Monday, July 28, 2008

Where do you see yourself in five years?

At the end of August, I'll head to Dallas, TX for a "Family Reunion" of Nussentials - a company that just got started last year and is already growing in leaps and bounds. At the Saturday night awards dinner, we're all supposed to dress as we see ourselves in 5 years.

I'm sure there will be people in yachting clothes, some women dripping with diamonds, and some guys with big cigars, but as is common for me, I'll be a little different.

I'm custom designing the T-shirt I'll be wearing.... on the back it will say "Animal Rescue Transport Volunteer Driver" and on the front will be the graphic above. So now my only dilema is what size T-shirt!!!

I'm going to shamelessly pass out cards explaining what rescue transports are and tell people where to send their donations. The price of gas is keeping a lot of would-be drivers at home, and the shelters in these poor areas don't even have slip leads to give us for each animal. Slip leads only cost about a dollar each! But without a slip lead, an animal could get away and get lost... or worse. So anyway, all these people that plan to be rich and living the rich lifestyle should be able to toss a donation to rescue.

In case you're wondering, yes, I plan to be wealthy in 5 years too. And thin!! But my wealth will mean a large air conditioned bus filled with rescue animals in comfy crates that runs between South Carolina and New Jersey every week, gas prices be damned!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

When all that stands between death and freedom is a ride...

Mari gets kisses of gratitude from one of my passengers, DixieSaturday was another transport day, but this time instead of riding with Mari, I drove in tandem with her. Another girl from our rescue group also drove. We did two legs, picking up dogs in Spartanburg, SC and stopping in Charlotte, NC then driving on to Salisbury, NC. Five drivers in each of 14 legs moved over 30 animals from certain death to the promise of rescue and forever homes.

My passengers were 3 shepherd mix pupplies, 7 spaniel puppies, 1 scruffy jack russell terrier named Dixie, and 2 cats. It was not a quiet ride! The photo at left is Mari with Dixie.

As I drove to Salisbury, two drivers were ahead of me and two more followed me. The jeep immediately in front of me had a little dog in the back that would jump up and look out the window, then get down, then jump up and look out again, as if watching me to tell her driver, "Yes, she's still back there!"

It was an exhausting and frustrating day but I can't imagine a bigger personal reward than knowing I helped a few fur babies start a new life.

ADOPT.Friends can't be bought.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The stray who couldn't stay

Last Monday started the transport week from hell that ended up with the reunion of Sam and Jessie, a GSD/Rottie mix and a GSD.

Monday evening my friend and next-door neighbor called me. "Edie, there's a dog out here that looks lost!" We met in the front yard. Helen grabbed her finest china dish and filled it with water for our guest, a huge old yellow lab that was as sweet as could be. I found out later that he had been wandering the neighborhood all day, which would explain how tired and dehydrated he looked. It's been in the mid-90's every day here.

He willingly jumped into my car Helen and I drove him through the neighborhood asking everyone who was out if they recognized him. No one did. We did learn that he had apparently been dumped in our neighborhood. Back at my house, we tried to keep him in the laundry room but he kept knocking down the baby gate. He just wanted to be where we were. Our girls Casey and Noir were not thrilled with him being in the house. I think they were intimidated by his size, about 85 pounds.

I took some photos of him and started blasting emails around to see if anyone could hold him while I trid to find his owner, in case there was an owner. I couldn't get an appointment at our vet's office until Wednesday. Mari and I were on our second transport of the week when we got the call from the vet that he had a microchip. They gave us the 2 numbers, both of which were no longer in service. We figured we could find a good home for him in Charlotte, a lot of people were responding to the email blast.

You can imagine how puzzled I was that afternoon when I called the vet to see if he was ready to be picked up and they said they were waiting to hear back from his owner! Apparently they tried changing the area code and got a hold of someone who used to own the dog. We also found out his name: "Clyde".

