June 11, 2010

White Dog and Quinn lined up at the door to wish Michael luck as he left for his first afternoon of volunteer work at Watermelon Ranch's (our local no-kill shelter) adoption center. It was a gigantic step for him to go by himself and to spend the day outside of his normal routine. As he and Steve drove off, the rest of us crossed paws (and fingers) and hoped it would be a good experience.

It was better than a good experience! When we picked Michael up he was full of stories about the animals at the center and their individual quirks. He had walked dogs, played with kittens, cleaned litter boxes, washed food bowls, watered all of the animals, and gave lots of love. He was thrilled that two dogs and a cat had been adopted "on his shift"...one, a dog that he had walked around the store and introduced to her ultimate forever family!

We stopped and had dinner at our favorite Korean place. Michael, feeling very full of confidence, a novice to this food type, boldly took both Steve's and the waiter's advice and tried the grilled beef short ribs instead of ordering his usual safe fare of egg fu young. He loved them! And best of all, collected up all of the bones for White Dog and The Other White Dog..."I bet they will LOVE me when I walk in the door with these," he speculated.

My greeting back home was cut short, when the White Ones got a sniff of the bag in Michael's hands. Both nearly knocked him over to share the treat and to hear about his day!

It was a good ending to a great day in which even the weather was grand! Michael volunteers again on Sunday. He follows this blog (of course) and shyly reads those of most of White Dog's friends. He especially wanted White Dog to let Khyra and her mom know that he, too, is working hard to make sure that every dog and kitty has a forever home!