So many dogs, so little time!

It has been a while! Between being a mom to 5, working a lot and doing as much as we can for the dogs, I admit that the blog has fallen by the way side. I honestly could not even tell you how many or whom we have helped this year. I had brilliant intentions of keeping up, but it just didn't happen!


Some changes in our volunteering situation...this year, we found a rescue literally right around the corner, 1 minute from our house. It's not a big rescue and there are not many people in it so they need whatever help we can give them and it's VERY nice having them right around the corner! We are also randomly doing emergency short term foster for other areas as well as the occasional transport.


On a personal note, my oldest son has been accepted to early college (yay J!!!) and he has to acquire 150 volunteer hours before he can graduate with his associates degree in 5 years. My child TRULY love volunteering, anyway (well...the 12yr old needs a fire lit under him at times), but this will truly be a big help in acquiring those hours. We also hope to get his early college community involved so that our rescue will have even more volunteers.

So far, here are some of the animals that we have helped from Jan-July of this year...that I remember. Keeping in mind that between my kids and job, I have so many names and numbers running through my head, I *guarantee* that I have forgotten some!!! As well, some were only with us for a very short time so may not have had as much of an impact on us as those that were with us for longer. (Also, we got our own puppy this year and I took a small break during this time for his health and safety until he had several shots.)

And...gooooo...

Lily, Sandy, Annie, Molly, Bailey, Zach, Ben, Rue, Titus, Posy, Raggs, Midnight, Star, Bruno, Vita and her three pups (did not foster her pups, but did foster her)

Writing them down, it seems like we had a lot more in foster than this!

I have had many great firsts this year that I am proud to say that I was able to participate in, even if they may have been difficult at times. We picked up our first surrenders that we coordinated and picked up, a mom and three pups. All mom and pups are now in their new homes! We did several transports. We did our first connection and adoption! I learned to give shots (still not my favorite by far!). We did our first connection with breed specific rescue and did the transport for that which made us feel GREAT and he is now in his forever home!

Fostering and volunteering is not all glamorous, of course. There's poop, pee, sleepless nights, sickness, sadness and yes, sometimes, there is death. :-( I can say, after a year (wow! Has it really only been a year?!?!?) that the benefits of knowing that we are making a huge difference in these animals lives far surpasses the not so glamorous or sad things that make occur.

But I want her to experience the miracle of birth!

(may be offensive to some)

I saw the cutest chihuahua today. A customer opened her door and three chi's came running out, including this tiny little thing that couldn't have weighed more than 3 pounds. The customer said that she was full grown and (exact quote) "They want me to get her fixed, but I just want her to experience the miracle of birth one time."

*shaking my head*

Dogs do NOT get the "miracle of birth". They breed and have babies because that is their instinct. They do not do it because they want to have children, raise a litter, see them grow or anything at all like we do as humans. I know that I humanize feelings in my head some times for animals. However, they do NOT experience the miracle of birth. They experience breeding. They experience pregnancy. They experience birth. They experience nursing. There is no beauty in it for them. It's the instinct that they are born with. Period. WE see it as miraculous and yes, birth is miraculous, but dogs do not understand nor need to experience the miracle of birth.

The truth is, not only does spaying or neutering your pet lower the overpopulation of animals, it is also healthier for your animal! If you spay your female before she goes in to her first heat, it reduces the risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer. If you neuter your male, he will not develop testicular cancer and his risk for developing prostrate cancer is greatly reduced.

Also, this dog that I discussed above, that weighs less than 3lbs? Her "baby" that she "loves so much" will most likely have to have a c-section, if not die, from having a litter, due to her very slight size. That's how small she was. How is there anything miraculous about that?

If you want to experience a miracle, go down to the shelter and save a life. Experience what a rescued dog brings to your life. THAT is miraculous.

Consider this, before deciding to let your dog (or cat) "experience the miracle of birth"

The Prolific Cat		The Prolific Dog
1st year	3 litters = 12 offspring	1st year	4 offspring with 2 females
2nd year	144 offspring	2nd year	12 offspring
3rd year	1,728 offspring	3rd year	36 offspring
4th year	10,736 offspring	5th year	324 offspring

The faces that we helped this year...

