A Public Disclosure of Guilty Pleasures

Reality television. Singing pop music in the shower. Eating an entire pint of ice cream in one sitting. We all have guilty pleasures, and in this week's blog, we're going to out some of the guilty pleasures of our adoptable animals. 

First, there's Jojo. At almost 65 pounds, Jojo isn't what normal people would call a "lap dog." But Jojo isn't normal people, and she absolutely describes herself as such. She's a sucker for the laps, the rubs, and the ear shakes - give it all to her.

Don't tell the other dogs I love laps. They won't understand. 

Then there's Tito, a cat who used to act like a big, tough garden cat and only wanted to be outside. Until he discovered his own guilty pleasure, which turned out to be people and the places they live. He's now so comfortable and happy spending some time indoors with people that he expresses his happiness by making sleep biscuits. We're not kidding.

 What can I say? I've warmed up to the good life.

We couldn't leave the rabbits out of the mix. Zayn's guilty pleasure is reading. He reads a lot. He even reads when he's supposed to be doing other things, like eating. Speaking of eating - Zayn actually has two guilty pleasures. Can anyone guess the second?

This lettuce, I love it. Endlessly.

 Faith has maybe the most adorable guilty pleasure we've ever seen. She's a fan of the snug life, and her guilty pleasure is wrapping herself in a blanket before bed. Yes, it's as adorable as it sounds. And yes, she really did that herself.

 I didn't choose the snug life. The snug life chose me.

 The point is, tons of our animals have amusing and adorable guilty pleasures. And they're way less embarrassing than ours. I'm lookin' at you, 'lady who watches Keeping up with the Kardashians while everyone else is asleep'. Come see what we mean. And take a leaf out of the book of our animals - share your guilty pleasures with the world. Chances are, you shouldn't have to feel guilty at all, and they actually make you a lot more interesting.

Awesome Future Veterinarian in the Making!

 This week we're featuring a guest blog written by Arushi Saurabh, an awesome and compassionate kid who is well on her way to taking the world by storm. Arushi came to visit HSSV, and wrote all about what she learned about animal behavior!

Arushi and one of our behavior specialists, Jessica

"In December, I went to the Humane Society of Silicon Valley (HSSV) to interview two of the animal behavior specialists. When I entered HSSV, I was greeted by Kara and Jessica (the animal behavior specialists), and Theo (Kara’s pug puppy who found my finger very tasty). I asked why they wanted to be animal behavior specialists, and they said they both had a full-time job when they started volunteering at HSSV. But, after working with the animals, they loved it more than their full time jobs, so they decided to get a job at HSSV.

Arushi meeting Theo, behavior specialist Kara's puppy

I asked what one of their favorite moments on the job was. Kara said her favorite moment was when the challenging animals got adopted. Jessica’s favorite moment was when a shy dog met another dog and they became friends. The other dog made him brave, and then he got adopted. 

Shy kids making friends

I asked them what they would tell kids who might want a job like this. They both advised to start by volunteering. They also told me, that since I want to be a vet, that there is such a thing as a vet behaviorist and they are very rare. There are less than 100 vet behaviorists in California! A vet behaviorist diagnoses medical conditions that affect an animal’s behavior, as well as treat behavioral problems. 

Meatball, Arushi's new friend

After the interview, we went to introduce two dogs who had never met each other, Meatball and Romeo. Meatball is different because he is deaf. Meatball and Romeo are both the same breed, around the same age, and the same height. We took both of them out to the big fenced grass area so they could play together. After Romeo and Meatball played for a while, Jessica showed me how to make Meatball do some tricks. I made him sit, lay, and roll over. 

Arushi teaching Meatball to roll over

    Visiting HSSV was an amazing experience and I felt very inspired by it. I was happy because it was really cool to learn so much more about what animal behavior specialists do. More importantly, I was really happy to see how they helped animals have a better life. The experience was also very inspiring. Even though I always wanted to be a vet, meeting the animal behavior specialists made me realize that I want to be a vet behaviorist. It was a lot of fun to see how they worked with animals for one day. I wonder how much fun it would be to work with animals everyday!"

 Thanks for being an awesome behavior assistant, Arushi. We know you're goin' places!

Want to learn more about getting involved at Humane Society Silicon Valley? Visit www.hssv.org/get-involved

The Ron Swanson of HSSV

Ever met someone that's a little...standoffish at first?

That's Whiskey. He doesn't tend to make a great first impression. 

He can be grumpy, and would prefer not to be bothered with your petty issues.

But he does have a softer side.

 

After a while, he starts to open up - in his way, of course.

He reserves his best side for his very favorite people.

 

If you haven't guessed already, Whiskey is basically Ron Swanson. He's rough around the edges, takes a while to consider you a friend instead of a "work acquaintance," but can be a big ol' softie for those he loves.

 

Whiskey is looking for the Leslie to his Ron, the person that can make him say semi-mooshy things and share personal details (like his birthday or address). Come hate on skim milk and frozen yogurt with him. And don't forget to bring the breakfast food.

 

The Big Game - Cats vs. Dogs

 It's on! The big game is here - who will take the prize in the battle between cats and dogs? Each team presents their side:

Come on, no contest. I keep myself clean and never make a mess! Can a dog do that?

You have a good point, Pismo. Cats are uber clean. It's pretty nice.

I love you! And you! And you! What do I win? Treat? Bone? Pet?

Okay, Finn, that's fair - dogs are super loving and affectionate. That's a pretty big bonus.

 I don't need silly "walks" or "hikes." I'm just naturally this well-behaved. Oh, and I won't chew your furniture.

Low maintenance and less destructive. Well played, Clyde. Well played.

I want to go everywhere with you! Let's do everything together! Want to go on a walk? Or play ball?

You're right, Rocko - sometimes it's fun to have a buddy that wants to do things like walk and hike! Especially for the more active folks among us.

Honestly, is there even a debate at this point? Cats are low maintenance. We won't smother you constantly. And we can almost take care of ourselves. Is there even a question?

You make a good point, Tito, but we're torn. 

We're fun! We love you the mostest! We always wanna be with - wait, is that a squirrel?

Okay, we're calling this a tie. Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder. Or however you want to say there are a lot of great things about dogs and cats, it just depends who you ask. If you need your own buddy for the big game, we have you covered. We have tons of awesome dogs and cats, and we promise we won't take a side. Pick a fave. We won't judge.