Saturday 10/21/2006.

Today's photo - the Hahn Family from Charlotte NC.

There is one thing I would like all to understand. If you volunteer in ANY capacity with Carolina Poodle Rescue, please check your motivation. If you are motivated by a desire o assist needy dogs, then you’re doing this for all the right reasons. If you have any other motivation, then you’re doing this for the wrong reasons. You’ll burn out and you’ll be frustrated and you’ll then drop out and wonder what went wrong.

It’s okay to feel compassion for needy animals yet not have that be your primary volunteer activity in your life. I have compassion for those with breast cancer but I don’t volunteer much for breast cancer awareness. I have compassion for those with MS but I don’t participate in their walks. You get the idea. All of us have only so much time to give and I choose to give my time to poodle rescue. You can be compassionate about something and not necessarily be actively supporting a cause.

If you are working with CPR because you want to do Donna a favor, to help me out because you see how much I do, then YOU NEED TO QUIT IMMEDIATELY. That is not the right reason to do this at all. Do it for the animals or don’t do it at all.

Okay…sorry, but that’s a real concern of mine and it came up again this weekend. I wanted to get it off my chest. People who volunteer because they want to see needy animals lives bettered are happy volunteers, fulfilled and enjoying their activities. That’s how I feel. That’s what I’d like to see all of you feel.

But on to the fun stuff – adopters. The Kerl family from Townville SC came today to pick out their new puppy. They are our first approved adopters. They stayed several hours and finally narrowed the selection down to three little boys: Salvador (cream), Tristan (cream) or Phoenix (black). They’ve gone to discuss and will let me know. Ed at one point looked at me and said he wished they were LAST on the list to adopt, not first. This was too hard!

Amazingly, Doodle, the Kerl’s first generation labradoodle, looks exactly like our Arizona. I couldn’t believe it when she got out of the car. Guess our girl really is a purebred labradoodle.

Back to last weekend. Friday afternoon was entertaining. The Segel’s arrived from Wilmington NC around 3 pm. They knew they wanted a standard but were not sure which one. The Purser’s arrived around 4 pm, also seeking a standard as a companion to their cockapoo, Cami.

Frank and Barbara Segel are an absolutely lovely couple who adore each other. I thought Hahn (8 year old black SP) would be a perfect fit for them but Barbara was concerned about his age. The Segel’s had lost their last SP at age 9. Frank – well, Frank liked them all! I do believe that had he the means and the space I would have an empty kennel right now.

I really felt that Barbara had pretty much ruled out Hahn for she and Frank so when the Purser’s came in, I put Hahn in the office with them and went back to grooming Raven with assistance from Frank and Barbara. Barbara was quite taken with Raven and Frank liked her, too. Then they met Schotzie (a/k/a Taylor) and the decision making process really ground to a halt.

I was bouncing back and forth between the exercise area (with Schotzie and Raven and the Segel’s) and the office (with the Purser’s and Hahn) and starting to feel like a hockey puck. When the Purser’s told me they definitely wanted to take Hahn home, I bounced back to the Segel’s and let them know. Frank was so disappointed, his face really fell. I told them that they were here first, but that I felt like Hahn really liked the Purser’s and, if they didn’t mind, that he was not happy living in a kennel and if he had a chance to go home tonight, he should do so. They agreed, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

So, we finalized the adoption contract for Hahn and the Purser’s and I sent Barbara and Frank back to Union and their hotel so they could discuss the attributes of Schotzie and Raven. I closed shop, headed down the hill to dinner…….and the rest of my evening spent chasing Johnny.

Just another day in a rescuer’s life.

Tomorrow, I’ll have to tell how Carol Voyles found homes for both her wonderful fosters on the same day, and about her very cool new grooming job working at the home of a local celebrity!