Dog Observation Essay

On March 15, 2017, I visited the St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, an animal shelter attached to the Mount Olive Petsmart in Flanders, New Jersey. As my family had recently adopted our third dog from the shelter in December of 2016, I was excited to return to the shelter, now with my knowledge from class to see what new things I noticed. Some main things that stuck out to me were being able to notice some of the changes that occur as a dog ages, the exercise that different dogs received, how each dog was cared for, and the shelter’s policy on spaying/neutering. Right when I walked into the shelter, I saw Max, an 11-year-old shepherd mix. Max had a significant amount of gray hair, especially on his muzzle and near his eyes. His fur was also pretty matted and was thinning, which the shelter believed was due to his old age. These were all changes we had discussed in class and were characteristics I

Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center only adopts out dogs that have been neutered or spayed, as they understand that when people do not spay/neuter their dogs, it means that shelters are more likely to become filled due to overpopulation. This means that the shelter will not allow puppies to be adopted until they are of age to be spayed/neutered, which I thought was a really important policy, especially given the information that we learned in the Animal Control presentation. Overall, I really enjoyed returning to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center. Although I had been to the shelter numerous times before, this time I was able to make note of many new things because of what we have learned in class. Specifically, I noticed the changes that occur in senior pets, how different stages of life might influence energy level/exercise needs, how each animal’s needs are pet, and how taking the proactive step of neutering/spaying all pets before adopting out to new families can ultimately benefit the pet population. I really enjoyed returning to the shelter with my new