Saying goodbye

Submitted by UAN Emergency Services Manager Janell Matthies

Yesterday was in an incredibly busy day. We started at 7 a.m. vetting the animals who had not been checked yet and organizing to get the first load of transports out. SPCA of Texas showed up with a huge truck full of crates. We started loading and loading and loading. Of course many of the dogs were frightened and it was a long walk down rows of barking dogs. So they preferred to be carried, even if they weighed as much as some of us. We got the truck loaded, figured out the paperwork (a daunting task) and got them on the road in about three hours. We also made multiple trips to the airport throughout the day to load animals on planes headed for the Denver Dumb Friends League. It was a long day of getting scared dogs out of the crates, calming them, and getting them out to the trucks.

I kept taking my big boy Akita out on a leash to get him comfortable walking on a leash with me. I wanted to make sure his journey out of the shelter was less stressful than his journey in. The wonderful folks from Bella Vista Animal Shelter came to get him and a couple of us took our time and got him to walk outside. He sniffed, stepped and dropped, sniffed, stepped and dropped. It took a while, but we weren’t in a hurry, so we moved along at his speed. So amazingly trusting for a blind dog. We finally got him to the van, where he put a paw inside the door and scooched himself right in. It was a very calm, nice way for him to leave us…

Bella Vista has a perfect area for him where he can go inside and out. Lots of room for the big guy that he is, but small enough that he can get familiar with it quickly. He should be very comfortable there while he waits for his forever home.

On our way back to the EMPTY shelter to finish breaking down crates and cleaning up…another long day ahead, but it’s wonderful to know so many animals are now on to much better lives thanks to all the individuals who worked so hard to get them there.