A dogs eye view - part 2 - the story continues

A Dog’s Eye View – Corky Shares his County Animal Shelter Experience…and the story continues

Last month (May 17th 2013), Corky,  the rambunctious little Jack Russell Terrier who  loved  to chase a tennis ball all day long, lost his favorite tennis ball and was positive that the sneaky Australian Shepherd, Fly,  down the street must have stolen it.  Well, Corky went to get his tennis ball, got lost and ended up at Pinellas County Animal Services. The whole experience was kinda scary but also ended well.  The people at Pinellas County Animal Services got him to a safe place with catering and housekeeping while he waited for his owner to come find him.  It turned out to be a really good experience.

For the next 2 weeks follow the adventures of Corky and Fly  in this blog

Corky Tells Fly How Great his County Shelter Experience Was (Article 2 of 5)

After my owner picked me up from Pinellas County Animal Services I had great stories to tell the other dogs in the neighborhood.  I wondered if any of them had stayed at the shelter. I'd have to ask the gang when we went to the dog park.  Oh well, I am happy to be home and play with my tennis balls. I LOVE tennis balls!  In fact, I love them so much that my nickname is "Wilson."  Anyway, life is good. My owner lets me out to play in the back yard with my tennis ball and I spent hours nosing it up and down the yard.  Then the WORST happened! My tennis ball rolled under the fence! It was out of sight!  How was I going to get it? I ran around hoping that my owner would see me jumping up and down and then I saw it. A small crack in the fence. Should I? Oh, no harm in it, so through the crack I went and there it was…MY tennis ball.

Then I got to thinking. I remember Fly, the sneaky Australian Shepherd, telling me that he was going to fly ball classes. Fly ball? What was that? Does the ball fly and you run and jump in the air and get it before it flies away? I just had to find out so off I went to Fly’s house. This time I did not get lost.

There that sneaky dog was. His One blue eye was looking at me and his one brown eye was looking down the street.  He was sitting on his front porch with a new red ball in his mouth. Figures, he is always trying to get better looking tennis balls than me.  He steals them too!  Hey Fly, wanna play ball? Fly stood up and started doing the aussie wiggle bottom greeting. And off we went to the dog park.   

 Did you know that Pinellas County has 7 dog parks?  Dog Parks are located at the following Pinellas County Parks:

Fort De Soto Park - Note: Fort De Soto has the only dog park where dogs are allowed on the beach in a designated area. There are also 2 fenced in areas near the beach for large and small dog with water stations (beach entrance is at the far southwest corner of dog park)

Anderson Park

Boca Ciega Park

Chestnut Park

Eagle Lake Park

Sand Key Park

Walsingham Park

We were having a great time nosing the ball in the grass, tossing it into the air and then of course, Fly gets bored. He always needs a job to do! Can’t he just play like me? Since he is a shepherd type, I like to tease him by saying "sheep!"  He goes crazy wanting to find them and round them up.  That joke was starting to get boring so I tell him instead about my time in the County Shelter and he tilted his head, his ears go forward and he hears every word I say.  He usually doesn't listen to me but I had his complete attention.

While I was at the shelter waiting for my owner to get me, I heard stories from other dogs which were available for adoption about the dog walkers and what they do for the dogs on Adoption Row and Rescue Row. Every day, yes, everyday humans come and walk the dogs. They all have martingale collars and leashes that they received in a special dog training class and all have milk bones and Kong’s filled with peanut butter in them. They walk the dogs around the shelter and everyone barks about all the glorious smells. Oh it was heaven they said. While walking the dogs, other humans came and cleaned their pens and gave them fresh water and then they got 2 square meals a day! I like round better than square.  Whoever heard about a square tennis ball? Silly humans! Everyone said it was the cleanest place they have ever been in! Everybody was nice and concerned about finding forever homes for them.

Fly really got excited when he heard that these dog walking humans took the dogs into a play area and played ball! Yes Fly, they threw the ball for the longest time. Fly’s head was tilting even more. He stood up and did his wiggle bottom dance and got this real serious look in both his blue eye AND his brown eye.…I started to wiggle too because he said "Listen up Corky, we are going to BREAK INTO THAT SHELTER."

For more information, visit Pinellas County Animal Services’ web page at www.pinellascounty.org/animalservices/volunteer.htm  or call (727) 582-2600.

Pinellas County Animal Services is located at 12450 Ulmerton Road in Largo. Normal hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the adoption center closing at 5:30 p.m. Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and services include adoptions. Rabies vaccinations are administered on Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. The facility is closed all Pinellas County holidays.

For information on how to adopt, donate or volunteer, join Pinellas County Animal Services on Facebook. To learn more about the shelter, visit www.pinellascounty.org/animalservices, or call (727) 582-2600. The lost or found pets hotline is (727) 582-2604.

For more information about Pinellas County services and programs, visit www.pinellascounty.org, now with LiveChat, or create a shortcut to www.pinellascounty.org/mobile on any smartphone. Pinellas County government is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Pinellas County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.