you, prob does not like cats and is choosy about other canine friends, but very sweet:)


ALWAYS hoping for a home for super smart & fun Mercedes. She is a small strong pit bull who loves loves loves to play ball, she always has to have a durable toy for chewing, she can sit, double shake, & lay. She does not like cats and being dominate she is choosy about her canine friends but she can mind her own business and continue to do so with structure. She has been at the shelter for 2 1/2 years, the longest resident. She was adopted over a year ago but brought back after 2 weeks as her person's living arrangements changed. She really deserves a forever home with a forever family!!!


And for Sirus - a male pit bull, I am worried for him - he is super smart but getting wired due to shelter life. He likes to grab your coat, jacket and play tug & not let go (Trades don't always work) which is bad because he could get skin! He does not like many other animals at this point and is being worked with by a trainer as may'be his last chance. He really needs to get out of the shelter and into a forever home with an experienced and dedicated family.

Adopt & SAVE A Life ~ Donate & Volunteer To Help A Life!
In My Clyde's Memory:) (Formerly from Lakeland Shelter)


ADOPT - Don't SHOP:):):)