It’s 9 a.m. on a very, very cold Saturday morning at the Weatherford/Parker County Animal Shelter. Parker Paws volunteers and I walk dogs encouraging them to do their business before they’re loaded in the adoption trailer. We groomed, walked and inoculated 12 dogs the day before to prepare them for an off-site adoption event taking place at Weatherford PetSmart today. For most of the dogs, it’s their ticket out.

We pull into the PetSmart parking lot at 10 a.m. and begin to set up our table, place the puppies in the puppy pen and put scarves on all the dogs. They are a mixture of excited, nervous and scared to be out of the shelter for a day and eagerly sniff the cold air and look around at the new surroundings. As more volunteers begin to arrive, we unload as many dogs as there are people to hold them and visit with prospective adopters. A puppy is soon adopted. They are almost always the first to find homes.

An older Bassett Hound/Beagle mix, Tammy (named for the Animal Control Officer, Tammy Alexander who rescued her from a drainage pipe), begins to work the crowd, begging for treats and Beagle bark/howling when she does not get one. She shivers in the cold air so a volunteer buys her a puffy dog coat complete with a hood which she loves.

Two four month old, solid black Great Dane/Lab mixes lay curled together in their puppy pen, frozen with uncertainty of the new situation they find themselves in. Another volunteer and I each take one and hold it in our laps to comfort and further socialize them. Later, I take mine for a spin in a cart around PetSmart. She finally begins to perk up and take notice of things around her.

An adult female Chihuahua is shivering, so another volunteer goes into PetSmart to buy him a cute little sweater which he wears as if he were strutting down a runway during fashion week in New York City.

The dog that attracts the most attention is a Great Pyrenees/Saint Bernard puppy already weighing in around 120 pounds. He’s blonde, beautiful and a gentle giant with big slobber chops.

During the day, the puppies play and are held by many and eventually nap when the sun finally peeks through the clouds. Volunteers come and go, enjoying getting to know each other better and talking to the public about the dogs looking for homes.

At the end of the day, five dogs find forever homes, including the Chihuahua, a shepherd mix, Border collie mix puppy, and at the very last minute someone adopts one of the black Great Dane/Lab puppies.

Most memorably, the Great Pyrenees/Saint Bernard puppy is adopted by a family with two young blonde girls who adore him. He was as gentle as could be with them as they petted him and lay across him to have their picture taken. When they leave to go into PetSmart for supplies, he collapsed to the ground for a nap with a deep sigh as if to say, “Okay, I’ve got a home so I can rest now.”

Grateful for those who were adopted, but sad for those who were not, we load the dogs back in the trailer for their trip back to the shelter. Sweet Tammy will have to wait another day though a couple of families did show interest in her. We will keep our fingers crossed that she will find a home as she is a shelter favorite.

I am often asked how I find the inner strength to volunteer at the animal shelter. After all, it can be a sad place with so many homeless animals needing love and care. The only way I can respond is, “How can I not?” To be honest, there are days that I know I am not mentally prepared to volunteer, so I stay away. But the off-site adoption events make it easier because you get to see first hand the dogs going into good homes and you absolutely know you are making a difference.

Come see for yourself. Our next off-site adoption event is this coming Saturday, January 26 at the Weatherford PetSmart from noon to 3:30. If you’d like to volunteer, contact me ahead of time and I’ll get you hooked up. It’s a lot of fun, you’ll make new friends and do something good for our Parker County pets at the same time. If you’re ready to add a new furry family member to your home, be sure to come out. We’ll have plenty of adorable, loyal pets to choose from.