I’m sad to report that I wasn’t actually needed for the dog transport from Virginia to north Jersey.
As it turns out, the organization doing the transporting was delivering more than just the three dogs I’d signed up for — they were running several simultaneous transports from Lexington, Virginia to Woodbridge, New Jersey. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, the two puppies had been taken off the transport (hopefully because they were going to new forever homes!) and Betty the Beagle was assigned to a different set of drivers.
So… no road trip for me this past weekend!
I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to help out, but I also appreciate the fact that they didn’t want to waste my time, and have me drive all that way just for one dog.
And I started thinking about other shelter volunteering I had done. When you get involved with a rescue organization or animal shelter, you can’t really have too many expectations. You can have general ones, like “Today I will be walking the dogs.” But you can’t really expect to see a particular dog or cat every time you visit. Hopefully, they will be adopted. But they may also go to a foster home for a break from the four walls of the shelter… or, depending on the type of shelter you are working with, they may run out of time and be euthanized.
When I was volunteering for a shelter during my college years, I absolutely fell in love with a pair of Keeshond puppies. In my head, I named them Grayson and Campbell. I took those puppies out to play every chance I got. And then one day I came to do my weekly volunteering… and “my” boys were gone. I was actually too afraid to ask what had happened to them; I didn’t want to hear that they might have run out of time at the shelter. And actually, as it turns out, they went to forever homes, so I didn’t have to worry. But I was counting on those puppies being there, and coming in to find them gone was almost too much. I thought long and hard about quitting. I had gotten unrealistically attached to those puppies — despite knowing full well I couldn’t have a pair of puppies in the dorm, and I couldn’t bring them home to my parents.
Anyhow… I guess the lesson here is keeping your expectations light when you are getting involved with a rescue, shelter, or transport. Life in the shelter is always changing. You never know who is coming in or going out… you just need to give your affection to whoever is there while you can.
And I’m going to keep trying until I actually manage to help a transport, dang it! That’s two strikes so far — maybe the third time will be the charm.