Hi everyone!
I wanted to start a conversation about something that often gets overlooked: the lessons animals teach us, who quietly reshape how we work, collaborate, or think about sheltering. Most of us have that one animal that changed the way we do things.
Who is that animal for you, and what did they teach you?
For me, it was Paddles.
I found him tied to the gates at one of our yards on a July morning in 2024. I had only been at the shelter about four months, and he was one of the first animals I had ever seen dumped. His skin was raw, cracked, and bleeding from what we later learned were severe allergies. We never found his owner. Paddles ended up with a long-term foster who ultimately adopted him and gave him the safe, comfortable life he deserved.
This dog changed so much about the way I view sheltering. He arrived in horrible shape, and we spent a significant amount of money and time on his treatment. It became painfully clear that the person who left him there simply didn't have the resources to care for him-and instead of asking for help, they tied him to a fence overnight.
Working here has definitely hardened me in some ways and made me more pessimistic about people's intentions. This was one of those defining moments. But the lesson Paddles taught me is that people often don't ask for help, even when they desperately need it. If help isn't easy, accessible, and judgment-free, many will choose silence over reaching out.
And because of that, it's on us to be the ones who extend the hand first, lower the barriers, and make the change.
Photo attached of Paddles, the happiest boy in the world!
#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment#EducationandTraining------------------------------
Ella Hammond
Grants Coordinator
CARE Humane Society
Auburn, AL
carehumane.org
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