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Focus on the Positive


We get asked all the time, how do you work here? How do you do what you do? Honestly, how do we not do what we do? I can't imagine working anywhere else. We are trying to make a difference and save animals and we are all very passionate about our jobs. But I think when people ask that question they are really asking how do you see all you see (negative stuff) and still come in to work everyday with a smile.

Simple answer, we all try and focus on the positive. Yesterday was a hard day here if you focused on the 8 year old pit bull that was brought in by his owner because they had moved into a place that didn't allow pit bulls and her relatives, who were watching the dog, didn't want to deal with it any longer, which I think was all of a week. After talking to her about how crowded we were and asked if she could wait just a little bit of time to give her dog the best chance possible she said that today was the only day she could do it because of work and her schedule. Even when I emphasized the idea that an 8 year old pit bull coming into any shelter in the summer does not usually have a good end result, she didn't care.

But, what we did was turn it into a positive. After being a little frustrated we thought about it, thank goodness this dog came here. Anywhere else and it may not have had a chance at all and it will get one here. The owner wasn't a bad person, in her mind she just couldn't do anything else, so thank goodness we were a resource for her.

Other positives yesterday was that we had a number of great adoptions and one dog that we transferred in from Amherst Animal Care and Control, found a new family. So everyday there is good and bad but when you look at any job or life in general, you have to focus on what is great and all the people out there who are really helping and making a difference.

For every woman with an 8 year old pit bull there are 10 more willing to help us and do what is best for their pet and we all have to remind ourselves of that from time to time. That plays out in the numbers, Lynchburg is a great community that has helped us reduce euthanasia by 66% in a year.

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