If “Cinnamon” is going to make it out of the shelter alive, something will have to be done. As the shelter director, I will need to put forth extra effort, and others will have to help me. How can it be done? What will make her a success story?
I am not trying to "toot my own horn," but this is a way to show what it takes, and how many have to pull together to save just one dog. I want to show other government-run shelters it can be done if you want it done; I want to show people outside the shelter that it requires their help and the local shelter needs their support.
So, what does it take?
I am not trying to "toot my own horn," but this is a way to show what it takes, and how many have to pull together to save just one dog. I want to show other government-run shelters it can be done if you want it done; I want to show people outside the shelter that it requires their help and the local shelter needs their support.
So, what does it take?
Day 1
Her arrival...
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 3:38 PM, Animal Control receives a call over the radio from 911 asking an officer to respond to Bridgeport Place in Monroe, GA to pick up a stray Pit Bull. No other information, just a simple loose dog call. Walton County Animal Control Officer Legaspi drives out there and picks up the dog, brings it back to the the shelter, places it in kennel C9, completes the paperwork, and leaves to go on to other calls. No collar... no tag... no microchip. I guess it was too much for her owner to bother.
Get her on the website...
In an open intake shelter, time is everything. I constantly have projects to do, emails to respond to, complaints from citizens and inquiries from Commissioners to address. But losing even one day of exposure for an animal can cost them their lives. So, the same day she is impounded, just twenty minutes after her arrival in the building, I receive her intake card, push the other pressing duties to the side, and go down to the kennels with my camera. It has been a busy day and busy week, but this can't wait.
The first thing I do is get a quick photo to place her on www.waltonpets.net. Being so busy, that is the best I can do right now. Maybe I can do more when it slows down later. But even this takes about 15 to 20 minutes. But if I can just get a quick photo out there, it will at least let a potential owner know she's here... or help begin pulling on a prospective rescue or adopter.
The first thing I do is get a quick photo to place her on www.waltonpets.net. Being so busy, that is the best I can do right now. Maybe I can do more when it slows down later. But even this takes about 15 to 20 minutes. But if I can just get a quick photo out there, it will at least let a potential owner know she's here... or help begin pulling on a prospective rescue or adopter.
Post the found report...
Next, let's post her found report on helpinglostpets.com. Chances are she'll never get reclaimed. If they cared enough about her to come looking for her, wouldn't they have put a simple tag on her? Wouldn't she have been to the vet for her skin condition?
But, who knows, maybe she was lost a month ago and has been fending for herself as her condition worsened? Maybe she was stolen, ended up in bad hands, neglected, and now in the poor condition she is in? Or, if those scenarios don't hold true, maybe somebody out there will happen across helpinglostpets.com, see her photo, and be her future foster or adopter.
But, who knows, maybe she was lost a month ago and has been fending for herself as her condition worsened? Maybe she was stolen, ended up in bad hands, neglected, and now in the poor condition she is in? Or, if those scenarios don't hold true, maybe somebody out there will happen across helpinglostpets.com, see her photo, and be her future foster or adopter.
Outside help arrives: Facebook exposure...
It is still the first day of her arrival in the shelter. Right away after seeing her on waltonpets.net, the shelter's ever-faithful Facebook volunteer, Gianna, picks up Cinnamon's post and gets her out there before the 10,000-plus followers on the Friends of WCAC Facebook page.
Thank God for our Facebook volunteer! I don't have time to fool with Facebook. (In fact, I despise it. People are emboldened by their anonymity behind the keyboard and post such rude and hateful things there.) But I can't deny how effective it is for networking the animals in need. For that, I am ever grateful to Gianna for her efforts. She has done this on her own for several years, never expecting anything from the shelter. In fact, it was Gianna that gave her the name "Cinnamon". Before that, she was just #20150367.
Thank God for our Facebook volunteer! I don't have time to fool with Facebook. (In fact, I despise it. People are emboldened by their anonymity behind the keyboard and post such rude and hateful things there.) But I can't deny how effective it is for networking the animals in need. For that, I am ever grateful to Gianna for her efforts. She has done this on her own for several years, never expecting anything from the shelter. In fact, it was Gianna that gave her the name "Cinnamon". Before that, she was just #20150367.
