A Day in the Life


There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes at a shelter. Starting before 7am, our animal care staff comes in to ensure lights are on and doors are unlocked for the arrival of volunteers, and morning meds are dispensed. The dogs are typically the first to be cared for, they are fed and let outside after a night in their kennels. By 9 am, volunteers caring for cats and small animals will start to trickle in and our animal health tech arrives to prep for the day's surgeries with the help of volunteers. There may be foster animals coming in for checkups or an injured animal that requires surgery so by the time the vet arrives the clinic is in full swing. Walking into the building in the morning can be an assault on the senses, barking, meowing, smells that can curl your hair, people rushing about to get tasks started. Our day has begun.


Our office staff arrive throughout the morning, ending with our adoption staff just prior to opening the doors to the public at noon. By the time the shelter opens to the public as many as 15-20 volunteers will have completed their duties to get the animals and the building ready. Some days there are potential adopters waiting for our doors to open, especially puppy days! 

 Volunteers will continue to arrive throughout the day; walking dogs, socializing cats, keeping the laundry moving and assisting our staff with any manner of task. By 3 pm, surgeries are complete and the next shift of volunteers are coming in for more feeding, cleaning and walking. Late afternoon often brings another rush of people in looking to adopt a family member. Animals will be moved between private and public areas of the shelter as space opens up and they have completed quarantine periods or sterilization surgeries, this involves a lot of cleaning and sanitization to get kennels ready for new inhabitants. We close to the public at 6 pm (most days) and our adoption and reception staff finish up and head home. From 6 -7 the shelter winds down, more meds, final cleanup for volunteers, one last dog to walk, one more bunny to cuddle, swap cats out for playtime. The main shelter is quiet by 7:30 but there may still be public obedience classes in our Rehabilitation and Education Centre (REC) at the back of the building for a few more hours.

On our best days shelter operations can seem like a well-choreographed ballet, a Swan Lake, with some players more graceful than others. Other days it can feel like you are trapped in a vaudeville act complete with occasional pratfall and animal act. Every day we do our best to be worthy of the trust placed in us by our residents and by the end of each day with the help of over 50 dedicated people we feel we are. 

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