Your alarm goes off at 7:15 AM, You think to your self, what day is is? ahh that's right it's Thursday... Thursday's are the dreaded weekdays that no one wants to work, So you roll out of bed you think of how long Shyla has been there, and would today be her last day to run in the sunshine? It's 8:15am, time to head to work. You arrive just in time for your day to begin. You can't seen to get Shyla off your mind, You start to clean the kennels and let the dogs out for there breaks outside, as you rotate the dogs, you come to Shyla's kennel, there she is wagging her tail, gleaming at you with her big brown eyes, waiting for her turn to go outside. Then you get called for the Thursday meetings. So you let in the rest of the dogs and leave Shyla in her kennel, no time to let her out, You will after the meeting. So all the staff members meet upstairs in the meeting room. What will be discussed breaks your heart, you have been doing this for 5 years now and know the routine. Everyone starts discussing who should stay and who should go, everyone has there own opinions, so the final decision is made by the executive directer of the shelter. Then you hear Shyla's name, everyone discusses her, and then they all look at you for your opinion, and of course you say how adoptable she is and he personality is great, but the only downfall she is a "Pitbull". You know that it takes them longer to find a home than a Labrador would. So the directer looks at you and say, that she has been here 3 months and we think it's time for her to go. You start to tear up, and think back at all the training and time you put into her and all the fun times you had together. You look down at the ground and nod your head a little to agree. You know deep down that this is wrong and it will be the last time she will ever play in the sun. So after the meeting you head down to the dog kennels and continue to let the dogs out and clean their kennels, You leave Shyla's kennel till last, so you can have some quality time to spend with her. After the main cleaning is done you take her out for what would be her last few hours, she is full of life today, not a care in the world, She brings you a ball, for you to throw for her, you grab the ball and then start to cry, Shyla's doesn't know what is up and comes over to give you kisses, You hug her and tell her everything is going to be all right, and that you love her. You bring her back to her kennel give her a cookie and leave, hoping that someone will adopt her before her time is up. It's lunch time, 1 more hour till the Euthanizing starts. You make a quick trip to Mac Donald's, you order, and then you order a huge triple patty burger, just for you girl Shyla. As your eating your lunch your hoping that Shyla will not be there when you get back, hoping that she has found her forever home. As you drive up you notice that a Volunteer is taking Shyla out for a walk. As you proceed into the shelter, tears running down your cheek, everyone looking at you, you run upstairs to your desk. As the volunteer returns Shyla to her kennel, you need more quality time with her so you take her upstairs to your desk, take a few pictures of her and you, and give her the triple Patty burger and a few hugs, Then you put her back into her kennel, By this time its 12:45pm, time to set up the Euthanasia room, You start by grabbing the rabies pole, just in case for the Feral dogs, then you grab a few towels and then you wait till the vet gets there, he arrives right on the dot, Then you go down the list, File# 11543, File# 11154 and you have a kennel worker bring you the dogs, you then lift the dog onto the steel vet table and sooth the dog while the vet draws up the lethal injection, then the vets signals for you too restrain the dog and hold off the vain on the front leg, within seconds its done, you grab the black garbage nearest to you, while the vet in checking the heart, then he nods his head, as if to say there's no heart beat, so you put the lifeless body into the bag and set it beside the back door, ok on too the next, same thing, after Euthanizing 20 or more dogs, you saved Shyla till last, still hoping that maybe someone would have adopted her, you ask the kennel worker for Shyla, you would never call he by her File #. The Kennel worker goes back to get her, your tears are starting to form already and you haven't even seen her yet, you see her pulling the kennel worker along the kennels, she lets go of the leash and Shyla runs right to you, giving you kisses. and thinking she is going for a walk, but instead of heading to the door to outside you turn to the left, Shyla is still wagging her tail, you lift her up onto the steel table and hug her, and telling her everything will be alright. The vet signals you again to restrain and hold off the vain, and just like the dogs before her, it only takes seconds, As the vet is cheaking for a heart beat, you grab the last garbage bag and wait for the vet to give the ok, as you are waiting you think of the good times and how much of a blessing she was in your life. Then the vet give the ok, and you bag her up and set her beside the other 20 bags, then you lift every bag into the back of the truck and hall them off to the dump, there will be a loader waiting for you. It's a long drive, after unloading them, you head back to the shelter and start to clean the empty kennels, still trying to keep a straight face and helping customers out. It's 5:15pm, time to water the dogs and shut down for the day. As you leave you start to cry again, you cry all the way home. arriving home you think that's it's only one more week away to go through this all over again.

This is based on a true story, RIP shyla!!