Kate Burkholder – Animal Care Internship

It isn’t every day that a high school student is allowed to work behind the scenes at an animal rescue. At the end of August, I started my internship at Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue in Reinholds, PA. This rescue specializes in taking in golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, and other doodle variations. Some dogs at DVGRR are surrendered from their previous owners while others are surrendered from puppy mills and other establishments. I was able to work with incredible people and dogs because I was able to learn so much through my daily routine, through working with different dogs, and through shadowing other employees.

Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I wake up early in the morning to arrive at DVGRR by 7:00am. I put my personal items like my car keys, sweatshirt, and phone into the locker (there is a strict no-phone policy for interns). Then I go to the kitchen where I spend the majority of my day. I pull the cart of the prepared food in the closet and start prepping the dogs for breakfast. The food dishes on the cart are already full of premeasured kibble from the night before and it is my responsibility in the morning to add fresh pet, canned food, chicken broth, or whatever the food cards say to add. Some of the dogs get medications and the prescribed pills or chews will be in the food dish ahead of time so I have to insert the pill or chew inside a hotdog/meatball so the dog will eat it, although there are times when the dogs can be stubborn with taking their medications so we have to resort to using spray cheese or peanut butter. Once all of the dog’s dishes have their wet foods added I feed the dogs inside (as a high school intern I’m not allowed in the kennel). Then I clean the inside of the dog’s water dishes which can get really dirty over 24 hours and then I refill them. Next, I get bedtime treats ready for the dogs. I fill the assigned number of Kong toys with peanut butter and then spread some biscuits with peanut butter. Then once I’m done with the bedtime snacks, I put them in the fridge and start to wash dishes. The old dishes from the kennels get washed and sanitized and then dried off. By the time I finish the dishes it is 9:00am and it’s time for me to get out into one of the yards for playtime. I’ve had numerous play times since I started with different dogs ranging from dogs recovering from surgery, energetic puppies, and geriatric dogs.

Certain dogs are in playtime groups together, but before they are assigned a group, the groups have to be matched. Sometimes before play time, the employees will brainstorm which dogs are most likely to be compatible with others. The dogs are brought out with leashes in the small yard. Usually, this is the stage where the dogs show the behavior of interest or fear of the dog. So far the matches that I’ve watched happen, but that isn’t always the case. Some dogs can be a little more fearful than others and those dogs stay at the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a house that DVGRR bought in 2015 and converted to meet a dog’s every need. The facility’s purpose is to provide a quieter environment for the dogs that need it. I was only allowed to work there once recently and it was a really good experience. The morning routine is pretty much the same as the main building, but there are a lot fewer employees working there.

During my time at my internship, I was able to observe many things. My mentor, Denis, let me join him for a behavior test. A behavior test is when someone separates a dog into a room and performs numerous procedures to “push the dog’s buttons” and see how they react. These procedures include hugging, touching the legs, pushing, and attempting to grab their food. The dog that Denis and I were testing was a delightful golden retriever named Angel. She did wonderful with her behavior test and was extremely social. The only thing we had to note was that she gets fearful of the silver food bowl and has to eat off of a plate. I was also able to observe some medical procedures. There was one dog named Aspen Lee who had recently gotten spayed. During the surgery, the stitches didn’t stay together so the vet ended up stapling the wound together. When the staples needed to come out I was able to observe the process which was not the easiest thing to watch.

Thanks to my internship at Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue I was able to receive job experience I wouldn’t have been able to anywhere else. I have learned so much through my daily routine, working with different dogs, and shadowing other employees. It has been such a privilege to work with such wonderful people and dogs and I am looking forward to working with them for the rest of the semester.