This morning turned out not to be a morning full of Parelli training, but I was able to discuss with the trainer better times to schedule my work sessions for that. So in the future, hopefully that will work out. For today, I mucked horse pastures, which was actually fun because there were several of us doing it, making jokes, talking, and of course enjoying our beautiful surroundings.
I ducked out of my morning shift early for a special intern opportunity. We got to go with one of the caretakers to her building of dogs, which tend to be very aggressive. Most of them are red collar dogs, and some will stay at the sanctuary forever because they cannot safely be adopted out into society. She talked about their behavior, some of the things they'd been through, some reasons behind why they do what they do (it's actually usually a lack of confidence, just like shy dogs!). If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense: when shy dogs get scared they use the "flight" response and when aggressive dogs get scared they use the "fight" response. At least one dog had a neurological condition where he's sweet and wonderful most of the time, but then basically loses his mind and goes crazy and can be aggressive until the episode passes. The vets still aren't sure what's causing that. A lot of these dogs are actually sweet a lot of the time, but pose dangers because they could flip to an aggressive side. It is great to know that they have such an amazing caretaker, who sees the good in them and does not give up on them, even if they'll live the rest of their lives at Best Friends. These dogs get playtime, walks, treats, training, and everything else the other dogs get. They live a good life. Some will eventually be adoptable to the right person as they are rehabilitated.
My afternoon shift was at Rescue Village again, which is definitely going to be one of my focus areas. I'm really loving helping out with bonding rabbits. My first pair that I probably mentioned last time I worked there is Fargo and Benjamin. I sat and watched them again today and supervised their interactions. They did so well! They've begun grooming each other and snuggling on their own without me having to smoosh them together. I'll work there tomorrow afternoon again, and the caretakers said if things go as well tomorrow as they did today, they think the pair will be bonded enough to try to stay the night together without supervision. It makes me nervous because they're my first bonded pair and I want them to do really well! I think they will. If all goes well, I'll move onto bonding another set of animals, and this time, we might bond up to four rabbits together at once! Should be exciting! I'm trying to come up with my intern project idea and I think maybe I'll do a pamphlet on rabbits and bonding. It's something I knew nothing about, but is so important to the rabbits. Now that I know, it would be great to help educate the visitors and potential adopters at Best Friends about bonding. The caretakers were excited at the prospect of this project, so that makes me happy.
I'm very excited for tomorrow because I have such a great day lined up: first I get to sleep in because I'm working at the Puppy Socialization Class, which doesn't start until 9:30 and I can't interact with other dogs before that, since the puppies don't have all their shots yet. After playing with puppies, I get to head over to Maggie's, which is an area of DogTown I've been wanting to work in since day 1. They really focus on animal behavior there and I've heard nothing but good things about it. Then, I get to spend my afternoon with the bunnies again. I'm not only growing fond of rabbits, but I love working up there because the staff are really great. So, even though I never thought I'd actually feel this way, I can't wait to go to work tomorrow!
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