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A Place for Everything and Everything in
its Place
Bernadette
has posted a list on the bulletin board on your left as you enter the
first cat room. It lists everything that is stored at the shelter and
which area it is stored in. If you have any questions as to where to
find something or where to put something away - check the list. This
should cut down on the questions and also help keep the shelter neat.
Thanks Bernadette!
CHECK THOSE CAGE DOORS AND DON'T LEAVE PEOPLE
ALONE WITH THE ANIMALS!
Recently
a volunteer failed to properly close a cage door on a dog that was being
kept inside. The dog got out and did a lot of damage to the inside of
the shelter including the alarm system. Any time you go in a cage, run
or crate double check that the door is securely shut after you are done.
Do this whether you are with a dog or a cat.
Another
incident that was reported involved an unsupervised visitor placing
her child close to one of the dogs to see how he would react to her.
While nothing happened - this time - think what MIGHT have happened.
Make sure that someone stays with visitors at all times while in the
dog area. If someone is interested in a dog and wants to get it out
of the run or walk it, a volunteer must get the dog out and leashed
and stay with them at all times.
The same
holds true for the cats. Cat people should stay with people in the cat
area, get the cats out of the cages. It is particularly important to
stand close by while people are holding the cats. We know how anxious
the cats can get when out of their cages.
Frequently,
dog volunteers cannot be located because they are out giving the dogs
a nice long walk. Since the volunteers remaining at the shelter may
not be qualified to work with the dogs, dog walkers now need to coordinate
their walk so that one dog volunteer is always close by to assist when
people are there.
Cages are color-coded
Adoptable
animals will have green stickers on their cages. If there is no green
sticker, the animal is NOT available for adoption at this time. If you
have someone very interested in an animal ask them to check back in
a week or so.
Comment Cards
All the
cages now have an additional card behind the one with the animal's personality
and behavior. Volunteers are encouraged to post observations about the
animals as they work with them. This will assist other volunteers who
may not know much about a particular animal. Volunteers should check
the cards to help perspective adopters know more about the personality
of the animal. Recently a cat was returned because a volunteer told
the adopters that he was friendly. While the cat wasn't a MEAN cat,
he was not the friendly kitty the people thought they were getting.
By updating and reading the comment cards, we can all do a better job
at assisting with successful adoptions.
Grooming Dogs
If you
take a dog outside to groom him or her, please be sure to clean up all
the loose fur when you're done. Comments were made recently to Katie
about all the fur outside the shelter. Everyone, especially the dogs,
appreciate any volunteers that groom them. Don't stop - just clean up!
Also,
when walking the dogs, don't forget to clean up after them. The area
around the shelter needs to be kept neat and clean - no one wants to
step in a "land mine." The shelter has pooper scoopers available
so please be considerate of everyone and use them.
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