*SIGH*
There are days........

Where I'd rather die than walk another dog.  Right now it's triple
digit temperatures in Agoura Hills, which is in the valley part of
Southern California.  Very very hot, and having to walk 15+ dogs isn't
something to look forward to.

And there are days where you get so frustrated you just want to walk
out and not have to deal with animals again.

This morning was one of them.

I get in at 8 AM, and start walking the dogs.  It has been too hot to
get a good night's sleep, even with AC and a fan, so I was quite bleary
eyed.  Cuddles, a maltese, was yapping away, and each high-pitched bark
make my head hurt.  And she had gone to the bathroom in her cage.  Yay.
So I tossed her into another cage and began cleaning the old one.
Then Fern came and asked me to help her out with Hunter and Danner.

Hunter and Danner are a pair of Irish Springer Spaniels, and they are
NOT favorites among the staff.  They are a little smaller than a
labrador, but just as energetic.  I have yet to meet a dog of this
breed that is properly trained.  EVERY dog of this breed that comes to
the clinic is always pulling on the leash and is EXTREMELY hyper.

Hunter and Danner are a little hard to handle.  But the worst part is
their inability to go to the bathroom DURING their walks.

(Start GW)

Danner has been having a bout of diarrhea.  Both Hunter and Danner are
in the same large run, and they are always hyper and jumping very high
whenever someone walks by.  It is normal to come in the morning to find
a dog that has done their business in the run.  But it's a whole new
ballgame if the dog doesn't care and proceeds to walk in their business
and get all dirty.

Hunter and Danner took it one step further.  I walk in and see why Fern
needed help.  There was so much feces in the run that both Hunter and
Danner had their paws covered in it.  And with each energetic jump that
Danner took, little bits of feces were flung out outside the run.  It
was all over the chain link gate, the walls and in front of the run.

The LAST thing I wanted to do was go in there.  Since they were so
covered in feces, I just grabbed the hose, aimed it at them and turned
it on.  Better to walk and handle a wet dog than a dog covered in
feces.  Two of my co-workers then took Hunter and Danner out on their
walk and I was left to clean the run.  I sprayed the run very
thoroughly with bleach.  Now the water runs off into a trough, and most
of the runs have a small chain link fence blocking the trough.  This
particular run doesn't have one, because the drains need to be cleared
every day and this one has a small opening, mainly to allow access for
the tech to reach in with a gloved hand to clean the trough.  Yes, it's
gross, and NOT one of my favorite jobs.  So the trough is now full of
this dirty water cause the drain hadn't been cleared yet, and I'm
drying the run with a towel when they come back.

I won't tell you what happened next because it is SO gross that I lost
my appetite and couldn't even finish my coffee.  Let's just say that
dogs are known to do gross things, but this is the worst. It grosses me
out just thinking about it while I'm writing this. It was the last
straw, and I was very tempted to just throw up my hands and leave.  I
did NOT get into this field to deal with stupid dogs covered in s***
and having them get it all over the place and jump all over you and
having to clean up after them and then have them do it all over again.

I managed to pull myself together and get through the rest of the
morning, but I was so mad at those dogs that I didn't want anything to
do with them. And I probably will have to deal with this yet again
tomorrow morning, cause they aren't going home until Monday.
Grrrrrrrr........  I almost want to walk right up to the owner and tell
her to go someplace else.

(end GW) Ewwwww......

Anyways, the rest of the day got a little better.  We have this really
cute kitten named Katie that is boarding.  She is so cute because she
suddenly will get a case of the zoomies, but since she's in a small
cage, she has no where to run but in circles. She also has a little
white mouse that she loves to bat around.

And she invented a new game, Fetch.  She waits until a tech or doctor
is near the cage and the bats her mouse through the bars of the cage so
it falls to the floor.  If the tech or doctor is properly trained they
will pick up the mouse and return it to the cage.

KF warning.  Dr. Z had a kitten in a small carrier with a heating pad
yesterday.  I peeked in and it was 3 days old.  Every few hours it
would roll over and start crying.  You would be working in treatment
and suddenly hear these tiny cries from the office, where the carrier
was.  You'd peek in and this kitten would roll around trying to find
food.  Awwwwww!!!

Yes, this job has its days.......

There are days when you walk a dog and it does its business outside and
five minutes after you return it to the run, you find that it has done
more business all over the run.

There are days when a dog just refuses to hold still and thrashes all
over the place, leaving you dripping sweat when you're done.

There are days when you can't hit a jugular vein to save your life.

There are days when you clean and disenfect a cats cage and give them a
fresh litter tray and fresh water and a clean blanket and they inspect
it and then go to the bathroom right in front of you and kick litter
all over the cage and then cover it with the blanket and knocking over
the water dish in the process and forcing you to remove the cat and
clean their cage yet again.
There are days when a dog you have to bathe is so covered in mats you
want to shoot the owner for allowing their coat to get that bad.

There are days when you really don't care how tight you are pulling the
slip leash around the neck of a difficult dog.  Especially since they
haven't figured out that if they stop pulling, they won't choke.

There are days when every one of your scratches has come from one
particular animal that you had seen that same day.

There are days where every time you use alcohol or ear cleaner you
always manage to splash some on your scratches.

There are days where you're stuck with holding a dog with a huge
drooling problem.

And yet there are days when you hold a kitten so tiny you want to stick
them in your pocket.

There are days when a puppy will lick you and look up at you with those
innocent eyes.

There are days when a client thanks you personally for caring for their
pet.

There are days you actually look forward to a particular animal coming
in to board.

There are days you call dibs on working with a particular animal
because you love them so much.

There are days when a client actually knows you by name.

There are days when the pet recognizes you with joy.

There are days when you love an animal so much you want to hijack them
and take them home.

There are days you clean a cat's cage and they suddenly start rubbing
against you and start purring when you scritch them.

And then there are days where you come home from a long day at work and
your cat gives you attitude and you look them in the eye and say,
"Don't give me that, I get enough of that at work, and I will so scruff
you and toss you into a cage if you don't shape up."

Cheers,

Kristi