Day 2
Some more help arrives... Sponsorships!
One night has passed, but still no interest in Cinnamon. The next help comes along in the form of faithful sponsors. Thursday, March 29, 2015, Alice sends me an email just after lunch pledging to donate $25 to the rescue that saves her. I value these generous souls who give their hard-earned money to help out our pups and cats. There are so many causes out there that people can put their money toward, but they have chosen to help the animals in rural Walton County. Some sponsorships are from random people here and there; others are repeated donors who consistently help our shelter. It takes everyone. Over the next few days, sponsoships continue to roll in. On Monday, Diane emails a promise to donate $25 to a rescue that saves her... Annie pledges $25... Jen pitches in $5...
Then she waits...
Because she is on hold until this coming Saturday 3/28/15, and other dogs are more urgent at the time and needed attention, I'm not able to work any further with Cinnamon this week. She would have to sit all weekend. But maybe with the current posting more sponsorships will come in... maybe a rescue or adopter will take notice. At least she is out there on the web (but it won't be good enough).
Day 6
Monday morning desperation...
Monday, March 30, 2015 - It’s a Monday morning and has the usual Monday morning problems. Two of the shelter staff have called out sick, leaving us with only two people in the office. One new dog came in on Saturday, and two so far today. They need to be posted and listed in the lost/found. There are several emails to go through: sponsorships, applications, inquires and lots of requests for more info on posted dogs. But what about Cinnamon? If I put all my attention to those other things, she won’t get attention and will not make it out alive. No adoption applications were emailed in over the weekend for Cinnamon; no rescues inquired about her status; no new donation pledges were made. I have to do something more... "Glamour Photos"!
Finally around 10:45 AM I get a chance to get Cinnamon out the kennel for some photos. It is extra effort to bring the dogs outside, but well worth it. The photos are improved tremendously. The rain has stopped, the clouds are breaking, the sun is peeking through. That sounds like a good thing, like some ray of hope, but it is bad for photography. The shots are so much better in the shade of overcast skies. The patches of sunlight can blow out the background. But, oh well, I can’t wait around for another cloudy day… Cinnamon might not have another day! I get the best shots I can, including some of her skin conditions.
After waiting for her to sniff around, use the bathroom, sniff the air, etc, I take over sixty photos of her. The whole photo session is about 20 minutes... more time is ticking away and other animals are coming in: a cat was just turned in by his owner and needs to be posted; another black and white Pit Bull was just brought in by an officer...
After the photos I bring her back in, lift her on the table, draw blood and run a heartworm test. Eight more minutes for the test to run, but I make use of the time by vaccinating, deworming and filling out her evaluation. Other duties are stacking up. After completing some of those duties that need attention, I spend my lunch break editing Cinnamon’s photos. Sitting in front of my computer with a turkey sandwich, sixty photos get culled down to four shots. It takes a good 30 minutes to edit the photos, scan the evaluation, write up a short bio and post it all on the website. This is what I can come up with:
After waiting for her to sniff around, use the bathroom, sniff the air, etc, I take over sixty photos of her. The whole photo session is about 20 minutes... more time is ticking away and other animals are coming in: a cat was just turned in by his owner and needs to be posted; another black and white Pit Bull was just brought in by an officer...
After the photos I bring her back in, lift her on the table, draw blood and run a heartworm test. Eight more minutes for the test to run, but I make use of the time by vaccinating, deworming and filling out her evaluation. Other duties are stacking up. After completing some of those duties that need attention, I spend my lunch break editing Cinnamon’s photos. Sitting in front of my computer with a turkey sandwich, sixty photos get culled down to four shots. It takes a good 30 minutes to edit the photos, scan the evaluation, write up a short bio and post it all on the website. This is what I can come up with:
Her new posting on waltonpets.net looks like this:
Some more help arrives... a veterinarian donates their service!
Still Monday. One of the shelter's senior employees, Shari Gray, calls Monroe Veterinary Clinic and tells them about Cinnamon. The vet is gracious enough to offer a free skin scrape and exam at 2:30 PM. This may help Cinnamon's cause. Any potential rescues or adopters will know what they are getting into, and what it will take to treat her. We'll also know if she is contagious to other dogs. Here are more kind people pulling together to help a helpless dog. An officer loads her up, transports her over there, waits while they get through the paying customers, then finally sees Cinnamon. The microscope reveals demodectic mange. Not the end of the world since it is treatable and not contagious.
