Joining the Workforce

**VickiB** · 04-05-2011, 04:49 PM

I agreed to work part time at the animal shelter and was to begin training next week. But through a sudden twist of fate my training began today and the two days a week commitment has morphed into five. I sure hope my bladder is up to this!

On the positive side, I don't expect the dogs will care how much I pee, -even during the worst flare.

***kadi*** · 04-05-2011, 05:18 PM

Congratulations on the new job

I don't think I could ever work at an animal shelter, I'd be too likely to bring my work home with me - and feed it!

Crossing fingers you'll have a good training week & that you'll really like the job,

***ICNDonna*** · 04-06-2011, 02:01 AM

We only live a few miles from an animal shelter and I've been thinking about volunteering there. Right now I'm president of our Lions Club, but when I'm finished with my term at the end of June, I think I'll try a few hours there. One of my daughters volunteers and she gets to play with puppies! --- my kind of work.

Donna

**bubbe1** · 04-06-2011, 03:48 AM

Vicki,
That's great!
My husband and I used to volunteer with the local humane society and while it was sometimes hard, it was always fulfulling.
Kadi, it's true, you do tend to want to bring your volunteer work home and feed it-that's how we ended up with our sweet dog, Zachary! Actually, we were asked to foster him because we were the "poodle people" and Zach was too sick to go into the kennel. We SWORE we weren't going to keep him, we were just going to find him a new home. Well, it's been 13 years, and we still haven't found just the right place for him!

Have fun, Vicki!
Laurie

**mary124** · 04-06-2011, 08:59 AM

That is great news, but I am probably like Kadi - I couldn't work there as I would want to take home the animals. (I have a big yard so I could get one or 2 more, but its not fenced in...besides I really don't want another one as the one we got is so attached to my son that only he can get her to potty --so she either waits for him to come home or she might have an accident now and then (I try to take her out but we just walk and stand there till one of us decides to go up into the house).
Hope you have fun.

**VickiB** · 04-06-2011, 01:56 PM

For some time I have been volunteering there two days a week doing all of the fun stuff that those who worked there didn't have enough time to do. (There's never enough time!) Teaching a puppy to sit or walk on a leash, taking dogs out for walks, and just general socialization & confidence building. I love it. Donna, I can't think of a better way to spend time when your term is up. The dogs really make it clear how much they appreciate any time that is spent with them -it's way better payment than any check!

I know what you mean, Kadi and Mary, about wanting to bring the work home with you. That seems to be a occupational hazard as everyone there has multiples at home. There was a beautiful bearded collie puppy at our shelter and it took every bit of strength I could muster to not bring him home. Thankfully, he was adopted by a wonderful family two weeks ago.

Laurie, my Whiskey's story was similar to your Zach's. A temporary home that became permanent. I'm so glad that no-one took her off of our hands as we'd have missed out on having a wonderful dog!

Today was my second day, still in training so not there by myself yet. (Typically there's only one person manning our shelter) I did my first adoption!

A young German Shepherd who had been there far too long. Yay! One down, eight more to go!

**theclownster** · 04-25-2011, 05:43 PM

Congratulations Vicki! I'm just getting caught up on the boards so I'm reading this one a bit late. How's it going now that you have a few weeks in?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

**VickiB** · 04-29-2011, 08:53 AM

Hey Jennifer, How are things going for you?

That twist of fate I opened with is still in force as not only did my volunteer job turn into employment, but then my part time job suddenly turned into full time. -Which explains why I am not on the boards much lately.

Sheesh, I don't know how you people who work full time do it! There are only so many hours in a day and working only serves to make the laundry increase!

Anyway, I am loving it. I've only had a few days where my IC has acted up somewhat, but the dogs don't seem to care that I used the bathroom frequently.

There is a down side in that it's hard to not become emotionally invested. I am really bothered by the good, well mannered dogs who's owners don't come looking for them, -especially when they're senior dogs. You just know they belonged to somebody who treated them well, took the time to train them, etc. Then how can they 'go missing' and no-one checks the shelter for them? I imagine they assume their dog went off into the woods to die or something. Mind boggling!!!

**theclownster** · 05-08-2011, 04:40 PM

Hi Vicki!

Mind Boggling indeed! It doesn't make sense to me either. Especially since one of my cats sneaked out yesterday night when I was coming in the house and I stayed up until 5:30 a.m. when I finally got him safely back into the house. It was a long several hours as I searched and worried. I just can't imagine people not following up when their loved pet goes missing.

It's nice to hear you are enjoying your job. It sure sounds like rewarding work and I can see how it would be so hard to become emotionally invested. I also agree that it is a lot to be working full time. It's hard to find time to do anything and I too find it hard sometimes to make it to the boards. There's just not enough time in the day.

I'm sorry it took a bit to respond to this. I think I initially saw your response and had planned to come back to reply and I'm just now getting to it. Sometimes, time just slips away.

Overall, I'm doing pretty good, just extremely busy - thank you so much for asking! I've still been going to Weight Watchers as I continue to try and lose more weight. I'll be honest, I haven't been as focused as I should have been and I am trying to be really serious about it so I can lose the rest of this weight. About a month ago I joined Curves and it seems to be going well - - so far I haven't noticed any IC complications from it, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed as I really need to be more active. It feels good to be working on my physical fitness. I should be getting measured this week, so I'll get to see if I've lost any inches. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Well, I hope you have a great week and continue to enjoy the important work you are doing!

Best wishes,
Jennifer