Tomorrow, Tomorrow....

I am so looking forward to tomorrow night.  Our kennels are reopened and I'll get to see all my sweet pups again.  I think not being able to get my sloppy kisses from them, not to see how much they appreciate us, not being able to get them directly in front of potential furever families made all the stressors so much the worse.

I made it through my volunteer orientation group last night without feeling like I was giving a spiel.  They seem like a great bunch and one of them already signed up to do an offsite this weekend.

I do wonder however, should I have prepared them for the drama that is coming as a result of this past weekend's bad decisions?  Volunteers have somewhat divided.  Not in respect for each other thankfully, at least for the most part.  Some are staying away and choosing to figure out how to publicly protest in the hopes of making changes for the long term good.  Others like myself, have chosen to do all the good we can do for the dogs that are still there.  The staff however is up in arms.  We who are still there are walking a fine line in the middle.

It's funny -- when I first started doing this, I was coming off a 3 1/2 stint on the board of another non-profit that was all people related and I needed a break from the silly pettiness of people.  Talking about how much I adored what I had moved on to, I stated that the dogs don't care how well something was planned or not planned, they don't criticize, they don't say after the fact how they could have done something better.  They don't call you up and scream at you about an event date change.  They just appreciate every little thing you do for them.  I even said, there's no politics.  How naive I was back then!

As I got more and more involved with the planning, organizing, strategizing.....well, that's when we 2-legged folk make everything so complicated and drama filled.  But this time....this time I can withstand the frustration and the criticism and the lack of common sense and egos and all of it -- because in the end it's still all about the 4 legged folk.  I'm making a difference for them.  When the going gets ruff, I can go through my pictures of those now in their furever homes and smile.  And yes, I will also once again cry as I hit upon the pictures of those I didn't save...and be inspired to go on by the pictures of the ones I can still save.

No orientation tomorrow night, no other people duties....just me and the ones who matter again.  I can't wait -- and I know they're going to jump into my arms again too and give me "I missed you" kisses!