The hardest part of working at Helen Woodward Animal Center, is seeing the orphan pets who don’t go home. Day in and day out they sit in their kennels, watching potential adopters pass them by. The staff take good care of them — they get to go on walks, they get to play in a yard, and they get to eat tasty food. And yet, all the professional care in the world can’t make up for a loving home.
The Center’s staff first started taking care of Vicki in late Summer last year. The Shepherd blend was only 5-months-old when she first came to the Center with three siblings. Vicki immediately showed she could be a bit of a handful. She had a passionate love for playtime. It didn’t matter the game, the Shepherd blend was always down. She loved going on walks around the Center’s 12 acre campus and being outside in general. The downside to her playful energy is that it made her restless in the kennel. Thus, potential adopters would pass by Vicki’s kennel. Many times she’d startle them when she jumped for joy at their presence. They’d decide they didn’t want a puppy with that much energy and take home other pups.
The heat of San Diego’s autumn months turned to the damp winter, and Vicki remained in her kennel. The Center’s animal care technicians still took her on walks. She still got to play in the yard. And she graduated from puppy food to adult dog food. Still, potential adopters passed her by.
But then, in the heart of America’s Finest City’s May Gray season, Vicki found her people. They were a family who had experience with energetic dogs and knew how much love the Shepherd blend had to offer. Vicki has been settling in amazingly and has even befriended her new neighbors’ three huskies! Most of all, she’s getting all the love and affection she’s always deserved.
