Visiting the kennel is an experience that involves all the five senses and that everyone should do at least once in their life, even those who don’t like dogs or cats.
As soon as you get off your car you’re welcomed by the dog’s chattering and, if you listen closely, you can distinguish a big dog with a deeper, warmer voice from a small dog with a higher, squeakier voice – you can discriminate those who call, those who cry, those who are angry and those who simply want
to say hi.
Then you enter the kennel and your nostrils are overwhelmed by a thousand smells: wet dog, kibble, bleach, sometimes even feces and urine, but it’s all normal, the dogs are always too many and they regularly do their needs like the rest of us. Nothing out of the ordinary, but worry not, you’ll quickly get acquainted to all those smells – actually, you’ll soon forget them. How? That is not the right question – you must ask yourselves when.
When?
As soon as you’ll start strolling through the cages and your heart will start beating out of your chest; you’ll feel overwhelmed by all those glances and all those begging tails.
Some dogs widen their eyes, smush their faces against the grates and look like they’re saying “pick me, choose me” and they jump – they can jump incredibly high just to get noticed, I love them. Other dogs give you their backs, not because they’re shy but because they’ve been wounded too many times that they’ve stopped hoping – they need some extra tight hugs, I cry every time I see them.
You should see how they completely let go in your arms, I can’t even describe it, it’s heartbreaking ; it makes you feel awful but at the same time amazing, hugging is the most powerful form of love, I’m sure of this.
Some other dogs are actually shy, I must confess they’re my overall favorites because they can make some pretty adorable stares : they keep their head down and raise their eyes to catch a glimpse of you, but as soon as they catch you staring back at them they quickly lower them again and pretend they’re looking at their paws – but just for a split second, then again they carefully look at you and if you get closer they start wagging their tails, slowly at first, then faster and faster and when you’re close enough they lay down with their belly up and wait for some cuddles.
And here the sense of touch comes in because you can’t stop yourself from cuddling, caressing and scratching them.
And the sense of taste?
Well, I’d say it’s the best part – there’s nothing better than their kisses : tongues washing your face as their way of saying “thank you for cuddling me, thank you for NOTICING me”
And for those who still aren’t convinced and think that all dogs in kennels are “bad and ugly”, here are the wonderful shots captured by Marina Barbati for the launch of the new BamaPet dog games: Palla Ruga e Palla Riga.
These five wonderful dogs posed as models for a day and they’ve been a delight to work with but most importantly THEY’RE LOOKING FOR A HOME!
We take this opportunity to thank the volunteers at “Canile Enpa di Pistoia” with which we collaborate, but also all the volunteers in all the other catteries and kennels for everything they do for our four-legged friends. Thank you from the bottom of our heart! You’re AMAZING!