Pushing her out there...
With a break in the turmoil of the day, I get her photos and information loaded on Petfinder.com and Adoptapet.com. There are many adoption websites out there, but I primarily use these two. Occasionally, others that watch our website will copy the postings over to adoption websites. I'm grateful to these people that help in unseen ways like this.
Also, it has already passed time to send an "Email Alert". When I first started at Walton Animal Control, there were very few rescues helping the shelter. There were only 8 local rescues with current paperwork on file. We began to roll out the red carpet to the rescues looking for help. Being in a rural out-of-the-way town, we knew we couldn't rely on local adoptions and walk-in traffic only. If we were going to turn around the horrible euthanasia at the shelter, the rescues would have to help us. We started on SPOT Society and got every email listed on the site. I began sending out alerts about specific dogs and cats to those emails. Over the years, with each new contact from a rescue, I add them to my alert database. Now, when we send out an alert, it goes to over 200 rescuers, sponsors, and cross-posters.
Also, it has already passed time to send an "Email Alert". When I first started at Walton Animal Control, there were very few rescues helping the shelter. There were only 8 local rescues with current paperwork on file. We began to roll out the red carpet to the rescues looking for help. Being in a rural out-of-the-way town, we knew we couldn't rely on local adoptions and walk-in traffic only. If we were going to turn around the horrible euthanasia at the shelter, the rescues would have to help us. We started on SPOT Society and got every email listed on the site. I began sending out alerts about specific dogs and cats to those emails. Over the years, with each new contact from a rescue, I add them to my alert database. Now, when we send out an alert, it goes to over 200 rescuers, sponsors, and cross-posters.
Day 7
Things are becoming urgent...
Tuesday, March 31, 2015; 7:40 AM. I arrive to work a little early today. Since it will be a sunny day, I need to get an earlier start photographing other dogs before the sun crests the horizon and illuminates all the shady areas I use for photography. Before anything else, I check my email. Have Monday's efforts paid off? Will there be an adoption application or rescue commitment waiting in the inbox for Cinnamon?
One rescue emailed asking we test Cinnamon again for heartworms. I had already ran a heartworm test on Cinnamon yesterday. A minute or two after the control dot appeared, a second dot in the positive indicator showed up, but so faintly I almost missed it. I don’t really want to use up another test and get the same result. Tests are purchased with limited donation funds, and they are needed for other dogs right now. I’m hoping an adopter or rescue will have a veterinarian do a different test. A second rescue emailed about Cinnamon as well. They couldn't commit to rescuing her, as their board of directors doesn't allow pulling Pit Bulls, but they want to help however they can.
A few more heroes have stepped to the plate, offering what they can: Carol is moved by Cinnamon's story and pledges a $25 donation... Debi is adding $50... Rhonda promises to sacrifice $50 of her money... Elyssa is contributing $30 to the pot. These people don't have to do this. But thank God they don't just sit behind their computer screen and watch.
8:05 AM - I go and check on the dogs in the kennel and look for new impounds. Although she doesn't have a rescuing angel yet, a small miracle has helped Cinnamon. Several adoptions and reclaims took place Saturday and Monday, and surprisingly, new dogs didn't roll in to fill their kennels. We have a decent amount of space and that should buy Cinnamon at least one more day.
One rescue emailed asking we test Cinnamon again for heartworms. I had already ran a heartworm test on Cinnamon yesterday. A minute or two after the control dot appeared, a second dot in the positive indicator showed up, but so faintly I almost missed it. I don’t really want to use up another test and get the same result. Tests are purchased with limited donation funds, and they are needed for other dogs right now. I’m hoping an adopter or rescue will have a veterinarian do a different test. A second rescue emailed about Cinnamon as well. They couldn't commit to rescuing her, as their board of directors doesn't allow pulling Pit Bulls, but they want to help however they can.
