21 Emotional Stories From The Heroes That Volunteer At Dog Shelters
People who volunteer at animal shelters are the real superheroes in our society. It's grueling and thankless work. The animals you get come in the worst condition and need the most love, and sometimes it's not easy to give that love if they don't want it! It can be a wild ride - especially after reading through these 21 stories from volunteers.
This post is dedicated to all of those big-hearted volunteers who help at animal shelters. We're happy to share your emotional animal stories, both good and bad, for everyone to hear! We're so happy to hear that you've helped so many good boys become their best selves, and you're certainly making the world a better place. Some of these stories are heartwarming, some are funny, and some are incredibly sad, so get some tissues ready!
Start every morning purrfectly - sign up for our daily cat newsletter!
-
1
This is basically the story of my life. Its really hard not to fall in love with each and every dog there so you need to have a barrier up to distance yourself from the dogs. Even with that, some of them leave real holes in your heart when they are adopted. This particular dog we wanted to adopt so badly, he was perfect for us, but due to our lease terms we are not allowed to have a dog and cannot afford to move yet. Seeing him go was one of the most heart-wrenching things at the shelter and I cried in front of his new family as they took him away.
-
Advertisement
-
2
This one was frustrating, of course a dog is going to use the restroom in a new place when he is unaware of his new surroundings. It takes time for a dog to get used to a new home and people. I wish they would have waited some time for him to settle in, plus potty-training is a thing. If you ever adopt a dog, understand that there is a settling in period that can be a few weeks or a few months. Understand that dogs have feelings and thoughts and can't just immediately fit in. He is still at the shelter now.
-
3
This dog is a sweetheart. When he got there he was SCARED of dogs. We have been socializing him and he's starting to play. We don't know why it changes outside of the shelter, but it breaks our hearts. Everyone adopts him thinks they can treat him like any house dog. HE. LIVED. AT. A. SHELTER. They all act differently!
-
4
This was INFURIATING. We are always getting flack on Facebook. "The shelter is dirty." We're not. But this one took the cake. We did not have enough dogs for this person. Like we're a pet store. Like we stock dogs for them. We are the only open admissions shelter in our county, meaning we take in everything. If dogs aren't coming in, BE HAPPY.
-
Advertisement
-
5
A lab at our shelter kept getting cauliflower ear and needed surgery. A guy who visited the shelter but couldn't adopt fell in love with her and paid for her surgery! It was really nice of him! She is now completely deaf and is learning hand signals!
-
6
I'm a teacher in the real life, but on the weekends I take dogs into the shelter lobby to, hopefully, be adopted. My first one was adopted by this amazing grandmother/mother/granddaughter family. They still send me updates. He's not supposed to go on the bed, but I always get pictures of him chilling there! One of the perks of volunteering there.
-
7
The shelter has a rating system of sorts for dogs. Green dogs are easy to deal with and pretty much friendly with everyone. Yellow dogs are friendly with people and probably other dogs, but be slow at first. And then there are Red dogs. We only have a few Red dogs and they can be marked as so for many reasons, too energetic, super nervous, difficult to handle, and aggression to name a few. Hercules was a Red. Since I had never met him before I decided to put him last on my list so I could spend more time with him after all the other dogs had been looked at. When I first entered his kennel, "Hercules" didn't move an inch, he wouldn't even look at me. I tried coaxing him with a treat but he didn't care about it. So I just sat down. After giving him a few minutes to get used to my presence I put my hand up for him to smell. After that got a small sniff response, I tried petting his nose. He seemed to like that so I moved to his head. I stopped petting him and he let out the most pathetic whine I had ever heard! A few minutes later he crawled next to me and sat down, letting me pet him everywhere and whenever I would stop he would paw at my hand until I continued! My SO joined us then and after a few minutes he was switching between both of our laps for pets. The backyard was then clear so I decided to take him out back. As soon as I got his collar on him he just lit up! It was amazing seeing his quick transformation. He started jumping around the kennel super excited. Outside he was a whole different dog. He ran around us, playing and barking at us out of excitement. It was the best moment I had ever had at the shelter. We ended up staying later then we planned on just so we could play with him longer. We both cried when he was adopted, but he went to a magnificent family.
-
Advertisement
-
8
I was TERRIFIED. I always worry about the dogs, and I had no clue what to do. We ended up needing five volunteers. Three to push him back in, and two to hold treats from the outside portion of the kennel. I went home, cried, and didn't go back for a week. I know that it wasn't my fault, but I felt so bad for scaring the dog.
-
9
Every time.