Keep in mind that we did not even begin fostering until the end of July and I was very sick with an, at times debilitating illness, during that time.

My dog would be better off on the side of the road than at the pound...

FALSE!!!

I do not know if people here think that (although I know some do because I have actually had people tell me that) or if they do not want to take the responsibility of bringing them to the shelter. It's just a dog, after all. /sarcasm Yes, you might leave your dog on the side of the road and some kind person or rescue MAY see it and bring it home to keep or find a home for it. I may also win the lottery tomorrow, but the odds are against it.

The more likely scenario will be what I saw yesterday (and it's not the first time, nor the last, I am sure)...the dog that you leave on the side of the road will run out in front of a vehicle and suffer a horrific death that NO ONE AND NOTHING should suffer. That dog that you dropped on the side of the road, in hopes of it finding a better home (I have to believe in my heart that is the real misguided reason that you did it), runs out, either not being street smart or searching for food or whatever, and has his head crushed by a truck tire. Blessedly, immediate death. However, wouldn't the shelter and humane euthanasia be the better way to go? YES. It would!!!

How about this...you bring your dog to the shelter...they

*get adopted

*get humanely euthanised

Either way, they do not suffer. They do not suffer a horrific death. Yes, it sucks going in to the shelter (for you and them, if you have any heart), however, if you cannot/will not take the time to rehome them yourself or contact a rescue to see if they can take them, it is the appropriate and responsible thing to do.

If you leave them on the side of the road...they

*get hit by a car and suffer

*get hit by a car and have immediate death (sad that this is the preferred!)

*starve to death

*rarely get picked up and saved

I have a hard time seeing people bring animals to the pound, however, I would far rather see that than throwing them from the car. I really do think that people are misguided when they do this. They really do think it's the better option. It's not. Truly. Please either take your dog to the shelter/rescue/pound OR take the time to rehome them yourself. Your pet has done nothing wrong. They deserve better. Even if they HAVE done something wrong (chased livestock, bit someone, etc.) taking them to the pound is the responsible thing to do.

I am truly at a loss as to how to change things. I talk to my children about it often in some way. They know how I feel. They know what I expect of them. They have known about animals and responsibility for them since they could talk and understand. However, education is needed greatly. We need to get in these schools and have programs teaching children about animals, responsibility, choices and respect for ALL living things. That includes spay and neuter to control the population, what to do if you are truly no longer able to keep an animal (hey, I have been there! I understand that it happens. I had a dog that bit. We rehomed him through a breed specific rescue and he now lives in NY City! Go Westbrook!). Education, education, education!!! Animals are not trash, they are not throw away things. Don't have them if you do not plan to have a commitment for their best care and keeping, including what to do if you can no longer care for them! (And I don't mean because they no longer match the drapes or they shed (many dogs do!) or they have too much energy or they chew things or...or...or... Quite honestly, if you don't want to deal with it, get a fur real puppy. They don't chew or potty in the house AND if you get sick of them, you can take the batteries out! ;-)

Fostering break.

For real this time! I say this sometimes, but now it is an absolute necessity. December is basically the busiest time of year for me at work. It's absolutely not fair to the animals or my family to bring in extras this time of year when I barely have enough time in the day to do the basic needed necessities. Adding more on the plate is not smart for anyone. So I am taking a foster break after today (when our current foster pup goes home) and not taking on any more until at least after the beginning of January. I have to get things running smoothly here at home before I can in good conscience bring on more responsibilities. For once, I don't feel guilty about saying no, either! Progress! ;-)

What you need to know about adopting, rescues, etc.

I have had a lot of conversations lately with people about this and lots running through my head so I thought I would put it all out here. This may not be viewed happily by some, but it's the truth...

