Stray Thoughts
News, Events & Adoption Information
Winter 2020
Inside
Take a Chance on Me
Page 2:
WSHS Wishlist
WSHS Staff
Page 3
Volunteer Spotlight
Page 4:
Ready for a Home
Page 5:
Ways to Give
Page 6:
Ask the Trainer
Letters from Adopters
Page 7:
Pet Watch with Dr. Main
WSHS Receives Grant
Page 8:
Hearty Thanks
Stray Thoughts is an official
publication of the West
Suburban Humane Society,
a not-for-profit, volunteer-
based animal shelter.
No city, state, or federal
funds support WSHS.
Donations are tax
deductible as allowed
by law. Please call
(630) 960-9600, ext. 25 to
submit articles or receive
donation information.
Adoption Center:
1901 W. Ogden Avenue,
Downers Grove, IL 60515
E-mail Address:
[email protected]
Phone: (630) 960-9600
Fax: (630) 960-9604
www.WSHS-DG.org
By Grace Lohrmann, Animal Care Team
W
hile choosing a dog at the pound,
many people are looking for the
perfect dog. A dog they can play fetch with
for hours, snuggle up to on the couch after
a long day, and especially one that listens
to their every command. Unfortunately,
many of the dogs that end up in shelters
have never been acquainted with that life.
Living in a home and having a consistent
owner is completely new to them.
Sometimes, you get lucky. Our first family
dog, Fenway, which we adopted from
Hope for Paws, was perfect. He did all the
above the second we brought him home
and was a great first dog. However, he had
horrible anxiety when we left the house,
and would have accidents daily. With time,
a rigorous potty schedule, and patience, he
has not had an accident in many years.
It is not uncommon that you get a dog
like Fenway, that is relatively perfect with
very little work or training. However, most
of the dogs that have been in shelters a
long time are not like Fenway. It sounds
discouraging, but it is important to
understand that any pound or shelter, no
matter how nice the building looks, is an
artificial environment. It is stressful for the
dogs, and they do not act like themselves.
They become frustrated sitting in a kennel
day after day, thinking this is all they have
in life. You cannot explain to a dog (or a
cat) that if they put on a good face, be cute
and well behaved, they can get out of the
shelter life for good and live in a home.
Many volunteers and staff are familiar with
the dog I adopted from West Suburban
Humane Society, Blue Belle, a three year
old pit bull mix. In the shelter, it is safe to
say she was a “wild thing.” Many volunteers
had issues with her being too rough during
play, jumping, pulling on the leash, and
nipping/scratching. To a potential adopter,
Blue Belle would not look like a good dog,
and seemed to be a lot to handle. I will
admit that even as a volunteer, I was fond
of Blue Belle, but I didn’t want to adopt her.
At some point, I fell in love with the
bully breeds and a coworker, Vanessa,
convinced me to start fostering Blue Belle.
I remember thinking about it and walking
into the kennel to say hello to her. She did
her infamous bark, bark, bark at me, then
once I kneeled, she melted into the fence.
For an instant, there was a flash of I’ll just
take her tonight and give her a shot. Never
would I have imagined that six months
later I would have adopted her, and moved
to Bozeman, Montana with her.
When I first brought her home, I saw a
completely different side to Blue. She
was timid, shy, and polite. This is what I
like to refer to as the transition stage for
dogs. After adoption, their world changes
AGAIN and they are thrown into a new
environment with total strangers.
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