Shmi is Safe!
Another Shelter Another Dog
We were flooded with emails and notifications after the Fourth of July about dogs in shelters needing attention. One of these dogs was Shmi. Listed as a Pointer she showed up at the shelter before the fireworks started and the rest of the dogs that would soon follow.Shmi had been held the mandatory time for her owner to claim. When she wasn't claimed, she was held a few extra days in hopes she would be adopted. No one had shown an interest. After the Fourth of July, the shelter was dealing with a massive influx of dogs taking in between sixty and seventy dogs a day. There was barely room for all the stray dogs that had come in prior to the fireworks - space was at a premium and it wasn't possible for the shelter to hold dogs for any longer than the mandatory holding period.Once California GSP Rescue learned about Shmi, they knew they didn't have much time. On the Fifth of July, The Rescue contacted the shelter. There would be a volunteer to come look at Shmi the following day. The shelter could not promise to hold her any longer.
A Volunteer Goes to The Shelter
Arriving at the shelter, the volunteer noticed stray dogs that had been found by the public being held in temporary crates until the shelter had time to process their intake. It was busy. Someone was always at the counter. After meeting with the adoption coordinator, Shmi was the first dog that the California GSP Rescue volunteer met. Happy for the attention, she wagged her tail and approached the front of the kennel. Shmi wasn't shy and had likely done this countless number of times as visitors either looked for their dogs or younger dogs to adopt. She wasn't defeated. Shmi approached the front of the kennel one more time in hopes she would be adopted.
The Last Time
After spending a short amount of time with Shmi, the volunteer did a quick walk through of the nearby kennels. It wasn't unheard of breeds being mislabeled. Shelters sometimes misidentified breeds. Confident there weren't any German Shorthaired Pointers being called Labradors, Dalmatian, or some other breed, the volunteer headed back to the front counter. At the front he waited at the counter to finish the paperwork for Shmi. In the short amount of time the volunteer had been in the back, more animals had arrived. About half a dozen more stray cats and dogs had come in. Even though there were so many dogs at the shelter needing help, the volunteer knew California GSP Rescue could only help the one that they had been notified about. Shmi was safe. Please watch for more information to be posted about Shmi.Seeing so many stray dogs at the shelter after the Fourth of July is a reminder to make sure your dog has a registered microchip. There are so many variables when dogs go missing. Having a registered microchip will help most owners be reunited with their dogs.