I don’t like visiting animal shelters. I find animal shelters ultra depressing, it breaks my heart to see the faces of the dogs and cats waiting and hoping for a two-legged friend to call their own. I want to help and save them all, I want to hug them all, I want to play with them all. I avoid eye contact because it breaks my soul knowing I can only help a few out of many.

All the shelters I have visited house the dogs in one of three ways: 1) many dogs together in a pen (kennel) of varying dimensions 2) by themselves in a pen 3) by themselves in a crate. The dog’s home during their stay is usually dirty with urine or poop. If the pen contains many dogs they are usually together in one corner because the remaining spaces are soiled. The living condition is not a fault of the shelters but more of the system. Shelters are understaffed or staffed by people without proper tools or knowledge in how to deal with the condition or staffed with people who doesn’t really care about the work or are unhappy with the amount of pay they are getting. Many of the staff are volunteers whether there by choice or by circumstances. Volunteers do what they can because of their heart but the depressing condition eventually will take its toll on an individual. Not all shelters are like this, I have visited some where the staff do care or are better than most.

I once visited a shelter where the reception area was filled with 7 staff members who spend most of their time while I was there talking to each other than doing something to help the animals or interact with visitors. Walking through the kennel area I did not encounter another staff. The shelters do not have a good ratio of caretakers to animals and as a result the kennels are often not cleaned more than a twice or three times throughout the day or the animals do not come into contact with another human being except for feeding time twice a day.

Fights among dogs in the same kennel is a common occurrence, dogs often will form groups and pick on the weaker dog in their kennel. Food aggression will form and dogs learn to quickly eat their food which is unhealthy or will fight each other to get more food. The shelter try their best to group dogs of similar attitude but shelter depression is common and dog’s behavior will change from good to worse as the number of days in their stay increases.

Staff members with an office or work in an area where it can be closed off may invite the good dogs to spend the day with them. Those are the lucky ones. The unlucky ones are the dogs who have been identified as a problem and are in an area by themselves with very little human visits. The dog may have bitten another dog or a worker because the worker does not know how to deal with a stressful dog. If a dog has attracted interested fosters or adopters they will get to spend time outside and social with humans. Depending on the breed, size, gender, condition of the dog they may get little to no interests at all.

Everybody wants a good dog but dogs the adopters come to see at the shelter have so much pent up energy from being in a kennel or crate all day that the first chance they have to be outside they are super hyper or scared and not show their true beautiful self. The dogs shut down when they are depressed and shelters are a stressful place for dogs to be.

Not all shelters in Georgia is no-kill. Shelters are full, to make space for new intakes they will euthanasia the longest dog resident or a dog with behavior issues or health issues to make room for the incomings.

I want to establish a shelter that does things differently. One that is a combination of shelter, sanctuary, dog park and doggie daycare. Imagine happy and well behaved dogs waiting to be adopted, dogs with proper training to make them good companions thus reducing the possibility of returning because they didn’t get along with the existing dog(s) or cat(s) of the adopter or didn’t get along with children in the household of the adopter or did something the adopter didn’t like and didn’t experience during the adoption process.

First and foremost, the shelter will be a limited kill shelter. All animals will be given the chance of a “furever” home. The exception will be if it is medically the best thing to do for the animal. This exception will not be taken lightly, multiple veterinarians (general veterinarians as well as specialists) opinions will be sought.

The shelter will treat each animal as if they are our own, here is what we would do differently