A few more heroes have stepped to the plate, offering what they can: Carol is moved by Cinnamon's story and pledges a $25 donation... Debi is adding $50... Rhonda promises to sacrifice $50 of her money... Elyssa is contributing $30 to the pot. These people don't have to do this. But thank God they don't just sit behind their computer screen and watch.
8:05 AM - I go and check on the dogs in the kennel and look for new impounds. Although she doesn't have a rescuing angel yet, a small miracle has helped Cinnamon. Several adoptions and reclaims took place Saturday and Monday, and surprisingly, new dogs didn't roll in to fill their kennels. We have a decent amount of space and that should buy Cinnamon at least one more day.
A rescue helps how they can...
Still Tuesday, Morgan County Humane Society sends a few emails and calls. For a several reasons, they can't take Cinnamon into their shelter, but want to try and help. Brandi comes to the shelter just before lunch and meets Cinnamon. She too is impressed with how sweet and well behaved a girl she is. Brandi brought another heartworm test to donate and uses the digital reader provided to them by their IDEXX salesman. Thank God, on the second test Cinnamon is negative for heartworms, and confirmed by the digital reader! They take a look at her skin, snap a few photos for their veterinarian, and donate a box of Promeris to begin treatment. Later, Brandi sends me another email, "Put a tube of the
Promeris on her. It does treat both demodex and sarcoptic, so that's good. I am getting skin scrape materials
from our vet today and I will come and scrape the skin again in the morning and
take it back to read it." A short time later, more sponsors have stepped up to the plate: Ariane pledges $50 and Kim promises $50 to the rescue with a heart big enough to save her. Nancy who notes she rescued a starving, hairless Pit Bull once pledges another $25.
Day 8
Eight days doesn't seem like a long time; but in an open-intake shelter it is too long. We must keep the dogs and cats quickly going out because we never know when more are coming in. At any time, someone can drive up with four dogs to surrender in the back of their pickup truck. We can't turn them away. An officer may pick up a stray here and there, or, God forbid, discover an animal hoarder and need to impound multiple animals. Cinnamon can't stay too long, since new impounds may be needing her kennel.
A great day for Cinnamon...
Wednesday morning, 7:50 AM. I am disappointed as I check the inbox. No emailed applications for Cinnamon; no rescue commitments either. As a few new dogs have come in, I can't do anything more right now. I take "Cadbury" and "Bunny" out for temperament testing and photos. But, as I'm coming back into the shelter, Brandi with Morgan Humane Society is here. "We're going to take Cinnamon!" I don't know how she pulled it off, but I'm thankful. Her story will now continue as she goes into their care for mange treatment, spaying, and TLC. I ask Brandi to send me updates so they can be posted here. I post a quick note on waltonpets.net and it is copied to Gianna's Facebook page:
Thursday, April 2 - Morgan Humane Society sends me a quick email to let the sponsors and me know Cinnamon is fitting in well and had a great night in her foster home. "Here are some
pictures from Cinnamon's first night home. She is the absolute sweetest girl.
She loves the other dogs and playing fetch. She is good with the cat and
chickens as well as my toddler. She is so happy. She has clearly been
someone's baby before, she made herself very at home on the couch. Not a
big fan of the crate but she did OK for the first time. She's right at
home here with us."
"Secretary Cinnamon" greeting visitors at Morgan County Humane Society
2 Months later
On May 28, 2015, I received a wonderful email from a happy family that had opened their hearts and home to Cinnamon! Here is their note and photos...
Hi Bill,
My name is Aaron and my wife Brandy and I adopted Cinnamon from Morgan County Humane Society this past Saturday. We have dubbed her Molly after Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter books because she's a bit of ginger and she's sweet but also tenacious. Katelyn sent me the link to her story from the website and I wanted to take a moment to say "Thank you". Reading the story literally brought my wife and myself to tears as we considered what might have happened to this beautiful, sweet baby.
We began looking for a dog in part because our new house was broken into two weeks after we moved in. The first thing everyone said was "You gotta get a dog!" We don't take much convincing as we are animal lovers at heart. Sometimes things happen for a reason.
We decided to get a dog but we couldn't get just any dog. We knew we wanted to rescue a dog but we also were looking for a dog who was already housebroken since our time is limited on certain days of the week. We discussed getting a pit bull because they are stigmatized and harder to adopt out. Did I mention that we already have 7 cats? Yes we needed a very special dog indeed!
