Did you know that dog bandanas for shelter dogs can promise a better life for shelter dogs?
Remember that scene early on in Seabiscuit when Charles Howard first meets Tom Smith, Sea Biscuit’s eccentric trainer? Smith was tending a lame, supposedly broken down horse out in the brush. When Howard asked him about that horse, Smith said, laconically, “You don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause he’s banged up a little.”
And the same goes for dogs: you don’t throw them away till you’ve worked with them and given them a chance. It doesn’t matter whether they are banged up physically or psychologically/emotionally. You try, and you give them a chance.
A few weeks ago, we told you about Ashley Gibson, her dog bandanas, and the great work she does with McKamey Animal Center in our blog post titled “Hope and Bandanas for Shelter Dogs at McKamey.” Today, we’ve got an update for you.
But, first, to set the stage, here’s a little from that previous post . . .
Ashley Gibson – A Fiercely Passionate McKamey Volunteer
You wouldn’t think that a single mother with a demanding full-time career, a daughter who just graduated from high school, a son in college, and several pets of her own would have time to volunteer – frequently – at an animal shelter, would you?
But Ashley Gibson does . . . because she’s passionate about and dedicated to helping these animals live better lives and get adopted sooner.
How It Started
Ashley began her journey at McKamey Animal Center in July of last year as a participant in the Trailblazer program. In this capacity, her job was to choose a dog and then take it out into the community for a few hours. The idea is to give the dog some exposure to other stimuli and simply to give him a day out of the confines of the shelter.
Her first dog to take out was Bailey. On their outing, Ashley took a bunch of photos and then put them together in a slide show depicting their outing. As a result, Bailey was adopted soon after.
The next lucky dog was Gollum. Again, Ashley took photos and made a slide show . . . and Gollum was adopted just a week later. The slide shows appealed to and made the dogs more appealing to prospective adopters.
And these events naturally led to the next inevitable step . . .
Because she wanted to get involved more deeply and with other dogs, Ashley signed up to volunteer inside the shelter. She soon discovered that her calling was working with dogs who had been in the shelter for some time. These “long-term residents” were the ones she wanted to help.
The First “Shelter Crush”
We all remember our very first crush, and it’s no different when that crush happens to walk on four legs instead of two. Ashley’s first “shelter crush” was named Killian.
He had been in the shelter for 200+ days when Ashley first met him. He couldn’t be with other dogs or cats and, owing to his size, needed to be in a family with older children. And this made him hard to place. Even after an intensive, all-night adoption event, Killian remained in the shelter.
Until . . .
The Sunday after that event Killian found his perfect home. He was adopted by a man with two older children and with no other pets. And that was the trigger.
The Passion and the Calling
The situation with Killian convinced Ashley that her passion was working with the long-term shelter residents – the dogs who get passed over because of behavior issues or restrictions like those Killian had.
So Ashley set to work making videos for these dogs too. It worked. It took a little longer, but the first couple she took out wound up leaving the shelter to take up residence in their perfect homes.
And it just took off from there . . .
The BFF
Ashley and her fellow volunteers select a dog to become their BFF (best furry friend). The aim is to get to know the dog and his personality for the purpose of more effective training and better odds of adoption. During the course of this, Ashley found her new “shelter baby” – Tritan.
Even after a two-week board-and-train session with a local dog trainer, Tritan remained in the shelter while receiving absolutely no reinforcement for his training. So Ashley convinced the trainer to conduct a refresher course for her and Tritan and then committed to working with Tritan daily. And it worked . . . eventually.
Working from home, Ashley knew she had the flexibility to work with Tritan regularly.
She started out working with him for 30 minutes on her lunch break every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In addition, she invested more time with Tritan on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, but especially during the extended shelter hours for Tuesday’s “Yappy Hour.” It worked, too.
Keeping Tritan’s training and obedience refreshed helped him overcome the adoption challenges and obstacles he was facing. He was a large 65-pound pit mix who had to be placed in a home with older children and no other dogs and couldn’t be kept in a kennel.
But after Ashley’s extra efforts, a family who came in and saw him wanted him. The family first chose to foster Tritan, but later decided to adopt him.
It was a perfect match all around. The father works from home so Tritan doesn’t have to be kenneled. He has a large back yard to run around in free all day. Tritan also has a little girl to feed him every day while he patiently sits and waits for her to put his food bowl down. A win for everyone.
Dog Bandanas and Hope
But Ashley Gibson does even more for these dogs. She has found a way to help the long-term residents get extra attention when potential adopters come to the shelter. The trick to adding a personal touch to your dog’s style is personalized dog bandanas. After all, what’s cuter than a dog wearing a custom-made bandana?