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

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.

Litter #4 - Australian Shepherd x Australian Cattle Dog - Rocket & Marnie

I was taking a nap with my sick toddler who had kept me up the night before from coughing and tossing and turning and the phone woke me up. It was J telling me that they really needed a foster for some puppies, could I please come get them today. Yes, of course. It was not a good day for it, but I switched some things around and we went to get them.

We pulled in and saw these two fluffy puppies in the back of someones vehicle in a crate. I said out loud to the kids "Oh! I hope those are the puppies!!!" We got up on the porch just as J came out, pointed to me and told the lady "Oh, there's your foster now!" and it was for the fluffy pups!!! I definitely did a squee!!! These are for sure our cutest fosters, yet!

They are two girls named Rocket & Marnie (they came with those names). They are australian shepherd x australian cattle dog. Rocket looks more like the cattle dog and Marnie more like the shepherd.

The story is the lady's son is a truck driver for Lowe's, was out in the country and saw a guy getting ready to shoot these puppies because he didn't want them so he took them. 1)WHO does that?!!!! 2)Why not just take some responsibility and get your dog fixed so you no longer have litters that you don't want?! 3)Another example of the human race disgusting me!!!

They are 6 weeks old right now and we have them for two weeks. They are just as sweet as can be and so fluffy! SQUEEEE!

As a side note, the poodle, Bandit, that I got from a customer got adopted to "the best home ever" according to the adoption manager. He had to have a lot of dental work (16 teeth removed! WOW!!!) and I wonder if the other people knew that and couldn't afford it and that's the true reason that they relinquished him. Either way, he got adopted within less than a week and I'm glad they are thrilled with where he went!

Who we are and why we do what we do!

Hello! You are probably here because you know me or are a friend of a friend and have some knowledge of what I do. However, I'll give a little more details, just in case someone comes upon this cold.

My name is Cindy and I am the mom of five children. They currently range (Sep. 2011) from 2 1/2 to almost 14 years old. I am a substitute mail carrier with the USPS.

I have loved children and animals for as long as I can remember. I always said that I wanted to be a mommy. Or a veterinarian. Or both. My mommy dreams came through and then some! I have always continued to love animals, as well.

I remember many days as a child, going outside and seeing that someone had dropped off yet another animal at our home. I wanted to keep them all, of course, but it just was not feasible. Unfortunately (fortunately?), I have never quite gotten over that need to help them all! As a child, I remember at one point, we had 17 cats and multiple dogs, thanks to irresponsible people abandoning them at our home in the country. In their minds, I am sure it was better for them that dropping them off at the pound, but it just left the problem in someone else's hands.

That brings us to now. I have had some form of animal the majority of my adult life. From cats and dogs to chickens and ducks! We currently have a poodle (Zoey), a cat (Cooper) that we adopted as a kitten from a family friend and an older cat (Ivy) that we adopted Sep. 2011 from a high kill shelter.

This blog will be about our adventures in fostering and rescue for various rescues and shelters. We cannot do everything, we cannot save them all, but we can do more than we think. I used to think well, I cannot save them all. I cannot save a lot of them. So maybe what I do doesn't matter at all, but it does! You can make a difference in so many lives. We can touch many lives, by fostering. Ordinary people can foster. Even short term fostering can help so very much. Can you find it in your hearts to foster? Most rescues will provide everything that you need, from food, to crates, to bowls and bedding. Find a rescue that you believe in, reach out and see if fostering is for you!