After your part of her tale Katelyn over at Morgan County Humane Society steps into the limelight. She fostered Molly and did a marvelous job in training her to stay in her crate, not to potty on the floor, and even how to sit. Not to take away from Katelyn at all but I suspect Molly made it easy on her. She is an incredibly smart dog! I spotted Molly (Cinnamon at the time) on rescueme.org and noticed that not only was she a beautiful dog she was also good with other dogs and cats. BINGO!
We made inquiries with Morgan County Humane Society and we were put in touch directly with Katelyn.
She let me know that she would have Cinnamon at Morgan County Humane Society on Monday and Wednesday of that week. Though I had to work Monday afternoon we decided to ride down to Madison and visit.
We had a brief visit and had to head back to Athens for work. We started making plans to get all the things we would need to make a happy, healthy home for a new pup. As the various puppy accouterments arrived by mail and after a couple visits to Pet Smart my anxiety increased with each day that passed fearing that somebody would swoop in and adopt her before we could make it back down to the Humane Society and complete the adoption.
Things have a way of working themselves out. Saturday morning the 23rd I drove down to Madison and officially adopted Cinnamon and brought her home. She was friendly if distant and sat quietly staring out the window then laying in the seat on the way back. Once we got home I took her out into the backyard and we played for a while. She had a lot of pent-up energy from being left at the Humane Society for the previous few days before we picked her up in order to help ease the transition into a new home. She enjoyed running after her rubber ball and chasing me with a rubber stick toy then playing tug once she finally "caught" me. Once she was tuckered we came inside and she rested most of the rest of the day on the floor beside me. Since then we have ran and played outside every day. We've shared lots of snuggles on the couch.
She has almost completely ignored our seven cats who are learning to accept the newest member of our family with surprising grace and civility (for cats) no doubt due in large part to Molly's own excellent behavior in the house. Katelyn had already taught her to sit which she continues to do reliably, probably 90% of the time. She has already learned to "stay" and "come" on command as well. She really IS a very smart girl! We're currently working on "drop it" while we play fetch and she's catching on fast. She sleeps through the night in her crate without complaint and her potty training has held up remarkably well during the transition.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that she is the perfect dog for our family and after reading the story I realize that there are so many good-hearted people who saved her life and we cannot express our gratitude enough! Right now with the expense of adopting her and getting her all the things she needs to feel welcome and happy in our home we are stretching our budget but we plan to donate to all of the places and people who helped bring our baby into our home over time. Please feel free to pass this message along to anyone and everyone who was a part of her life before we meet her.
Once again you have our deepest, and most sincere gratitude!
Aaron & Brandy
My name is Aaron and my wife Brandy and I adopted Cinnamon from Morgan County Humane Society this past Saturday. We have dubbed her Molly after Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter books because she's a bit of ginger and she's sweet but also tenacious. Katelyn sent me the link to her story from the website and I wanted to take a moment to say "Thank you". Reading the story literally brought my wife and myself to tears as we considered what might have happened to this beautiful, sweet baby.
We began looking for a dog in part because our new house was broken into two weeks after we moved in. The first thing everyone said was "You gotta get a dog!" We don't take much convincing as we are animal lovers at heart. Sometimes things happen for a reason.
We decided to get a dog but we couldn't get just any dog. We knew we wanted to rescue a dog but we also were looking for a dog who was already housebroken since our time is limited on certain days of the week. We discussed getting a pit bull because they are stigmatized and harder to adopt out. Did I mention that we already have 7 cats? Yes we needed a very special dog indeed!
After your part of her tale Katelyn over at Morgan County Humane Society steps into the limelight. She fostered Molly and did a marvelous job in training her to stay in her crate, not to potty on the floor, and even how to sit. Not to take away from Katelyn at all but I suspect Molly made it easy on her. She is an incredibly smart dog! I spotted Molly (Cinnamon at the time) on rescueme.org and noticed that not only was she a beautiful dog she was also good with other dogs and cats. BINGO!
We made inquiries with Morgan County Humane Society and we were put in touch directly with Katelyn.
She let me know that she would have Cinnamon at Morgan County Humane Society on Monday and Wednesday of that week. Though I had to work Monday afternoon we decided to ride down to Madison and visit.
