It was a busy, productive and fulfilling day. Physically, I felt strong. Mentally, I felt challenged. My afternoon began at the Shelter in Palmetto where I met with Caroline and Loni, two amazing volunteers. Caroline is the go-to-gal for dogs with terminal illness and I so admire her willingness to embrace this heartbreaking role. She currently has a dog named Ghost who is not only terminal but is quite the challenge. Ghost is incontinent and even doggie diapers fail to keep her output contained. In short, Caroline is a saint!

Loni is the “new generation” of volunteers and very dedicated. She is tackling many different roles at the Shelter, including dog walker, trainer and now playgroup. One of the fun parts of getting older is watching and mentoring the people who will take on your former roles. Fellow volunteer Benita and I ran playgroup for years until Covid shut it down. Loni and Caroline are starting it back up and Loni asked me to come by for a “consult.” I was instantly transported back in time when Benita and I first started working with the dogs. This was before the turf was installed and we played with the pups in dirt while dodging tree roots and freshly dug holes. It’s amazing we weren’t injured.

Today, we brought out Max, a pit bull mix who has terrible manners on the leash and initially barked at every other dog that walked by. With the help of a spray bottle, he learned to chill out and played nicely with a female Pit named Tahoe. Loni has been through training by a wonderful organization that visited the shelter. Playing for Life is dedicated to teaching Shelters how to socialize their dogs and will often have as many as 50 dogs in the playgroup at one time! We stick to two dogs for safety reasons. I am looking forward to joining playgroup on days that I feel up to it. https://dogsplayingforlife.com/

After playgroup, it was time to grab Momma cat and kittens and head to Bishop. Momma was deemed adoptable and will be spayed tomorrow and then join the adoptable cats at Kitty Town. The 3 kittens got their shots and are happily back home with me as is our favorite Limpy Lou, Delilah. Although she was heavily drugged from her intense surgery, Delilah still managed to give me kisses and wags from the moment we saw each other. She has a long row of stitches and is wearing a cone to prevent her from messing with them. Her other leg has a fracture but she manages to walk ok. Now the game is to keep her medicated and let her heal. I have 5 different meds to be given at 5 different times during the day/night so I need to be on my game. I also was given a gel pack to put in the freezer and apply to the stitches at 5 minute intervals to prevent swelling.