Several phone calls later, we were in touch with the owner. She was not a pleasant person, but insisted she wanted the dog back. We explained that our rescue organization had incurred some vet and boarding expenses and we would like to be reimbursed. She waited a day and a half then told us it would be a "hardship" to come up with the money. A board member of our group decided to let her have the dog back when she promised to make payments to pay it back. Of couse everyone knows she has no intention of doing it.

Finally Friday came and I arranged with her to meet at the vet's office (though the office was closed) so she could get Clyde. When I got there, her boyfriend was already there. He got right in my face and tried to intimidate me. She came flying in, nearly hit my car, and could not have been ruder to me. No thank you, no nothing. Poor Clyde slowly got out of my car and shot me a look. He didn't wag his tail once when he saw her. She insinuated that his ear infection started while I had him, and said he gets goomed every other week. I also noticed she was driving a late model Tahoe, so apparently she wasn't as strapped for cash as she claimed if she can drive a car like that and [ay from grooming twice a month..

I could've cried. I feel like I sent him back to a life outside on a chain in this heat. That's probably why he slipped out of his collar and ran away in the first place.

So I did the right thing, which felt very much like the wrong thing. I can't get this big old guy off my mind. I only hope he manages to slip away and find me again. The outcome will likely be different.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

A rough week turns out well

It wasn't an easy week. It started out hopeful, transporting Jessie, a German Shepherd Dog to a new home and saving her life. But then there was her bonded friend, Sam left behind. Hard to place a 10 pound GSD/Rottweiler mix. Then someone wanted to foster but when he got there they backed out. Then the new owner said Jessie was sad and lonely and they would take Sam.
It seems like Mari and I drove hell's half-acre and then some. But in the end, the pair was reunited. A blog about the week is here: http://sam-ava.blogspot.com/ Here's a little movie I put together:


Monday, July 14, 2008

Three hundred miles to save a life

I picked up Mari at 7:30 this morning and we headed down to the York, SC Animal Shelter hoping to pick up a german shepherd named Jesse before she was euthanized. Fortunately she was spared this morning. Tracy at the shelter brought her out along with the male german shepherd/rottweiler mix named Sam that she had lived with. Their owner turned them in last week. Who knows why or how you could keep animals as pets and then surrender them to animal control and certain death.


Sam was special. He loves Jesse. Sam had a microchip, so the shelter had to try to locate his owner. When the dogs were first brought in, Sam howled when they took Jesse away - so much so that they put them back together, giving her a few more days. Today was her day.

But it turned out lucky for her, a family in Raleigh wanted her, they only needed help getting her to Raleigh. I offered to drive her to Greensboro and Mari arranged a ride the rest of the way to Raleigh.

Back to Sam. After we left with Jesse, Sam howled and howled and was so upset that he know has diarrhea. His time is up Wednesday, so now we are seeking an adopter or a foster for him. He's already neutered, very sweet, shepherd/rottie mix and about 100 pounds of love in dog form. Sadly he will never see his Jesse again. But hopefully his life will be spared so he can share his love with a family and other dogs.

My feelings this evening are mixed. We saved Jesse's life. She's a sweet girl who deserves to have a wonderful life. On the other hand, Sam may end his days Wednesday, sad, alone, and heartsick for his Jesse. Sam is a wonderful boy too.

At 3:00AM I know I'll be awake sobbing, and wondering why people do what they do to dogs, and wondering why we can't save them all. We try, but we really only make a small dent. I know to those dogs and their new families it means everything. But my heart breaks when I think of the wonderful dogs that die every day. Wonderful, sweet dogs with their missions unfulfilled. Wonderful loving companions just like our Noir and Casey, and Mari's Buddy.

The heartache won't stop until there are stronger licensing laws and affordable options for spaying and neutering pets, and education for children to break the cycle of inhumane treatment of animals.

