Featured: Animal House Dog Rescue Shelter

 “Specializing in second chances”                                                                                            

 

In the background are the sounds of phones ringing, people talking and laughing, and above all else, reminding you exactly why all of these people spend their day in such craziness, are dogs barking. They are definitely the sounds of a shelter; a shelter who’s purpose is to bring a little comfort and calm to dogs amidst the chaos that can sometimes be their lives.

 

Animal House Dog Rescue and Grooming has been open since March of 2007. It helps overburdened shelters that are out of space or out of time, by rescuing those dogs that are set to be euthanized, giving them a second chance to get adopted.

 

The dogs come mainly from Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming and stay until they are adopted. All of the dogs get spayed or neutered, receive all of their vaccines, get heartworm tested, and are also given microchips.  

 

According to Animal House manager Ali Eccleston, the shelter typically has 30 to 40 dogs in their care during any given month. Currently they have 35 in the shelter, with 50 overall if counting those in foster care.

 

From March to December of last year, they saved 381 dogs. This year from January to mid-October they have already surpassed that number.

 

Caring for the dogs  

 

All of the dogs in their care receive the time and care needed to help make them as comfortable as possible in their surroundings.

 

Kim Buettner, a kennel attendant at the shelter, helps in making the dogs feel content while there. She says Animal House in unique because they really try to give the dogs a lot of stimulation.

 

The dogs get exercise every half hour, and the staff tries to do numerous activities so that the dogs don’t get stressed. The shelter has even recently started providing canine massages, bringing in someone who gives all of the dog’s massages.   

 

“Typically if you go to another shelter, they have so many animals and such a small staff, they can’t give them the individual attention that they need,” Buettner said. “Then it’s harder to adopt them out because they have so much energy and they are freaked out.”

 

She says the shelter really tries to provide as calm as an atmosphere for the dogs as possible, and really get to know each of them individually, giving them their most un-divided attention.

 

Volunteers are the core of any organization

 

Helping to take care of the dogs are the numerous volunteers that help the shelter. According to Eccleston, they have around 10 core volunteers, but said that this fluctuates greatly.

 

Volunteers assist with everything from walking and feeding the dogs, to folding laundry for the shelter, and cleaning up after the animals. Unlike other shelters, there is no age restriction and families are encouraged to come together and help out.

 

They let kids come and help out so that they are given the chance to really see what it takes to run a shelter and gets them exposed to properly taking care of animals and taking responsibility for them.

 

Eccleston encourages anyone interested in volunteering to help out, saying the experience is very rewarding.

 

“Even if you just come to walk a dog, you are making a difference in that dog’s life,” Eccleston said.

 

One of the greatest ways to help out according to Eccleston, is through foster care. She says that not only are those individuals helping to save the dogs in their house, they are also creating more space (at Animal House) so they are saving multiple dogs.

 

Helping those that can’t help themselves

 

Since opening, the shelter has provided care for many dogs, helping each one find a home and helping to make that transition as easy as possible for them. While all of the dogs are important to employees at Animal House, Eccleston remembers one in particular who was able to be given a second chance.

 

His name was Oscar and he came to the shelter from Casper, Wyo. Left on a chain to starve to death, he was removed from the care of his owner and required to spend 3 months in a local shelter while the court cases were going on.

 

The shelter had not been giving him the proper amount of food because he had been starved earlier in his life, and when he came to Animal House he weighed only 45 pounds.

 

He also had a case of barrier aggression from being kept on a chain his whole life, and because of this had he would go after any dog behind a fence. The shelter was able to work with him in the 5 months he was there, and he has since been adopted.

 

When he left, he no longer had barrier aggression and weighed a healthy 80 pounds.

 

“He’s really turned into a great dog,” Eccleston said. “He wouldn’t have had a chance anywhere else.”

 

The good outweighs the bad

 

As with any job, working at the shelter can come with its frustrations. Working long hours, there is always something to do. Eccleston says her day usually lasts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., as she is usually taking care of the dogs, answering emails, and going to other shelters to pick up dogs.

 

Being the kennel attendant can also demand a lot of hard work, according to Buettner. There is a lot of physical work, lots of cleaning to do which can be stressful, and it’s always busy which can be hard at times with a small staff.

 

Aside from all the physical hard-work, turning away dogs is also difficult.  Because they are a no-kill facility Animal House can’t create space.

 

“It’s hard knowing that there are million of dogs that get euthanized every year in shelters and so many dogs aren’t going to get another chance,” Eccleston said. “They are great dogs and they deserve a home too, so it’s hard.”

 

Both agree that there is more good that comes from working there than bad however.

 

“It’s a lot of hard-work but it’s rewarding seeing them get homes, helping the sick ones get better,” Buettner said. “There’s more good than bad otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”

 

They both say every animal helped is another life saved, and one of the reasons they love working with dogs is because the animals love you no matter what.

 

“A lot of people ask, why dogs, why not kids?” Eccleston said. “Everybody’s got to do what they’re passionate about, and I’m passionate about dogs.”

 

Ways to help

 

Being a non-profit shelter, one of the greatest ways individuals can help out is through donations. The shelter currently has a wish list listed on their website of things that people can give them to help out.

 

Volunteering is always helpful, and according to Eccleston, they especially need people to help staff events which help them adopt out more dogs and help them get the word out.

 

Animal House also provides grooming for dog owners, so even bringing in their dog to get groomed helps because all of that money goes back to the shelter.

 

The bottom line is that the dogs each need the same time and care provided to them as if they were in someone’s home. Helping out even in the smallest way can help.

 

“(The dogs) can’t help themselves, so somebody has to help them,” Eccleston said.

 

To view a slideshow of pictures taken at Animal House, please use the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31654270@N06/sets/72157608273644533/show/

 

To hear an interview with the Pilotti family who volunteers at Animal House, please use the following link:

http://www.box.net/shared/5kfly11891

 

To view more information about Animal House, visit their website here.