https://padlet.com/absterg101/oydfblr09zrt Made with wonder en-us 2017-12-02 16:11:32 UTC 2017-12-02 16:53:28 UTC hello@padlet.com absterg101 https://padlet.com/absterg101/oydfblr09zrt/wish/212520372 I volunteered at the Disputanta animal shelter. I chose this place because it relates to my future goals to be a vet and I love helping animals. Job, the owner of the shelter, has known me previously from helping with the rabies clinic and because I have been working at the neighboring animal hospital for five years. There I often deliver animals back and forth who need shots and such. Over the summer I had decided to foster dogs. This ties in with my volunteer work because when I informed Job that I needed volunteer hours, he told me I could just keep fostering dogs. So, that's what I did. Fostering dogs was an experience that taught me responsibility in ways I had never known before. The first thing i had to consider was the type of dog I could take in. This itself took a lot of consideration and time. I have other pets at home the dog I chose had to meet my dog ,Keeno, to make sure they liked each other and the dog had to be up to date on shots. Shelters are filled with dogs, but most of the dogs in them don't meet the safety requirements I needed to be able to take them home, mainly because I couldn't pay for their shots. This semester I was lucky enough to foster Almond, he was an eight year old mixed breed with plenty of muscles and he was up to date on shots! He had been found on a golf course and his family had abandoned him and moved to Texas. We only knew this due to the microchip in him. That enough was heartbreaking, but what I found out next only increased my need to foster him. He had just had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his back left leg. Almond's unique story left me in pieces, I had to help give him another chance. Before I took him home I had to sign a contract saying I would keep him inside, take proper care of him, and always be with him whenever he went outside. He was my responsibility, so that meant I had to dedicate everyday taking the proper measures in helping this dog. When I took him home I don't think he put his tongue in his mouth for more than five seconds. That dog was always smiling. He also had medicine I had to give him due to his surgery, but with his spunky personality you would never be able to tell he went through everything that he did. Everyday for about a month and a half I would take him out three times a day. I also provided him with water at all times and fed him twice a day. It was something that required a lot of attention, so I had to sacrifice a lot of time with friends so I could take care of Almond. In order to get the word out that he needed a home, I posted about him everywhere. Eventually I got a call and the next morning Almond had a loving home. My experience fostering Almond only made me want to keep fostering. I loved being able to take part in giving an animal a second chance at life. I did however, get lucky by being able to foster a dog that was house trained and did not keep me up at night.  Overall I enjoyed my experience and I can't wait to do it again.]]> 2017-12-02 16:11:53 UTC https://padlet.com/absterg101/oydfblr09zrt/wish/212520372