After 300 miles of driving to get sweet Jesse to her new home, I'm suffering. Sweet Jesse is safe. Sweet Sam is heartbroken. What did we accomplish? I don't know if I feel pride or shame.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

A chihuahua under the seat... Oh MY!

Saturday was another big transport day. More dogs than usual, we helped transport 30 dogs from Greenville, SC to rescues and adoptive homes in several points north.

One of the drivers who met us in Spartanburg, SC had several dogs crated in the back of her SUV, and she also had an 85 pound yellow lab named Beau tethered in the back, and a 10 pound chihuahua untethered on the front seat. Keep in mind that at the shelter, they don't let the dogs out to relieve themselves if they're going on a transport, they just load them up and send them off. Well, part way to Spartanburg, Beau's tether came undone and he was frantic to go to the bathroom! He jumped over the front seat and all you-know-what broke loose. What a mess! Meanwhile, the frightened chihuahua that had been sitting there dove for cover when it saw this huge lab coming at her and ended up hiding under the front seat.

The chi stayed right there, too, snarling and snapping at any attempt to get her out. Fortunately this driver was taking the next leg to Charlotte, NC also, which bought some more time. Once in Charlotte, everyone tried to get the dog out from under the seat. We couldn't get the seat off, and that dog was not budging! Here it is, 95 degrees out and muggy, and dogs and drivers are waiting in the parking lot before the transport could continue on.

Finally, the last driver showed up and through some magic was able to coax the scared chihuahua out. Kudos to the new dog whisperer!!

We were an hour late, but when we got to the next stop in Salisbury, NC, the drivers there were waiting, and thank goodness they were experienced transporters. Dogs were walked and watered, and in 10 minutes all were loaded and on their way.

I want to comment on one of the passengers in our car. He was a 4 month old German Shepherd puppy named "Flame". He had a huge burn down the middle of his back. In spite of his name, it didn't look like a burn from a fire, rather it looked more like an acid burn. It was raw and oozing, and yet he was a sweet and trusting boy. Whoever did this, or let it happen to him, should be strung up by the most tender part of their anatomy.

In transport, we see the worst of humankind, and the very best of animals. I'll take the animals any day. Transport isn't glamorous work. Yesterday it was hot, hard, sticky, smelly, and dirty work.

I can't think of a better way to spend my Saturdays.

"Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves,
defend those who cannot defend themselves,
and plead the cause of those in need."

- Proverbs 31:8-9

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Another Saturday...another animal rescue transport

animal rescue transportAs usual, I packed a cooler this morning and my friend Mari picked me up at 8:15am and we headed down I-85 to Spartanburg, SC, about an hour and a half away, where we met up with four other vehicles. Two had come from further south where they picked up the animals at the Greenville, SC shelter and the third and fourth were headed to Charlotte, like we were. We walked and watered, then carefully moved the dogs, one at a time, secured the paperwork for each dog, and headed up I-85 to Charlotte. Sounds easy? Not so much.

The passengers Mari and I were transporting were a pregnant border collie named Jasmine, a weineramer named Kenzie, and a long haired brindle retriever named Angel and her 5 puppies. These animals were all pulled from a high-kill shelter and were headed to Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusettes. Most of them will travel two days, one leg at a time, then moved to the next vehicle every hour or so, all done by the generousity of unpaid volunteers who donate their time and gas money to save these fur babies. If not for a transport, today probably would have been their last day. They would likely have been gassed late this morning. This is the harsh reality of the lack of spay/neuter laws in the south: death in a gas chamber.
Jasmine

Jasmine

Angel with Mari

Angel with Mari

Angel's Pups

Kenzie

Mari

Edie


When we got to Charlotte we were to meet two other drivers. One showed up. The other one, who has a reputation for not showing up or showing up very late, didn''t show up. Rather than wait for her, the two drivers that were taking the next leg to Salisbury, NC each took an extra dog. We added a beautiful golden named Austin to our truck. He was rescue-tethered because we didn't have another crate for him.