-
10
We have a rating system for dogs in kennels. Green: really easy dogs - usually small. Yellow: A little difficult to handle, strong (usually bigger dogs). Blue: Behavioral problems or EXTREMELY strong. Someone put a blue dog in a yellow kennel. A newbie took out the dog, which is one of our strongest. Got lose really easy. Neither of us are blue dog certified. We both had to get a hold of the dogs lead, and try to get her back. Luckily, a blue walker was nearby and was able to help us get her back in. Huge pit mix, and two small girls do not equal a good combination.
-
Advertisement
-
11
Ok, I am just going to admit it. I. Hate. Puppies. This experience solidified my feelings about them. I was pooped on, peed on, and their little teeth hurt when they missed the toy and bit my fingers instead. My partner, however, loves them.
-
12
We took in three of the dogs from the South Korean Meat Market. Everyone came in droves to get these dogs. Of course, they did not want any other dogs. The thing is, these dogs are TERRIFIED. They won't even come near people. Only certain people are allowed to go near their kennel. We've been slowly socializing them, but they're still not ready for adoption. Maybe look at the MANY other dogs we have?
-
13
While volunteers usually go around the same days/times each week, sometimes things come up and everyone is busy. The paid workers are also busy doing their own jobs so there is no one to take the dogs out. We came into the shelter that day to, well, poop. And lots of it. We tag teamed where one of us would take the dogs in a kennel out to the back and the other would clean up the room. Managed to clean it all up before the next few volunteers showed up!
-
Advertisement
-
14
To put this into context, the shelter can have up to 50 dogs on the floor at a time, so 97 in one month is amazing! I am constantly impressed by the cleanliness of the shelter, friendly personalities of the dogs, and the amazingness of the staff. With all of the volunteers there, the dogs are able to be socialized with humans to a point where they are friendly and loving. The extra time they take with the special dogs is incredible, and they NEVER give up on a dog. Their perseverance to adopt out every animal astounds me and I am so happy to be part of them.
-
15
She's still there, but she's getting better. I had her in our lobby today with cats and dogs walking by her. She did freak out at one cat, and one small fluffy dog. During our playgroups (where we socialize the dogs) they first muzzled her. Now, she can go in un-muzzled with certain dogs. Part of what we do at the shelter is train aggressive dogs so they can be adopted. It's sometimes difficult in a stressful environment, but she is a true love bug with people. She would literally fall on her back to get belly scratches from people. Aggressive pit? Not really!
-
16
This was my second breakdown at the shelter. This little puppy came to the shelter and was so lively and beautiful, both inside and out! She had been there for a month and during that time her personality had been changing. She went from this lovely puppy to a dog who was frantic and desperate for attention. I wanted so badly for someone to adopt her, so when this lady came in and met with her, I got super excited. She introduced her own dog to this one and they got along well. But she ended up leaving without the shelter dog. I cried the whole way home. I don't know why but being at the shelter and seeing all of the amazing dogs without homes just got to me and I broke down. This story does have a happy ending though, a week later another family came and adopted her, I can't tell you how happy I was!
-
Advertisement
-
17
I cried. How dare they. If you can't handle having a dog for their whole life then DON'T GET ONE. The dog was whining for him once he left. He didn't stop crying until hours later.
-
18
This is the story of my first break down at the shelter. There was this lovely dog who had just came in. His name was Romeo. He was severely underweight and malnourished, very shy and unsure of his surroundings. I spent an hour with him one day trying to get him to get out of his shell. I didn't get much progress, but I was confident that he would be a happy normal dog in no time. I noticed a strange bump while interacting with him and mentioned it to the staff. They put him under anesthesia to check it out but unfortunately it was too much for him.
-
19
A post for him went viral, but someone said they were going to adopt him and didn't end up doing it. I didn't want anyone to say anything mean to him. We were having our largest event and it was an amazing moment. All the shelter staff loved Frogger so much and tried everything we could to get him adopted. When he left, we put a prince outfit on him and took pictures. He was so happy! We occasionally get updates and he's so happy. What a difference not being at a shelter makes!
-
Advertisement
-
20
I am not sure of this dog's past, but she was traumatized at some point and became too afraid to leave her kennel. Even getting her to go out to the back to do her business was difficult, let along go on a walk. After a year at the shelter and TONS of traingin and handling, a volunteer decided it was time to take her outside to a secluded business park on a weekend where there was a path along the bay. Having a car that could fit her kennel, we were brought along to play taxi. :) After a slightly nervous car ride, she jumped out and became a normal dog! It was lovely to see her calm and collected.
-
21
Honestly many of the shelter dogs are like this. They are super wild inside the kennel, but as soon as you get them outside and give them a chance to get their energy out, they are different dogs. Same can be said about dogs who are quiet in the kennels, get them outside and they light up!
Check out our Instagram for more hilarious animal content!
Love our stuff? Shop for some of our pawsome merch here.
Tags
Next on Animal Comedy
Comments
Hot Today