From as far back as I can remember, animals have played an important role in the happiest memories of my childhood. I remember sitting quietly on the floor, so the skittish farm cat would sleep on my lap, and being followed by a vocal lamb, demanding its bottle feeding. I spent hours leaning over the edge of the pen counting new chicks as they scurried about under the warmth of the heat lamp. The happiness I gained from their companionship while living on my grandparents’ farm, and the James Herriot stories read to me by my maternal Grandmother, paved the way for me to choose veterinary medicine as a career.
Over the years, I have seen the impact that the Human-Animal Bond has played in the lives of my clients and their families. I have cared for service animals and for pets that were the last link to a loved one who had passed away. I have seen pets relieve stress and others that have connected their person to a community of fellow animal lovers. I have received cards and photographs signed with paw prints, and I have witnessed the heart wrenching pain that comes with the loss of a beloved pet. According to the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association): “ The Human-Animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and animals that is influenced by behaviors essential to the health and wellbeing of both.” My personal pets have played an essential role in my wellbeing and my quality of life over the years, and most notably during the pandemic. If you have visited the Café website you may have seen that I recently adopted Jack, a Border Collie mix. I now share my home with two dogs and a cat. My dogs need to be walked regularly, keeping me physically active and exploring trails I would not hike alone, and bringing comfort over the last year with all the challenges the pandemic has brought to our world. Over the years, I have made new friends and tried different activities, such as dog agility with my more athletic dogs. I have made vehicle purchases and home location decisions, based upon what my animals need. I too have been devastated by the loss of two special dogs, both at 14 years of age. The time we have with them is never enough, and yet I cannot image imagine a life without them. One of my favorite quotes is by Roger Caras, who says it best: “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole”. Perhaps you are curious how time with animals adds quality to our lives? The Human Animal Bond Research Institute has recently created an infographic to depict the top 5 ways pets enrich our lives. Please visit their site and share the infographic. If you are looking for a new canine family member, or if you are not able to adopt a dog at this time but would value an opportunity to interact with them and enjoy this mutually beneficial relationship, then consider this your personal invitation to the Tail Wags & Treats Café Open House celebration, April 24-25. Local dog experts will be available to answer your questions about adoption, training, and activities you can enjoy with your dogs. There will be agility and working dog demonstrations, and information about our local shelter partners, and the opportunity to meet adoptable dogs while you sample our menu items. Buy a beverage and get a free baked treat. Perhaps a Café is not the first venue that comes to mind when you are looking for a forever friend, or for the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with dogs. My vision is to celebrate the human-animal bond by creating a new adoption environment where people and dogs meet and interact. This safe and relaxed social setting allows prospective dog adopters to meet dogs in the care of local animal shelter staff, while enjoying a cup of coffee and baked treats, in the hope that they form a forever connection. This setting also benefits dogs that do not do well in the loud shelter environment, allowing them to become more socialized, while giving adopters more insight into their individual personalities. My goal is to partner with local shelters to help increase the rate of successful dog adoptions into forever homes. What type of dogs can you hope to meet? Each week both adoptable dogs and ‘gotcha’ stories will be featured on the Dog Blog, on the website and on our social media channels. Please comment here for additional information and follow us on Instagram (@tailwagtreats) and Facebook (Tail Wags & Treats Café). Most importantly, drop by and sample our menu while you meet the dogs in person at the open house event. Tail wags from your friends at the Café
2 Comments
My semester-long project involves setting up a mock business for my course COMSTRAT563 at WSU. My animals are the center of my world, so it made sense to make them central to this project too. I developed Tail Wags & Treats Café, with the logo on the left, as a business that provides a safe, relaxed alternative venue for dog adoption. Some dogs cannot handle the stress of the shelter environment and shut down or develop behaviors that mask their personalities or deem then unadoptable. The dog that an adopter chooses at the shelter may not demonstrate his true personality, making it hard to know if it is a good match for the individual or family. My plan is to partner with local animal shelters to provide adoptable dogs and offer both the dogs and potential adopters a space for unhurried time together to connect, so that the adoption decision is successful for all. This business model has been used successfully with cat cafés, and I feel there is a need for a similar business focused on dogs. As a veterinarian, I am passionate about education, so my mock business will sponsor regular educational events including workshops on dog behavior, training, health, and nutrition by local dog experts, including trainers, veterinarians in private practice, and veterinarians from the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Lectures topics will be chosen to educate dog owners on how best to care for their canine companions. Historically the pet industry has been recession-proof, and we have seen unprecedented increases in pet adoption during the pandemic. The value of the human-animal bond is recognized as providing health and wellbeing benefits to both people and animals. I will take advantage of this valued relationship to build a mock café business around a cause that is valued by society. I hope you will join my virtual community, and share feedback and suggestions for my mock business. Cheers and tail wags, Joanne and the four legged crew My inspiration for the mock company, Patches and Jack. Both are Border-Collie mixes adopted from Deserving Pets Rescue in Red Bluff, California. Patches survived burns and being thrown from a vehicle, Jack survived parvovirus. They now live their best lives, and I am fortunate to share my home with them. |
AuthorThe Dog Blog is authored by our founder, Joanne. She loves to celebrate and highlight the human-animal bond in our blog. We share Gotcha Day stories, adventures shared by dogs and their families who found each other at our Café, and educational events with local dog experts to foster your forever connection. ArchivesCategories |