Most of these shelter dogs were once family pets. The sweet border collie was turned in to animal control "because she got pregnant again." Never mind that the moron owners never got her spayed and probably left her tied out in the backyard where she was a sitting duck. She looked like she had never had a bath. These dogs don't jump into the vehicle. Most of them have to be lifted, and they average 50 dirty pounds. These poor creatures got the most basic of health care at the shelter - rabies shots so they could travel, and possibly some flea treatment, before they hit the road. About half way to Salisbury, Mari and I started to see fleas hopping around the car, we think courtesy of our new passenger, Austin.

This is hard, stinky, but very rewarding work. These animals and their puppies will end up in happy homes or in the foster care of rescues in the north. It was about 250 miles of Mari's driving and gas. Today we helped save 9 dogs and the future puppies of sweet Jasmine. That's why we do it. And that's why next Saturday we'll do it again.

Spay and neuter your pets!<

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Sir Marvin of York, aka Marvelous Marvin

Mari and MarvinOK, I'll admit it. Ever since Tippi the border collie was adopted I have been jonesing for a puppy to foster.

I thought I was going to get one last night but then the person that had the pup gave her away. Oooh I hate to hear that. A puppy given away could become bait for pit bull fights, a breeder, or just plain neglected. This little 8 week old female might never get spayed and have litter after litter of pups that end up being euthanized in a gas chamber.

But hopefully the new owner will be a responsible pet owner and take good care of her. I can only hope.

Today my friend Mari and I went down to York County, SC animal control and pulled a puppy. It was horrible, chosing just one of the 20 or 30 that were there. Just little things, not aware that tomoor might be there last day. But I could only save one, and that little one's life just took a dramatic turn.He's a teeny tiny little boy, probably about 6 weeks old and about 8 pounds. Barely a handful. On the way home, Mari and I pondered over names. I chose Marvin, the name of the town where Mari lives. She refers to it as "Marvelous Marvin" and I think he's going to be marvelous too.

Casey and Noir were very excited to see him, and he was very happy to see them, too. He started jumping around and doing a play bow. Too cute. As you can see from the photos, he's just a little baby, just barely old enough to be away from his momma. You can see how tiny he is in the picture with Jim.

Jim and MarvinSo now little Marvin is settled in his crate, napping. He cried and howled for a while and Casey and Noir kept running to peer into the crate and check on him. Finally he quieted down. Poor little guy. He probably wonders what's up - his brother isn't with him anymore, and there's these two big dogs staring at him. I think eventually he'll be happy that he has two aunts to play with and learn from, a nice crate to retreat to, and people who love him and want the best for him, including a wonderful new home.

So this is how rescue goes. We take care of them, get them vetted, start training them, temperament test them, photograph them, list them on petfinder.com, screen adoption applications, do home visits and reference checks, and finally turn them over to their new families. And we keep them in our hearts forever.

Jim and I are focusing on puppies because Casey seems ok with puppies. Some volunteers only work with cats. Many will take whatever dog is in need, and when a slot opens up in their home for another foster it doesn't stay empty for long. The need in this area is great.

Consider that for every child that is born, 9 puppies or kittens are born. Then think about how many people have pets. It's a simple "do the math" kind of thing to figure out how many animals will be euthanized. It breaks our hearts, but we struggle on, one life at a time.

Please spay and neuter your pets.

FOOTNOTE:
While we were at animal control today they said a cat breeder had just brought in ten purebred Persian cats because she was getting divorced. As owner surrenders, they could have been euthanized immediately (the owner said "so what"). But because Mari was there, and is involved with cats, she said hold them. Mari was able to connect to purebred cat rescues and the cats are being picked up for temporary fostering tomorrow then will be picked up by another rescue on Friday. Rescue doesn't take days off. It happens from minute to minute. For those kitties, Mari is a guardian angel. They will live because she was there and she acted! YAYYY!

Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die.