Savannah & Jarvis

Savannah & Jarvis

Sometimes when young volunteers start at the shelter, they are looking to save animals. You get caught in the glory of the job. When I started as a volunteer, all I could think of was how I was going to save the animals. You come in with that Sarah Mclaughlin song ringing in your ears about the arms of an angel, and you are going to change the world. 

Then the day to day grind of feeding and scooping poop gets you, and it is just another job. It was the same for everyone except for this one little girl named Savannah. She came to the shelter with a heart as big as Texas. She would not lis- ten when you told her that some animals needed space. She would offer treats to the animals even if they were not very receptive. Sometimes when animals come to the shelter, they just wait for their owner to come back for them. They cannot understand that the shelter is their new normal. 

That realization sometimes struck the dogs harder than you’d expect. That brings us to Jarvis. I could not tell you his back story. He was a big love bug outside of his kennel. But inside his kennel, with the fencing between the public and himself, he was a vicious barker. He sounded angry. He would lunge at the fence and act all aggressive. No one wanted to interact with that aggressive of a dog. Except for Savannah. She was not fooled by Jarvis and his aggressive act. She would spend time out with him and buy him special toys and treats. She and her family wound up adopting him last summer. Every once in awhile, we get updates on their relationship. He has stopped with the aggressive act; he is all pure love now. It's hard not to love that volunteer, and she has a willingness to love and help others. 

This is not to say that you shouldn’t follow your instincts around dogs. Always ask a shelter assistant before approaching any dog. There is always a perfect dog for a perfect person. Sometimes love comes in a big aggressive looking package, and you have to widen your perspective of the shape of love.