Menu Close

When you work at the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, sometimes you have a favorite. While we really do love all the animals in our care, it is inevitable that some will tug at your heartstrings with a bit more force. This Valentine’s Day, our staff has some special shelter valentines that we would like to share with the public. Because as much as we love them, their hearts still need somewhere to call home.

My heart melts for anything old. I really don’t need to know anything other than their age (the older the better!), and I’m in love. My particular heartthrob right now is named T.J., an elderly bulldog mix who’s white with gray splotches, which I consider to be the most perfect dog in the entire world. T.J. could melt ice with his loving, affectionate personality. All this dog truly wants is someone to be with him. He will snuggle for hours. In fact, it’s not an uncommon sight to see volunteers sitting in T.J.’s kennel enjoying the love he has to share. One day, he fell asleep in a volunteer’s lap while she was reading. Now, I do realize that T.J. isn’t perfect – he has his grouchy moments, particularly involving taking his food away while he’s eating or cutting his nails, where he will grumble and rumble like a discontented beast – but that only makes me love him more (love is blind!).

Chico has two special staff valentines: Jazmyn, who works in the front office, and Catherine, who coordinates special events, have been spending extra time with this big boy with the big heart. Chico is a blue/fawn brindle mastiff mix and is what some may call a “tease.” He melts into the chain link in the front of his kennel for anyone, but open the door and you see that he also has a wild side ready to come out! Chico is working hard on his manners and curbing his overwhelming enthusiasm, but it’s really hard in the shelter environment. Our big boy is looking for a home with someone who has experience with training and is comfortable with strong dogs. Chico is a diamond in the rough and he is looking for the right owner to polish him up!

Krystal, one of our veterinary technicians, has a soft spot for black cats. Currently, her sweetheart is a black cat with a bad ear named Van Gogh. His poor ear is crumpled and infected, so he’s not in our adoption room yet, but we hope he soon will be healthy and ready for the dating market up front. In the meantime, he will share some special moments with Krystal as he recovers.

If you didn’t notice, the trend of shelter workers is to fall in love with animals that are typically the most overlooked for adoption. This is true of shelters and rescues all over – the extra amount of time we get to spend with the animals allows their true colors to shine through to us. We are given the opportunity to get to see what makes them extra-special, and we hope that sharing our crushes with you will open your eyes to the joy that a shelter valentine can bring.

Source: Love is in the air at the SPCA shelter

Posted in 2017, SJRAS Articles