    1. All staff will have the proper training and use only approved techniques in working with animals. Recognize the signs of an animal in distress and knows how to properly handle the animal
    2. Every animal coming into the shelter will be given a thorough examination including a CBC (Complete Blood Count) and Chemistry Profile in additional to the routine blood work checking for parasites such as heartworms. The animal will be examined for signs of infectious disease, cuts, skin issues and/or medical emergencies not limited to pain
    3. If no vaccination history can be obtained for the animal and with veterinarian’s recommendation, any necessary vaccinations will be given to the animal
    4. After the necessary hold period is expired, animals that are not fixed will be spayed/neutered if determined safe to do so by a veterinarian
    5. The shelter will have on-staff veterinarians and veterinary staff as well as all necessary equipments to properly care for all animals. This includes but not limited to equipments to run blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, lasers and any surgical equipments needed
    6. All necessary medical treatments will be given to the animal. I have seen and read stories of injured animals being picked up by animal control only to suffer in pain at the shelter for days, weeks, and longer
    7. If safe to do so, bath and grooming (spa treatment) will be enjoyed by the animal as well as flea/tick treatment started for the animal and during their stay
    8. All dogs will have the opportunity to undergo the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen program and earn their AKC CGC title. The shelter will have on-staff trainers to work with the dogs to address any behavior issues and to train the dogs to be well mannered. All animals will be assessed for temperament and any behavior issues. A plan will be devised to help correct any issues found
    9. A compliance team will be formed to ensure all rules and regulations are being followed. All aspect of the shelter will put the welfare of the animals and humans first.
    10. An inspection team will perform regular and surprise inspections of the shelter to make sure it is as clean, if not cleaner than a restaurant’s kitchen
    11. During the day the animals will be assigned into play groups of similar and compatible “personality”. The number of animals in each group will vary and doggie daycare guidelines will be used. The dogs will be able to socialize with other dogs and have mental stimulation which will promote better social development. Trained staff will be involved in all aspects of yard control and dogs will be continuously supervised by trained and dedicated staff. The dog’s day will include play time, nap time, treats time, training time, and rub downs
    12. The dogs will sleep comfortably in a crate, by themselves in a den, or together with compatible dogs in a den. No dog will ever have to fight for space on a bed or sleep in a corner of the den
    13. Dogs will be given their own space to eat or trained to be respectful eaters. All dogs will have ample time to eat and digest their meals
    14. To reduce kennel living, the dens will be decorated to be cozy and minimum bare concrete contact. If a dog is allowed to work off excess energy during playtime, the living areas of the shelter will be a lot quieter resulting in less stress on the dogs
    15. Adopters or Fosters will be able to visit the shelter to see how their dogs play and socialize with other dogs and humans. Be able to interact in a one on one environment to determine suitability
    16. On-going training and assistance for dogs that are fostered or adopted. Once a dog is in our system, they are part of our family forever and we will do everything to help no matter the circumstance
    17. Dogs will be DNA tested in order to better understand how to help and interact with them. DNA testing may also help to identify potential health issues and to further aid in the research to prevent common diseases such as cancer
    18. Dogs will be fed food that is optimal for their health
    19. Dogs will be accessed for any special skills or talents they may have which can be put to good use such as dogs showing an aptitude to be a service dog or agility courses or worker dogs
    20. Adopters will know from the beginning what the dog they are adopting will be like, reducing the “surprise” or “buyer’s remorse” feeling
    21. Dogs will wear activity tracker such as Whistle to better monitor their activity level to ensure they receive the daily recommended exercise for the dog
    22. Healthy dogs will be evaluated to be a blood donor

The shelter will

    • be large enough to house comfortably 500-1000 dogs
    • there will be areas for offices (administration and medical), training facilities and playground areas (indoor and outdoor)
    • the entire interior of the shelter will be climate controlled
    • have areas simulating home environments to aid in a dog’s transition, training, and use for a break from kennel living
    • have pools for the dogs to enjoy as well as use for water therapy
    • have agility courses for the dogs to learn as well as for dogs to practice and to sharpen their skills
    • have hiking and walking path for humans and dogs
    • have dog park area where people can bring their dogs to socialize with other dogs and shelter dogs
    • work with rescue groups to provide temporary housing for dogs in their care as oppose to long time boarding

The shelter will depend on employees as well as volunteers to function. The environment will be one that is positive for dogs and humans alike. The primary objective of the shelter will be to improve the quality of life for dogs while they await their “furever” home. The secondary objective will be to give senior dogs a good retirement home. These are dogs due to health issues are not good candidates for adoption and are better suited for a forever foster or better under the care of the shelter.