First Day On The Job

I made my way up to Pets, Inc. on time and on schedule for my first visit (10-27-2008), for which the young lady told me I could just fill out and application and get to helping the staff out...simple enough. After getting my information filled out (just the basics), the girl at the desk ask me to hold on and just stay with the group that came in after me.

I quickly figured out that the group next to me was a collection of kids doing community service. I remembered the reading I had done online about Pets, Inc. and how I could just come up there and be a companion and walk the dogs...I didn't fancy shoveling poo all afternoon with the juvies, so I quickly separated myself from them and let the girl at the desk know why I was there...and it was not to shovel poo with teenagers. After letting her know the deal, she told me to go back in to the kennel and ask the lady in the back if I could help.

It was very relaxed and I just mozied on back and found the lady who runs the kennel and she pointed me to the leashes and two dogs for me to take out and walk to the fenced in area they have at the side of the property. If you have never been in a good sized kennel at any point in your life (which I have plenty of times), they are extremely loud and smell like poo, so be ready if you ever choose to venture into one.

The first dogs that I took out were Rat Dog I and Rat Dog II. Now, those weren't their real names, there was a list of names on the wall, but they sounded good as Rat Dog I & II. I hate to say I was surprised how nice the dogs were, but they were really nice little guys and really appreciated the attention. I really apreciated the size of their ears.

After having a good time with the two small guys, I went back into the kennel and got Vicious Tim. Again, Vicious wasn't his real name and he was a really nice dog. His body looked like a slim female Lab, but his head and ears were very much German Sheppard Dog. I spent my time with Tim trying to figure out why someone would have abandoned him on the side of a road while I was scratching his massive ears (which he really enjoyed). When I put him back in the kennel, he began to howl like a wolf...figures.

After taking out three very social and very well behaved dogs, I got to Ned. Ned was actually a female and about the most nervous dog I have ever attempted to pet. When I moved my hand towards her, she would almost bow and then slowly roll over and just freeze. Once she figured out everything was okay, she was quite pleasant and open. After I put her back in the kennel, she showed me she could jump about the height of a door...

After playing with the dogs for a couple of hours, I made the move onto the puppies. It was a really nice day out, so the puppies were out in front of the building in little pens so everyone coming to the Center could see them first. They were all amazing, but here are a few pictures of my favorites.