Day 2 - Puppy School and Zeke's Overnight

Today was a nice day. Again, I went in with an expectation of working in one place, but ended up in two more interesting dog runs that have resulted in me having a guest tonight.

I thought that I would work again at Deja's Run. As I was checking in for the morning shift, the volunteer coordinators mentioned that Puppy School was going on today. When asked if I would like to go there for an hour, I could not wait to say yes.

When I first came to Best Friends, puppy school was one of my fondest memories. In all the intervening times, it did not happen. That today, when I was feeling a little less enthusiastic, would find myself able to help the puppies learn proper behavior, was just over the top.

So off I went. For an hour, we sat with 5 really cute puppies - are there any other kind - and showed them how to interact with humans. The program has one main goal - to make sure that puppies are not returned for unwanted behaviors.

Because I went to puppy school, they did not need any volunteers where I was yesterday. That was the next fortunate break. So I went over to The Fairview where I met Zeke.

Guess what Zeke's characteristics are.
- Ok with cats
- Ok with other dogs
- Walked the long trail

So we are doing a sleepover and then a hiking outing in the morning before it gets too hot.

Zeke

I need to be careful because I am starting to feel the feeling with this guy.

For the afternoon I spent time washing bowls (about 20 of them), then I prepared tomorrow's breakfasts for the dogs and for the last event of the afternoon, I spent time in shy-dog socialization class.

The way it works is that some dogs are extremely shy around people to the point of running away or pacing nervously back and forth, while panting and drooling excessively. This behavior makes them unlikely to be adopted. So during the class, volunteers successively hold one treat in their palm and wait for the dog to approach and take the treat from the hand. No kind of interaction is allowed because it would scare the dog away. The goal is to teach the dog that people are kind and friendly, not a threat.

And to wrap up the day, I just had a nice conversation with Mike, a guy who works here at the hostel. He and his wife have sold everything and just live place-to-place, enjoying the good life where ever they are. They are spending some time here before moving on to Central America. What a great concept. Someday I will pull the plug on the job and become an international migrant.

The altitude change and the heat have completely worn me out. Time for a strategy change. Tomorrow when I return from Best Friends, I'm going down for a 2 hour nap. When I awaken, it will be cooler and I will be able to wander about and enjoy Kanab's night life. ;<)

Day's Pictures