February 16

.

Cold.  Frost.

So interesting, how different the frost is, from one day to the next..........

Closer cut of the above.

Closer cut of the above.  Such long spikes, on the 16th......

8:22 am, just a few minutes after the previous shots.

One of my neighbors retired last year.  She and I have been meaning to go to the humane society to investigate volunteer opportunities for a while, and on the 16th, we finally made it there.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley does a super job taking care of animals in need, and does a super job of helping them find permanent loving homes.

Look what we saw right inside the entrance!  417 adoptions already this year!

We talked to a person behind the front desk, and got some brochures and contact info.  Then we walked through the public part of the shelter.  There were very few cats in the shelter (hooray!), and not too many dogs.  The shelter has little buckets of food attached to the gates into the dogs' spaces, and invite visitors to give treats.  I found several dogs who knew exactly what "SIT!" meant, and rewarded them appropriately. 

Most of the dogs in the shelter are pit bulls.  They originate in this area, we are told.  I believe that most of the other dogs are imported from shelters in other parts of the country that have far more dogs of any kind than they can find homes for.  Dogs ride in trucks (or airplanes, sometimes) from far-too-crowded shelters to places like HSHV, where adopters are waiting for (for example) small dogs.

HSHV is a bright and clean and welcoming place.  While we did hear a few barks, mostly it was quiet.  A vastly different sort of place than many "shelters" in this country.  HSHV has had a mandatory spay/neuter rule for over 30 years, and has a low-cost spay/neuter clinic.  I'm sure this helps with the lower populations of unwanted dogs and cats in our area than in some places.

Hooray for shelters that do a good job, and hooray for a community ethos that says pets are to be taken care of, not to be allowed to run loose, and that uncontrolled breeding is not acceptable!

.