NOT all rescues are good places to adopt from. They just aren't. They may have their hearts in the right place. Honestly, I think ALL rescuers have to have their hearts in the right place because there is really no glory to rescue. It's time, money, stress, poop, pee, blood, frustration and more money! Yes, there's good like seeing a thriving pup or sick dog come back after having a rough start. However, there's way more stress than anything. The sad truth is, some rescues will do anything/say anything to get an animal adopted, even if that means they will not be right for your family, your family will not be right for them, they may not be good with your other animals, they are not healthy, they have a temperament that will not fit with your family (i.e doesn't like kids and you have kids), etc. Then you may find the opposite extreme of a "rescue" that has turned more in to a hoarder and refuses to adopt to anyone or makes their terms/fees, etc. so outrageous that no one will adopt from them.

This is what you need to know about adopting an animal/finding a reputable rescue:

• Research, research, research!!! You know how some rescues ask for a blood sample and your first born child?! (Well, not really, but you know what I mean.) They are doing this for a reason. They are doing this because they truly care where their rescues go. They are not just looking for adoption numbers or trying to "get rid of" animals. They really, truly care about where the animals are going.
• Ask your friends! Chances are, your friend has had an experience or knows someone that has, etc. If so, ask who they adopted through, what their experience was, were the animals healthy, did they accurately warn/tell of any issues with personality that they animal may have had?
• MANY places offer foster to adopt or a temporary adoption so that you can try the animal out in your home, with your family, your other animals, etc. A dog may be fantastic with other dogs...but you take it home and yours hates it or vice versa. Personally, I don't like everyone so I expect that an animal won't like everyone/everything, too. ;-) I am not saying that a rescue is bad if they do not offer this, but it is a great thing, in my experience/opinions.

Here are some things to ask. A GOOD rescue will tell you the truth and the whole truth, to find the animal a good home, but also to make sure that they are the right fit for your family. Doing anything less does a great disservice to the potential adoptive family AND the animal. An animal should be FOREVER and if a rescue is not honest, that may not be the case.

• Are your animals in foster homes? Have they been around children, cats, dogs?
• Are they potty trained/house trained? LOOK for this because if they're raised outside in a large pen or in a kennel, the answer is pretty much no. Even if they were at one time, chances are, they are no longer potty trained.
• Are they crate trained? Again, see the above.
• What vetting have they had? Shots?
• Have they ever bitten anyone?
• Why were they originally relinquished/given up? (Keeping in mind that the rescue may not always know this.)

Also keep in mind that many times, a rescue will pull from a shelter and, in that case, they cannot tell you their history. They can only tell you what they know since they have had the animal. A good rescue will keep them at least long enough to temperament test them so that they can tell you that, at least.

I have more that has been mulling through my head and will edit this as I think of more.

Crash

We have a short term foster, named Crash. He is such a soft snuggle bug and had no idea what it meant to be in a house, it seems. He's a little scared to come inside and happier to be in his crate than anything, but hopefully we can convince him otherwise soon.

It's an extremely busy time of year for me at work and I had just had a discussion with my husband this morning about fostering and that it was probably best if I didn't foster any more until after the holidays, after I found out that the two that I had committed to had been adopt. However, we went to volunteer and Crash was there, in a pen with adult dogs and he really needed some time away from the big dogs. I was told that he had someone coming to get him on the 12th and I couldn't really say no, could I?

Well, my husband is normally really good about who I am and what I do, but today not so much since we'd just had that discussion. I do understand the frustration. I do. However, when I see an animal that needs me, I do have a really hard time saying no.

So to him and all of the others that ask "Why you? Why not someone else? Why can't you just let someone else do it?" I say this...

“We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves.” ― Neil Gaiman
♥ We do what we do because we believe. Because if we didn't, there's no guarantee that someone else will. We do what we do because it is important to us. It is who we are. This is for all of the people (including my husband) that ask "Why you? Why do you have to be the one? Why not someone else?" To all of the rescuers, fosters, adopters, animal advocates out there, thank you for being who you are and doing what you do, even when it's not always easy, cheap and there's not enough time in the day.