I have been to the Wake County Animal Shelter a few times in the past year with some friends. Yesterday was my first time going to the animal shelter as an official volunteer. I don't know if my heart and views towards the animal shelter changed after orientation, but I feel that my experience yesterday, touring the building as a volunteer, was much more positive than when I visited as a normal visitor. Recalling my past experiences, the smell of the shelter seemed (almost) unbearable. I remember having to clog my nose to prevent a headache. Seeing the dogs behind caged doors also saddened me and hearing the dogs bark enhanced my sorry feeling in past visits. I couldn't imagine how all those animals feel locked up in a kennel day in and day out with only 15 minutes of outside time (for dogs at least). After the animal shelter closes their doors to the public, the dogs don't see any people walking down the hallways until 8 am the next day...It continues to break my heart.

I still felt extremely sorry for the animals in the large caged-in booths during my volunteer tour and it was still very noisy, but I had more of a hopeful attitude when interacting with the animals, particularly the dogs. This time, I had my camera and active participation/attempt in finding them a home with photography. I wasn't just walking around looking for a dog to adopt with a friend or just visiting for fun. I'm helping save some of their lives and that changed my whole perspective on my experience at the shelter. It didn't even smell that bad to me yesterday (probably because my attitude change)! I'm definitely looking forward to this summer project and working at the animal center on a weekly basis.

This is Dic Tracey. He's a Rottweiler mix and has been at the WCAS for about a month now. He is the sweetest dog you'll ever meet: extremely calm, friendly, and great with kids. As you can see, I still have a lot of practice to do with my photography skills. My camera was more focused on the caged door than Dic Tracey, which emphasizes the environment more than the dog to the viewers. I'LL PRACTICE!

I had the opportunity to go in his cage and interact with him. He's a gorgeous, handsome dog.  His ears are, in fact, perky, but because he was not familiar with the huge camera and the shutter sound, he got a little nervous. Such a sweetheart! I would adopt him if I could!

Until next time,

P.Ro