This past week things have been pretty gloomy at home. I had the Flu and felt like the world was coming to an end. Cabin fever also sunk in as I was bedridden aching all over and for the first time since I moved here I felt so alone. Don't get me wrong, my SO was an angel! He took real good care of me, even skipped class one morning so he could stay by my side when things were at their worst. Being sick was sucking the life out of me and all my good spirits with it too.
My SO had something planned for Saturday, and as many questions as I asked, his intentions would remain a mystery.

By Saturday morning, I was already feeling a lot better health wise. We drove off to Costco to get the one item needed for the day: peanut butter. 12 big jars of it. It was getting more and more intriguing!

We took the coastal highway up from Culver City all the way through Malibu and up until Point Mugu, then headed inward through miles and miles of Citrus and Strawberry fields. The views and smells were amazing, the temperature was wonderful (i was in a T-shirt!!) and the company was the best!

Two and a half hours of travel from our CC starting point we finally got to our destination, in the town of Santa Paula. We parked in a parking lot and I could hear classical music playing.
It turns out our Saturday getaway was to volunteer at an Animal Shelter. I was over the moon!! I couldn't wait till we got inside, met JP's friend Eric, filled out applications and were taken to the back.

The shelter currently hosts over 50 dogs and I don't know how many cats (cats had a lot of volunteers that day so we weren't needed). Each dog has it's own space and there are two large separate yards for them to play and interact with people . Our role that day consisted of playing with dogs in the yards.

Each 25 minutes we had a new dog to play with. It was AMAZING! By the end of the day we were exhausted but our morale was so high. It was so rewarding interacting with these pups, finding the way to each one's heart, getting to know their different personalities, figuring out what kind of games they would like most. By 6 PM it was time for us to leave, our hearts filled by so much love for our new friends, and a lot of hope for them to find forever homes. If it weren't that far away from home, I'd be up there everyday!!

Because you've made it here, enjoy the pics of some of the new friends we've made

Amy




Doug - Sweet spot in my SO's heart, they just sat and cuddled for half an hour






Jake


Kilye


Nyla


Roxy




Trigger