Friday, May 15, 2009: LFS Kennels Part I

Another sunny day. Wished it could be a little more cloudy and breezy, as it was actually a bit too hot and stuffy for heavy duty dog work.

Went to the Lau Fau Shan Dog Kennels with Pete and Cindy to help reign in and restrain the dogs for their vaccinations. Over 130 dogs in total, all getting a shot from Dr. Joe, plus a third of them needing their rabies and microchip shots from the AFCD vets.

Mission completed in about 5 hours, with all of us, including Dr. Joe, Okka (PALS owner), and Kelly (LFS Kennels owner) all drenched in sweat and completely exhausted.

One of the most exhaustive dog day that I've had so far, but also one of the most rewarding one as well.

A real eye opener to the animal world, where the saying, "survival of the fittest" is being played out in real life, every minute, every second.

First hand observation of real pack instincts, and first hand experience of how calming energies can truly affect the dogs.

Looking back, it has also strengthened my determination and perserverance by enabling me to push through till the end, even though I was almost on the verge of breaking down at one point. Cindy was already pushing herself to her limits as she was coming down with a flu, and there I was, shaking from fatigue, on the brink of collapse. There was this brief moment of despair, of hopelessness, where I just felt that we could never get the job done. However, I knew that I could not give up, not there, not then. There were at least a good 30 dogs that needed their shots and we were just "that" close to finishing. So I pushed on. WE pushed on, all of us, and got every last dog vacinnated in the end.

It was great team work and even greater learning experience for all of us.

Yes, it was tough. It was exhausting. And at some point, even a bit scary. But it was really worth it. Every moment of it.

-AM