Local animal shelters.
Recently I read an article that some animal shelter in Arizona had a "Calming Companions" program. Animal shelter employees noticed that every year during the celebration of Independence day on 4-th of July animals get terrified of all the noise produced by fireworks outside. So they came up with an idea to invite people who will sit with cats and dogs and would calm them down during the celebration.
It was such an inspiration for me that I also wanted to participate in a similar event. Although Estonia celebrates its Independence Day, it does not have the same scope as in the states, although on New Year's Eve fireworks can rumble for several hours.
Of course, it turned out that the Tallinn shelter does not have such an interesting program, but you can just come and walk the dog.
When we were in Tallinn, we decided to go to the shelter. I expected that there would be a bunch of lonely dogs that crave the attention of visitors. To my surprise, when we arrived at the place, it turned out that all the dogs had already been taken away for a walk. Children were certainly upset, but I was glad that there are enough people who also love animals and are happy to pay attention to them.
So if you love dogs as much I do, be sure to check your local dog shelter for special programs, that will most likely bring lots of joy to you and tailed shelter dwellers.
