Category: Lifestyle

Tips for Volunteering at Animal Shelters

Kristyn Weaver / / Blog Posts, Information, Lifestyle

Volunteering is a rewarding experience for both participants and institutions. Animal shelters in particular rely a lot on volunteers as usually they are low on labor and funds, meaning donated service is definitely appreciated. Animal shelter volunteers complete a variety of tasks such as walking and feeding dogs, cleaning up messes, and of course the hardest part: playing and cuddling with the pups. If this sounds appealing to you, make sure to check out these tips before you commit to a shelter/program.

 

1. Understand the time commitment

Shelters might have a strict and set schedule for volunteers, and if this is the case make sure you can fulfill their expectations. Depending upon where you volunteer, there might be a minimum of hours required for you to keep your volunteer title.

 

2. Make sure you’re not afraid to get dirty

Most shelters will have you do what nobody else really wants to do: cleaning up dog messes. While this might not be what you’re doing at all times, it is likely this will end up as part of your duties.

 

3. Make sure you’re passionate

If you’re not super into animals, working at an animal shelter maybe isn’t the job for you. Make sure you truly love what you are doing when you volunteer, as it will be all the more rewarding.

 

4. Show up with a can-do attitude

Always show up with a positive attitude when you come to volunteer and make sure you try to fulfill your duties to the best of your ability. The staff member on duty will surely appreciate and notice the extra effort.

 

If after reading these you are still sure volunteering at an animal shelter is for you, by all means go ahead and get out there! Volunteering is one of the most rewarding experiences that a person can do in the world, and working with animals is such a great cause that more often than not gets overlooked. While it might be a lot of work, helping dogs potentially find their forever homes is certainly worth it.

Finding Furry Friends on College Campuses

Kristyn Weaver / / Blog Posts, Lifestyle

Have you ever heard of the saying: “love is a four-legged word”? If this phrase leaves you baffled, perhaps my blog is not the right place for you. Heading off to college, one of my greatest concerns was that my pup wouldn’t be joining me for this new chapter of my life. As dogs can help reduce stress and can aide in homesickness, it is my thought that every college kid should have access to a plethora of pups. This however, is easier said than done.

If you are a seasoned veteran to Coffee and a Beagle, you might know that I attend Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. One of my favorite aspects of Furman is its picturesque landscaping and greenery, and judging from the immense amount of visitors that stop by campus every day, I am not the only one who feels this way. Seasoned visitors who walk around the lake every day are often known to bring their family: all of their family including their pup. Having these dogs on campus every day always brings a smile to my face though it got me thinking: just how many dogs can be found on one given day?

 

I decided to take this question and put it to the test. Setting out with a friend and a camera in my hand I decided to document every dog that I passed in order to get an estimate of how many dogs I can spot in just one loop around the scenic Furman lake. If you are interested in viewing this little experiment, check it out here! Here are some sneak peeks:

 

 

Aside from the four-legged visitors Furman gets daily, the University also recently implemented the program ‘Paws to Unwind’. This program brings in puppies from the Greenville Humane Society to campus every first Thursday of the month in order to help students de-stress and boost moods.

 

So, if you are a college student or college-bound in the fall, make sure to check out all the programs your university has so as to not miss out on any doggone fun! If they don’t have any specific programs, take a walk around campus: I’m sure you will be guaranteed to find at least one dog on your walk!

 

 

 

 

Pucks & Paws: A Recap

Kristyn Weaver / / Blog Posts, Lifestyle

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual Pucks and Paws Hockey Game between Greenville’s Swamp Rabbits and the Jacksonville Icemen. This hockey game was special in that for one night only your furry friend was able to enter the stadium free of charge! Tickets purchased also benefited Lucky Pups Rescue, a local non-profit dog rescue shelter! Here’s everything you need to know about Pucks and Paws if you missed it:

 

Pros:

  • To put it plainly seeing all the pups in the stadium made my hockey experience 10x better. While I am not the biggest hockey fan (that was my second ever game!) I am sure that the crowd got bigger on Saturday night just because the thought of seeing all the dogs in the stadium drew more people out!
  • The crew did a great job of getting the crowd involved with all sorts of fun games during intermission! One of my favorite things to watch was a race between around fifteen dogs on the ice. While I was expecting a bit of sliding and slipping around on the ice, the smallest Shih Tzu I have seen all the sudden just bolted after the air horn, leaving his competition in the dust! The ‘Simba Cam’ during breaks was another one of my favorites. A song from the Lion King would play and dog owners would be encouraged to raise their pups over their heads just like Simba in the movie! Some people were holding their 80 pound dog up and others were holding their human friends. It was a riot.
  • The booths around the stadium were very nicely organized and provided so much information for local shelters, natural and healthy treats, and organizations dedicated to supporting animals. It was so nice seeing all of them supported at the game.

Cons:

  • It was a bit hard at times for the bigger dogs to fit in the small stadium seats. A lot of them had to awkwardly ‘squish’ between their owners legs and the back of a chair, which might have been hard for some people. I know two huge Mastiffs didn’t even try to make it into the stadium so they and their owners sat outside.
  • My first seat came with a rather interesting odor and we later saw a bit of droppings left at the beginning of our row. Needless to say we switched seats and didn’t have another problem!

 

You can check out my Live Tweets here!

 

Overall, this event was one of the coolest experiences in Greenville I’ve been to so far. The only negatives were really logistical errors as the stadium doesn’t usually accommodate dogs, and I don’t think that should be weighed in with heavy consideration. I look forward to next year’s Pucks and Paws event, no doubt you’ll see me there!

 

 

How to Take Awesome Photos of your Dog

Kristyn Weaver / / Blog Posts, Lifestyle

Almost all dog owners understand the struggle of taking a picture of your pet. From dogs who are seen just as a blur on camera, to lack of eye contact, there are many things to take into consideration when hosting a photoshoot for your dog. Here are some key tips to get the perfect shot:

 

Dog Walking
Planning is necessary when picking a backdrop for photos. When selecting backgrounds for photos stick to nature or plain backgrounds in order to make your pup stand out. Make sure to walk around and look at the options you have to work with: your dog will love exploring different areas with you!

 

Dog Photography
Once the perfect backdrop is picked out now is time to take pictures of your dog! Unleashing your pet makes the photos look much more natural, though make sure the area is safe and dogs are allowed to be off leash before you do so. Get eye-level with your pet for some closer-up shots that allows viewers to see from their perspective. This creates photos that seem much more realistic and genuine.

 

Dog ball catch
Shots of your dog in action turn out to be some of the coolest photos and allow your dog to have some fun. Use their favorite toys and play with them as you would normally in order to get on film how you are used to seeing them.

 

Dog modeling
Get creative with how you photograph your dog! Making your dog a smaller focus and allowing viewers to see the surrounding scenery makes for a cool, more creative image that strays from the standard portrait.

 

Dog Selfie
A fun and easy way to get you and your dog in a photo is a selfie! While this is a bit more difficult as dogs do not naturally look into the camera as we might wish, there are a few tricks for getting the perfect selfie. One tip is holding their favorite toy just above the camera lens. This draws their attention to that specific location and makes it seem like they are looking right into the camera. A treat or biscuit also does the trick, though you have to act fast or, depending upon your dog, you might end up with a photo of your dog snapping up food or a finger!

 

dog and girl
Make sure to get a portrait of you and your pup! While this requires a bit of extra help such as a timer or a friend, the result is definitely worth it. Act as you would normally when being photographed and do your best to pose with your furry friend naturally for an awesome photo.