A Day in the Life: LAPS Volunteer Spends Time in Kennel to Help Long-Stay Dogs

A Volunteer's 24-Hour Experience in the Kennel

After nearly a year of volunteering with the Laredo Animal Protective Society, one volunteer had the unique opportunity to experience what it's like to be a shelter dog by spending 24 hours in a kennel. This experience was part of the Kindness Day: 24 Hours for the Forgotten Tails event, which took place as part of World Kindness Day on Thursday. The main goal of the event was to raise awareness about the long-stay dogs at the shelter who are available for adoption.

“We want to create awareness to give our long-stay dogs an opportunity, so people can see what it’s like. This volunteer spent 24 hours, and these dogs spend sometimes up to four years,” said LAPS board member Rosalinda Vela. “Our long-stay dogs are here day in and day out. This is only 24 hours, and our long-stay dogs have been here over 1,000 days. They wake up here and go to sleep here. They have some play time, but we don’t have the resources to hire a lot more people.”

Opting to remain anonymous to keep the focus on the long-stay dogs, the volunteer who was in the kennel from about 7 p.m. Wednesday to the same time Thursday simply identified himself as Cobra. He already had a feel for what it is like being inside the kennels, as he cleaned them regularly when he began volunteering at the shelter in February. However, spending an entire day in one with no reprieve except bathroom breaks provided a drastically different perspective.

“It’s a very solitary experience. I knew being away from my dog would be difficult. I was tempted to bring my dog with me, but I needed to experience this how the dogs do and be completely alone. The 24 hours I had here pales in comparison to the months and years the long-stay dogs have here. I can only imagine over 1,000 days how that feels. It’s not a life for a dog. I want to bring awareness for the long stays. They are not meant to stay here. This is a vessel for them to find that second home.”

Cobra was prepared for the cooler temperatures at night, but he said the intense heat took him by surprise. Despite staying below 90 degrees on Thursday, there were moments when the sun hit at the right angle and still shone directly into the covered kennel. Another unexpected challenge was getting enough rest. Despite having 24 hours to do little other than be left alone with his thoughts and rest, Cobra said he struggled to sleep more than a couple of hours at a time. Nearby trains routinely woke him up, as did the roosters and dogs at LAPS, including his roommates Madison and Meatball, two long-stay dogs who occupied the kennel next door for much of the day.

Experiencing these struggles firsthand gave him a new understanding of what daily life is like for the dogs. “Because these dogs have been in the kennel for so long, they need a lot of patience. They need a family that knows it will take a while for them to acclimate to new surroundings. Hopefully this brings awareness to these dogs and helps them get adopted in the foreseeable future.”

Another enhanced appreciation came from the assistance he received from employees and volunteers at LAPS who brought him food and let him out for bathroom breaks during his 24-hour stay. It reinforced what he has routinely witnessed in nine months of volunteering. “You realize there are a lot of little things that happen in the background to operate a shelter on a day-to-day basis,” Cobra said. “I find what they do so admirable. I can only imagine without this organization where these animals would be. I appreciate there are organizations like this fighting the fight every day to help these animals find a home.”

Cobra said he is eager to see the long-stay dogs get adopted because he knows the unconditional love they have to give. It’s something he learned from his dog while coping with the losses of several family members. “Dogs hold a special place in my heart. I decided to do this because dogs teach you unconditional love,” he said. “I had lost my parents and a couple of my brothers. Grief hits people a certain way, and some people end up walking away from it. The one constant thing that stayed in my life was my dog. She has been with me through all these difficult times, and it’s a special bond I have with her. These dogs have that same type of love if given the chance, and if I can help them find a family to give that, that’s the rewarding part for me.”

With experience helping both at the shelter and at adoption events, Cobra has witnessed the impact environment can have on the dogs. He said people visiting the shelter for walkthroughs may be discouraged by dogs in the kennels barking as they go by, but it is typically just a call for attention. At adoption events around town, he said those same dogs are incredibly affectionate and playful. “When they are inside the kennels, it is a different environment for them. When walk-ins see them, they might be barking and people might think they are not a friendly dog, but when you take them to adoption events, you see that they are affectionate and playful. They are not meant to be in a shelter for that long.”

Cobra said the best part of volunteering is seeing when dogs get adopted. However, he also thought it was important to understand the full spectrum of what the organization does behind the scenes. He encouraged anyone who can to adopt and said others can also help by volunteering, donating or simply spreading the word.

LAPS has 10 long-stay dogs available for adoption, including:

• Canela, a 2-year-old female Chihuahua mixed breed.
• Foxy, a 10-year-old female Shepherd mixed breed.
• Leila, a 3-year-old female Labrador retriever mixed breed.
• Lucky, a 3-year-old male boxer/Labrador retriever.
• Madison, a 3-year-old female mixed breed.
• Meatball, a 3-year-old female Labrador retriever/American pit bull terrier.
• Moose, a 1-year-old male mixed breed.
• Shadow, a 3-year-old male boxer/Labrador retriever.
• Syracuse, a 3-year-old male Schnauzer mixed breed.
• Yeti, a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois.

Whether it’s the long-stay dogs or one with barely any time at the shelter, Cobra and Vela both stressed the importance of patience and keeping in mind the “3-3-3” method for dogs. It is a guideline suggesting it takes about three days for an adopted dog to decompress, three weeks to start settling in and learning routines and three months to feel comfortable and secure.

“The big thing is people need to give them an opportunity,” Vela said. “They need more than two or three days to be OK, especially when they have been here such a long time.”

Adoption fees for dogs from LAPS are $140 for animals 8 months and younger and $80 for those 9 months and older. All adoptable pets are fully vaccinated, microchipped, sterilized and have a current rabies vaccination.

For more information on available dogs, how to donate or how to volunteer, visit petadoptlaredo.org. Those interested in meeting the pets and applying for adoption can visit the shelter from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday at 2500 Gonzalez St.