"Janet Boss" wrote:

We mostly worked on the circular driveway in these pics, but also in the
parking lot depending on need.

Same general area I remember/was picturing... and certainly not a "shelter
atmosphere" that would stress a dog. In fact, most dogs would find it far
LESS stressful than, say, classes held in a weeny fenced area in the middle
of a pet store.

We also worked in the pumphouse at times
over the years, but mostly for puppy class in the winter or if it
started raining.

I was going to say "the pumphouse", but wasn't sure if I was remembering
the name correctly.

We used the recent (8 years ago?) dog fun runs in
back of the adoption building for puppy classes and sometimes for basic
class as well.

Also not a "shelter atmosphere".
BTW, those runs have been around more
than 8 years; they were in place, and not brand new, when I adopted Morag -
which was 9 years ago this June. (Her official 10th birthday was last
Tuesday.) I used the runs to evaluate both Mw and a baby puppy I was
considering, and they were also used to introduce her to Bren prior to
finalizing the adoption.


When I first started my classes there it was after that man died.

That's what I figured, since he was at *least* in his 60s at the time we
took the class. I don't remember the exact year, but it would have been
before Carrie was old enough to drive - and she turned 40 last fall.

He
and his wife ran a session a year (we ran ~15 once we got started) and
when he died she wasn't sure she wanted to continue.

Wow. Only 1 per year??

In article ,
"sionnach" wrote:


Also not a "shelter atmosphere".
BTW, those runs have been around more
than 8 years; they were in place, and not brand new, when I adopted Morag -
which was 9 years ago this June. (Her official 10th birthday was last
Tuesday.) I used the runs to evaluate both Mw and a baby puppy I was
considering, and they were also used to introduce her to Bren prior to
finalizing the adoption.

I lose track of time! But I adopted Lucy almost 10 years ago, and they
were in place then! They weren't in 1994, I know that, so I'm guessing
that it was probably 1997 or early 1998.

Definitely not "shelter atmosphere" though.


When I first started my classes there it was after that man died.

That's what I figured, since he was at *least* in his 60s at the time we
took the class. I don't remember the exact year, but it would have been
before Carrie was old enough to drive - and she turned 40 last fall.

Oh my!

He
and his wife ran a session a year (we ran ~15 once we got started) and
when he died she wasn't sure she wanted to continue.

Wow. Only 1 per year??

Apparently! And no use of the pumphouse at the time. I didn't use it
until after a few years. I started running just basic (1992 and I was
running them 2-3 other places as well) and then added puppy class (which
I was running elsewhere) and it all grew pretty fast. There was a time
where I was running 4 hours of basic classes on Saturdays in addition to
puppy and advanced. Talk about exhausting besides feeling like I had
just said or done something - repeating class 4 times over was tiring.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"Janet Boss" wrote:

I lose track of time! But I adopted Lucy almost 10 years ago, and they
were in place then! They weren't in 1994, I know that, so I'm guessing
that it was probably 1997 or early 1998.

They weren't there when I got Bren in December of '95, nor when I got
Gwydion a year or so later. I remember hearing about the legacy, and then
being very pleasantly surprised at the remodel. :-)


Apparently! And no use of the pumphouse at the time.

Yeah, my recollection is that classes were cancelled if it rained too hard.

Talk about exhausting besides feeling like I had
just said or done something - repeating class 4 times over was tiring.

I can imagine!

Side note about Carrie and the SPCA, btw - I may have told you this in the
past, but did you know she was partially responsible for one of the petting
zoo sheep being there? It was bought as a prop for an avant-garde play
called - IIRC - "Curse of the Starving Classes", which she for some reason
was helping stage-manage; the eejit who bought it not only hadn't thought to
get any sort of halter, but hadn't made a plan for what to do after the
play's run.
Dafi had since died, and Carrie used his collar for the sheep; at one point,
it got loose (not from her care), and our poor father got a call from Animal
Control about it, since Dafi's tags were still on the collar. :-D
At any rate, when the play was done, the cast & crew objected to the
director's plan of having the sheep sent back to the slaughterhouse, and it
was given to the petting zoo... as I recall it, Carrie was the the one who
first suggested the SPCA, since she knew they kept farm animals there.

In article ,
"sionnach" wrote:

Carrie was the the one who
first suggested the SPCA, since she knew they kept farm animals there.

No longer. They were not doing well in that environment and we found
placements for them various places. At one point, there were horses,
donkeys (who bit!) the sheep, goats, geese and the peacocks. The foxes
managed to take care of the peacocks and geese unfortunately. When I
was doing daycare in the late 80's and early 90's, it was a great place
to take the kids without having to do a full blown zoo trip!

BTW - look for a total remodel in the coming years. The pumphouse will
stay no matter what, as it is a historic landmark!

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"Janet Boss" wrote:

No longer. They were not doing well in that environment and we found
placements for them various places.

I noticed that last couple of times I was there, and thought it was for the
best. Among other things, I remember the horrific incident of the kids who
got in and mutilated one of the donkeys for "fun".

BTW - look for a total remodel in the coming years.

I'll have to keep an eye out! I still badly want another JRT, and have been
seriously tempted a couple of times recently by SPCA postings.

The pumphouse will stay no matter what, as it is a historic landmark!

I'd've figured that. G
What about the house? I'd hate to see it go - it's such a pretty place, both
inside and out - but can see that a) the space might be better used and b)
it's a bit antiquated in terms of office needs.

In article ,
"sionnach" wrote:


What about the house? I'd hate to see it go - it's such a pretty place, both
inside and out - but can see that a) the space might be better used and b)
it's a bit antiquated in terms of office needs.

After a lot of deliberation, it appears to be safe and staying for the
long term. There have been a number of upgrades done over the years
(some fairly recently) and it is a pretty place. Integrating it with
the rest of the shelter is the tough part. Architects have thrown out
some interesting concepts though, but you know how things are - money,
money and more money.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"sionnach" wrote in message
...
"Janet Boss" wrote:

We mostly worked on the circular driveway in these pics, but also in the
parking lot depending on need.

Same general area I remember/was picturing... and certainly not a
"shelter
atmosphere" that would stress a dog. In fact, most dogs would find it far
LESS stressful than, say, classes held in a weeny fenced area in the
middle
of a pet store.

It is still a place where a lot of dogs have left their scents, and I am
sure that many of them were highly stressed if their owners were taking
them in as unwanted pets or strays for possible adoption, but more likely
euthanasia. Even those that may have been leaving with new owners would
have been very agitated upon leaving the shelter with a stranger. Janet
even remarked that a dogfight or other "incident" had happened around the
circular driveway earlier in the day, when Muttley had inexplicably
attacked another dog the week before the more serious attack. It was also
partly for that reason that she had moved the class to the parking lot.

Without much good socialization, and coming from an environment where other
dogs were seen as rivals and threats to survival, and people were often
abusive, the conditions at the SPCA were probably quite stressful for
Muttley. And the fact that this was the same place where I had taken him in
February to be surrendered and most likely euthanized, may have added to my
own stress.

Paul and Muttley