It was a good day
I had planned for my next post to be an update on Pikelet’s progress in the last two weeks - that one has some big exciting news and will be coming soon but today was too good not to put up a quick post to celebrate.
Today was our third adventure with an RSPCA Queensland doggo. Today the Behaviour Team had something different in mind - that something different was Albert, a very shy six month old Bull Arab x American Staffy pup.
I have to say, when we got to the park, Albert was very timid and feeling very overwhelmed by his new surroundings. He would often just put on the brakes and sit down to look at me and let me know that this was all a bit too much.
Fortunately Albert was, as we say, “food motivated”, a.k.a. a little pork pie. We took it very slow but with a lot of gentle verbal encouragement and regular little rewards for walking he gradually warmed up to being out in the park in the big wide world.
Albert was a pretty affectionate and playful pup so we also spent a bit of time wrestling and then sitting down on the grass to just enjoy the world and each other’s company.
There’s a short clip of Albert walking through Anzac Park just being a regular dog - nothing too exciting, unless you had seen had scared he was when we first arrived. (Unfortunately my cinematography skills need some work so the attempts to capture the early moments feature more scenery and less Albert than planned.)
A happy tale to end…
After our walk we went back to the Wacol campus for my volunteer shift. The one dampener for the day - unfortunately we didn’t have a single volunteer come in for the afternoon shift looking after the cats! This puts so much pressure on the staff and the saddest part is that it means that most of the cats miss out on much needed enrichment time and adds to their stress. Today’s turnout isn’t normal but there are a few extra vacancies at the moment, so if you can spare a couple of hours out of your Saturday afternoon please consider volunteering - you can find out more on the RSPCA Queensland volunteering website and specifically the animal care roles here.
But I promised a happy tale to end so just as my shift was finishing up, a family came in for a meet and greet with Albert. Of course I couldn’t but help sneak a peak at the process from a distance. They were super excited to meet and even better they were very great interacting with him and his initial shyness. I walked away with a very good feeling about them and I am very glad to say that I learnt afterwards that there’s no need to put up a link to Albert’s adoption profile because he’s already found his furever home.
I got to say today was a good day
