It seems to me there are a couple of issues here. I don't think a shelter wants just any JoeBloe walking in one day to say "hey I'd like to help by walking your dogs". The shelter needs to know something about its volunteers though a criminal check might be a bit much. If someone has been volunteering at a shelter for some time so the staff knows them and now new policies are being put into effect, then the shelter should have some sort of informational meeting/handout for all its volunteers so they know what and why. And even when volunteers have been accepted, some mini-training should be included for handling dogs. Many shelter dogs have been abused so I wouldn't want a volunteer who grew up under the "old" system of training with spanking and collar yerking now handling a special needs dog. Actual certification for dog walkers - no - the government intrudes enough.
Dogs and chocolate
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Just a reminder that chocolate is toxic to dogs…
This is the time of year that we get lots of yummy gifts, so make sure the chocolate is up and away from your dogs.;) -
Good advice, Sharron.
Quite a few years ago, our Rottweiler (Brutus, RIP my big boy) chomped up, oh, probably just over a pound of milk chocolate that we negligently left in his vicinity. After watching him act maniacally for a few minutes when we got home from work and finding some chewed up Santa tinfoil, we took him to the EV who recommended that they keep him for overnight observation, although they didn't think he was in a life-threatening situation. They referred to "explosive diarrhea," which was enough for us to give him up for a night. Anyways, although he was fine after his episode, he tore up our carpet in the two places that he had upchucked some chocolate, trying to get more of the same, I guess (we'd cleaned the carpet).
Anyways, lesson learned. Keep chocolate FAR away from the pups. The darker it is, the more poisonous it is, but they LOVE it, so you have to take extra precautions to be sure they can't get at it, regardless of what kind it is.
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I think if you catch the dog in the act of eating it, and you make them throw up, its ok, but once its in the system, then your pet can be in big trouble.
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If it's commercially made chocolate, they'd have to eat a lot to get sick. If it's 'real' chocolate, a little amount can be sufficient to really make them sick. Commercial chocolate is a lot of fake stuff.
