The Dogs

So while I've got a few minutes I thought I would tell you about the dogs at the shelter, though I wish I had more time so I could really tell you about them. And also, when the hell am i going to get to the day to day about these dogs and our walks? Later or tomorrow, I guess.

The little ones (two of the dogs i'm going to mention are actually bigger but they have top bunk cages so i group them all together):

Shatzie- American Eskimo/great big spazzy ball of white fur- She's 8 years old but acts like an 8 month old. She has the most toys out of all the dogs and is also constantly stealing other toys. She's very crafty- our little kleptomaniac somehow manages to get whatever's near her cage INTO her cage. Really sweet though and loves her toys. I like to drive her crazy by trying to line up her toys from side to the other- she always picks up the last toy that I've picked up and drop it when I pick up another one. Oh yeah, the people who owned her never took her for walks so she's kind of spooked about walking and getting picked up, etc. And the wife called her "an eight year mistake." What a bitch.

Rocky & Nicki- Maltipoo & Shih Tzu. Rocky is not my friend at all. He is always barking when I'm in the room which is pretty freaking annoying and he's nearly nipped me like 3 times. However, he has recently begun this Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde act and I've gotten him to smell me without bearing teeth or trying to bite and I've also gotten to pet him and hold him twice. He really just stops barking and gives this cute little face and wags his tail all friendly. He even paws at the cage for me to open it and pet him. Nicki is his "sister" and the complete opposite of him. Always sweet and laid back. Doesn't really ever get crazy. Except for when Cody's laying next to the wall between their cages and his fur sticks out from underneath and she starts trying to dig to the other side. It's so funny! She looks like she's going "WTF!!!" Rocky and Nicki share a doggie bed perfectly. They're like doggie spoons!
P.S. Given up because Rocky bit the owner's son a few times...Hm, maybe I remind him of a little boy?

Cody- Shih Tzu- I have this weird idea that Cody is an old man but he really isn't. He was owned by an old man who had to give him up because he couldn't really walk him/take care of him anymore. It's too bad. I think he makes a great companion but probably the old man was kinda in the same situation as Cody- nobody was there to take care of him. =( Or maybe the old man was just not a good guy. Whatever. Cody is also a very chill dog. He needs to lose some weight but other than thought a real gentleman.

Sparky- Silky Terrier/Dachsund? He's a new addition to our crew. Found wandering the streets. Funny...considering he looks recently groomed. He is however extremely boney. No one's put an age on him yet but judging from the teeth- he is ancient. Or maybe it's poor nutrition. Poor thing cries a lot. He freaked me out the first time I opened his cage though because he jumps right into your arms and almost over my shoulder! He pooed and vomited in his cage today and we think he might be sick. Like, maybe that's why he was put on the streets. I don't know.

Tickles- Pit Bull- Great name, eh? She has a ball fixation. It's not so bad that she'll bite you if you take her ball out of her mouth but she always tries to bring it on walks and won't leave it behind to go anywhere. It's so hard to get her to go places. She's just crazy for balls. Once I was walking her and she saw a PIECE OF A BALL and she tried running for it. Other than that she really lives up to her name- she loves getting her belly tickled.

Jimmy- Chihuahua- REALLY old. and kinda ugly. He's really grown on me though. He's kinda tubby though. Hahaha. He's recently been kind of depressed because his cagemate was adopted and he's all alone. I feel so bad. He pretty much just lays in bed all day and I hardly ever see him out of it. I don't condone hand feeding but that's what one of the other workers started doing and he looks so cute doing it. However, I really try to get him to eat by himself. Even if I have to put his bowl in his bed. He's doing better though. He still seems to shake a lot and get scared when we try to take him out of his cage. And he always looks like he's crying. He's so emo.

Bandit (aka: Mini-Bandit; Bandit, Jr.)- Recent addition to the crew. This is a puppy Jack Russel terrier. Don't know why he was given up. Probably because the people didn't know how jumpy and energetic these guys are. He's grown on me too recently. Especially when he's been given a long walk and he lays down and plays with you calmly. (sometimes I make him run around in circles- you know like they do with horses when you have them on a lead in a pen? Don't know why that simile popped into my head.). I don't think he'll be at the shelter long.

Recently adopted:

Emma- Maltese- She was Jimmy cage mate and such a little lady. She looked like a teddy bear. She does this cute thing where she lays in bed with her head up and the expression on her face is just...pure cuteness. Once I caught her with her head resting on the side of the bed and her tongue was just sticking out. Not like lolling around out of her mouth...but just the little tip of it was showing. It was really cute. I hope she's happy in a good home.

Turbo- Beagle- Oh man! Turbo is gone! Him and I started at the shelter on the same day! I remember how stinky he was and how fat he was. We really cleaned him up and trimmed him down and he was so cute! At first he would cry all the time and then I felt kind of bad because I think he just kind of gave up and he just looked permanently sad. Like I would put him back in his cage and he was look back at me with this expression that said "Why am I here?" and also "I know this breaks your heart too. It's ohkay." I'll probably talk more about him later....

The Big Dogs:

Wednesday-

Van Wyck (aka: Vance)-

Sheba-

Felicia-

Lady-

Oreo-

Bones-

Bandit-

Chrissy-

Sam-

The Outsiders:

Beau-

Maynard (aka: Manny)-

Shadow-

Kira-

Whew! That's a lot of dogs!!! I can't finish all of them tonight....More later. And tomorrow I'll put up pictures and have my first "Dog of the week"!!!!

I work with bitches and curs!

It was recently suggested to me that my position (dog walker) was very romantic. I can see the romance in it- the leading ladies are always doing something impractical and fanciful in the movies, aren't they? (there's something about mary- dogwalker; pretty woman- prostitute; alien- lieutenant and alien incubator) Always doing something cute that makes the guys swoon. Anyway, I didn't mean to start writing about all that nonsense. Let's just get into the meat and potatoes of this whole thing...

MY JOB IS AWESOME. First of all, I essentially get to play with dogs for about 4-5 hours. Second, I don't have to actually talk to people- I work with 2 other people and we're usually just running around getting work done. Third...well, who needs a third reason?

Sure, I get dragged around and humped sometimes but who doesn't sometimes get humped at work? At least at my work place I can simply assert my dominance by being firm on the leash or holding the dog down and coercing it into a calm submissive state cesar style.

Well, that's about it for now. I've taken a day off from walking the dogs to go on a field trip with my brother's class. Is there anything worse than 15 year olds?

Coming later: More on the cast of characters aka dogs.