Volunteering for the SPCA

This is how I've been spending my spare moments for the past week:

1. Wake up at 6 a.m. and feed the puppies.

2. Let puppies outside to go potty.

3. Take puppies for a brief run around the yard or up and down the street.

4. Put puppies in crate.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 over and over and over again.

And I'm loving every minute of it. I recently signed up to be a volunteer foster parent for the SPCA. I've wanted to do this since I read about the opportunity about a year ago on Polk Voice. At the time, my work schedule wouldn't allow for me to do this. Now I have my own business and work from home, which allows me to spend enormous amounts of time with puppies when I don't want to work. The picture above is of Clyde. He's six weeks old today. His sister, Bonnie, is not pictured, because I can't get it to post (I'm still kind of new to blogging). Following in the footsteps of their namesakes, they've been quite the handful. But they're so cute and so fun to watch, they just melt my heart before I can get upset with them for having an accident on my floor (it's hardwood, after all) or chewing through my black Crocs because I failed to keep them out of reach.

I’m trying to be a great foster parent. I'm attempting to crate train Bonnie and Clyde, as well as teach them to walk on a leash without acting like they're being dragged off to their deaths.

That's a fun process. This morning I had each of them on a leash for the first time and they reminded me of young fillies and colts being saddle broken. At the first tug, off they went, bucking and side-stepping, leaning back on their haunches and resisting me. When that wouldn't work, they tried the sympathy approach- whining and wimpering as though they were in excruciating pain. Then it was off to Plan C- launching onto their sides and into an alligator death roll in an attempt to free themselves from the evil leash. The drama was quite comical.

My neighbors swear that these two dogs will soon become permanent members of the Walker household. I insist it isn't true. I simply want to do my part to get these puppies to 9 weeks of age and then turn them back over to the SPCA where they can be adopted into loving homes just in time for Christmas.

If you have the time and patience, I highly recommend becoming an SPCA foster parent. The SPCA provides all the materials you need- food, crate, toys, etc. This time I have young puppies who aren't yet old enough to be adopted, but the SPCA also gets in young kittens and grown dogs and cats who need medication prior to being eligible for adoption.

I've found this to be a worthy cause, and an incredibly entertaining volunteer opportunity.