This is much better than using an alarm clock.
Employees at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) have developed the habit of singing and dancing with animal residents waking up from surgery.
BARCS, the largest shelter in Maryland, is a nonprofit, high-volume, open admission animal shelter caring for the abandoned, neglected, abused and lost animals of Baltimore City. The facility cares for more than 11,000 dogs, cats, exotic, farm and wildlife animals each year, helping a large part of their furry population find forever homes.
With over 11,000 needy animals admitted each year, there are a lot of operations (most being spay/neuter surgeries) happening at BARCS and employees want to make these surgeries are as easy on the pets as possible. So, to make waking up from anesthesia a little sweeter, shelter staff will dance with and sing to critters after going under the knife.
“Singing, cradling and cuddling animals waking up from anesthesia is a soothing way to comfort them. It helps them feel safe and it helps them stay calm,” Bailey Deacon, the director of communications at BARCS, told PEOPLE. “There’s always music playing in our surgery room, so naturally singing and and dancing happens.”
A video of this adorable ritual made it onto the shelter’s Facebook page, where it now has over 200 shares and 1,200 likes.
“Often people are surprised to see the detail of love and care that shelters provide to their animals. Even though BARCS is high-volume, open admission and underfunded, we are never short on love! Our staff is compassionate and passionate about the work they do and the animals they serve,” Deacon added.
These dance moves are just one of the little ways shelter workers and volunteers try to make life better for the animals while they wait to be adopted.
“Here, at BARCS, we understand that a shelter isn’t a home, so we do everything in our resources to show our animals comfort and love,” Deacon said. These efforts range from a “training team that runs a hiking program, and jogging program and doggy playgroups” to “really simple things, like warm blankets and a loving touch.”
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If you are thinking about getting a furry friend of your own, the puppies in the clip above are already taken — animals are spayed/neutered upon adoption at BARCS — but there are plenty of pets at the shelter waiting to come home with you. To learn more about the adoptable pets at BARCS and how you can help the shelter care for even more animals, visits BARCS’ website.