We had a brief visit and had to head back to Athens for work. We started making plans to get all the things we would need to make a happy, healthy home for a new pup. As the various puppy accouterments arrived by mail and after a couple visits to Pet Smart my anxiety increased with each day that passed fearing that somebody would swoop in and adopt her before we could make it back down to the Humane Society and complete the adoption.
Things have a way of working themselves out. Saturday morning the 23rd I drove down to Madison and officially adopted Cinnamon and brought her home. She was friendly if distant and sat quietly staring out the window then laying in the seat on the way back. Once we got home I took her out into the backyard and we played for a while. She had a lot of pent-up energy from being left at the Humane Society for the previous few days before we picked her up in order to help ease the transition into a new home. She enjoyed running after her rubber ball and chasing me with a rubber stick toy then playing tug once she finally "caught" me. Once she was tuckered we came inside and she rested most of the rest of the day on the floor beside me. Since then we have ran and played outside every day. We've shared lots of snuggles on the couch.
She has almost completely ignored our seven cats who are learning to accept the newest member of our family with surprising grace and civility (for cats) no doubt due in large part to Molly's own excellent behavior in the house. Katelyn had already taught her to sit which she continues to do reliably, probably 90% of the time. She has already learned to "stay" and "come" on command as well. She really IS a very smart girl! We're currently working on "drop it" while we play fetch and she's catching on fast. She sleeps through the night in her crate without complaint and her potty training has held up remarkably well during the transition.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that she is the perfect dog for our family and after reading the story I realize that there are so many good-hearted people who saved her life and we cannot express our gratitude enough! Right now with the expense of adopting her and getting her all the things she needs to feel welcome and happy in our home we are stretching our budget but we plan to donate to all of the places and people who helped bring our baby into our home over time. Please feel free to pass this message along to anyone and everyone who was a part of her life before we meet her.
Once again you have our deepest, and most sincere gratitude!
Aaron & Brandy
And this is just one dog...
Cinnamon is just one of many dogs that come into our shelter. Each year over 1,500 dogs come through Walton County Animal Control, a relatively small operation. The shelters closer to Atlanta take in many more than that. Now multiply that by the number of shelters throughout the state and nation. We have some work to do! I have to admit, I can't do this with every animal that comes into the shelter; sometimes there are just too many. But this is a way to show what it takes, and how many have to pull together to save just one dog. It can be done... if you want it done.
Next time you criticize your local shelter for euthanizing animals, ask yourself: Who is the bad guy here? Is it the shelter that took her in when the owner forsook her, took her photos, got her out on the web, and did all they could to re-home her? Ask yourself: What about me, have I done my part to help out?
This donation link helps with shelter photography expenses not covered by the Walton County Gov't and with keeping waltonpets.net on the internet. If you'd rather directly help the dogs and cats in the shelter, please go to www.waltonpets.net and see the sponsorship info. If you'd rather donate direct to the shelter for purchase of vaccines and heartworm test kits, call the shelter. Yes, I am a paid employee of Walton County and I'm "on the clock" when I take the photos of the shelter dogs, but there are personal expenses I incur:
- Donating here helps pay for waltonpets.net hosting and domain fees. Since Walton County Gov't has its own website, they will not pay for external websites. Since I can't control content or make constant updates on the county's website, I maintain waltonpets.net. It was originally purchased and started by a local rescue, but I have taken over paying for it since 2009.
- Donating here also helps me print materials and purchase props for talks at schools and church groups and to provide free shelter photography lessons for volunteers to help their local shelters and rescues. I am looking to expand and improve my responsible pet care talks and environmental education talks at schools and other groups.
- Donating here also helps me maintain my camera equipment. SD cards get worn out; lens protectors get shattered; the casing of my 18-105 mm lens is being held together with electrical tape.
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 All content is ©williamwisephoto.com. Please don't steal images. My images are available at dreamstime.com. Stock sales go into the shelter photography program.
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In December 1993 I came to know the Designer and Creator of this wonderful planet and its creatures: Jesus Christ.
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Donations help support the animal shelter adoption photography equipment and adoption website hosting and domain fees. Thanks for your support!
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