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! ;-)

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.

Goodbye, sweet Deuce!

Rusty's Legacy had adoption day today and we were to bring Deuce and Gentle Ben down. People were clamoring over Deuce as we brought him in. Of course! He is a sweet cuddle bug!!! By the time we got back, he had been adopted! Yay Deuce! You go, sweet boy, and have a fantastic life!!!

Gentle Ben came back home with us. He does have an approved adoption application. We have been told that he may go home in another day or so.

Here's sweet Gentle Ben on the way home.

You've gotta have Faith.

Annnnnd we had Faith AND her owner was found!!! I don't know if I should chalk it up to a small town or my big mouth or what, but I mentioned to someone about her last night, then they connected tonight when their friend said that their dog was missing...that it was this girl! Her name is NOT Faith, but in my mind it still is!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, on the way to bring my son to do a project for school (due today, it didn't get done. :-X ), we were on the interstate. Speed limit 70mph. I had just passed a truck around a corner. In the middle of the interstate, I saw her. A dog. Limping. Bewildered. In shock, it appeared.

My first instinct was to pull over. I slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road. A pick up truck stopped on the opposite side (in the middle of the interstate, where she had lingered to). ALL of the cars behind us stopped. Even the tractor trailer. Looking back now, that is absolutely amazing to me. However, somehow, I had faith that they would.

The owner of the other truck asked me if the dog was mine. I was said no, she isn't. He said he would take her, but he had other dogs in his truck and he wasn't sure what would happen. I told him that I would take her. This kind young main (mid 20's, if I had to guess), walked across the interstate, picked her up gently without hesitation and put her in the back of my Jeep. Surprising, but I had faith that he would. He was a kind soul. You could see it in his eyes and demeanor. Whoever you are out there, thank you for helping save this little girl.

The back of my jeep was full of fishing stuff since that was part of the project. I asked my son to come sit in the back with her and comfort her on the trip to...wherever we were going. At that time, I really didn't know WHERE we taking her or what we were doing with her. I just knew that she deserved better than what she had been given and we were not leaving her on the side of the road where she had been thrown out like a bag of trash. My son got in the back with her, trying to calm her down, comfort her and keep her happy. She was so sweet and gentle. I had faith that it would be okay. (We have had a negative reaction from a dog that we did not know before and injured dogs can be unpredictable, but we did not see any other option at the time.)

By the way, the kind soul above? He also followed us all of the way to the next exit, very closely. I had my flashers on and my son in the far back of the jeep, enclosed, but I was not at all comfortable with it and I think this young man knew it. Again, what a kind soul, deserving of many thanks.

My phone, about to die, made the call to the only contact that I could think of, one of the kindest souls that I know, Jeri, of a local rescue. I left a message, I probably sounded frantic. What do I do? I don't know who to take her to or what to do. I just knew that what was done to this girl was not humane and I was determined not to let her die that way. And Jeri called back with answers. I had faith that she would, even though I hated asking her to help take on this problem.

She made calls and we headed to a local vet with her. She was such a good girl the entire time. Obviously in pain, but she mostly just cuddled with my son in the back. When they brought the stretcher out for her, she was a little unsure, but really so good. She never made a peep, nipped, yelped or anything. My oldest (14) kept telling her what a good girl she is. We believe she is a boxer mix. She weighs approx. 45lbs.

She has a dislocated hip. Care will run around $800. The vet is letting payments be made, all money due by December 1. The rescue has started a ChipIn and I have Faith that we can raise the money. Please donate a dollar or two (or more, if you are so inclined) and share this link far and wide. I have faith that we can show this little girl that all humans are NOT bad.

Thank you for sharing, donating or even just reading and sending a positive thought for whom we call "Faith" in our home and hearts. (I do not know what the official rescue name for her is/will be. She is Faith to us until we hear otherwise.) It is very much appreciated!

If you prefer to donate directly to her, she is at Crestview in Marion, NC and is the I-40 dog under Rusty's Legacy rescue. If you think you might want to adopt her once she has healed, please contact Rusty's Legacy. Once this is all said and done, she is spayed and well, she will need a forever home.

Foster #5 Deuce & Gentle Ben, pitty puppies

It doesn't get much cuter than that!!!

I decided to take a foster break. That lasted just about 2 1/2 weeks. Whoops!

I know that we have local rescues, but until now, I had been fostering for a rescue about 35 minutes away for a rescue that I think very highly of. I had also put in contacts with a local rescue, but due to illnesses and fragility, she prefers to keep little puppies in her home.

Well, I saw a call go out for a local rescue that they had a sudden influx of puppies. This rescue happens to be literally a couple of roads down from me, just 2 minutes from our house, tops. So I thought, why not? I put the word out, made the call and that evening these two sweet, tiny pups with their little grunts and puppy breath were sleeping in our house.

Oh. my. goodness! are they sweet?! They came with their problems that they need help with, namely antibiotics for a respiratory infection, salve for their pressure wounds (due to being too many pups in too small of a space) and formula (due to really being too small to eat solid food, yet).

They came here three days ago and they are doing so much better already. Crawling around more, no more grunting and they are attempting to eat solid food without the formula. Their job right now is to sleep, eat and grow and mine is to feed them and keep them clean, basically.

And my biggest challenge right now is not holding them and snuggling them! hahaha They are so sweet and snuggly and just adorable.

This will be our longest foster as we should have them for 4-6 weeks since they will need to be vaccinated twice before they can be adopted out. They are still fairly young (hence the formula and such) and you can tell it when they are walking around.

Gentle Ben already has an approved adoption application so when he is old enough to go, he already has a home waiting for him! WOOT!!!

I'm tired and I feel guilty.

I brought Marnie & Rocket back yesterday. They were for sure our cutest fosters, but also our hardest. They were potty trained which was good. Unfortunately, they did not want to be inside. Like, at all. And I will not leave pups outside. That's not how they are supposed to be and we didn't get our yard fenced in just so we could leave animals outside. HOWEVER, I let them out as often as I was comfortable. More than, really. They couldn't be in long without crying to go out. Even in the rain. It was exhausting. Especially at night. As much as I don't like them to be out much during the day, I hate it at night. The big bad dark night and all things unknown out there like boogey men and scary monsters!

No, seriously, one night, Marnie cried so much that I gave in FOUR times to getting up and letting her go out to potty. FOUR TIMES!!! It was the night before they were ready to go back and I was so. dang. ready!!!

Yet they were sweet and cute and loved to cuddle and play. They weren't used to being inside and were happier outside. It was hard for all involved, I'm afraid. They weren't unhappy, I don't think. They were just happier outside. Especially Marnie.

They were due back on my 15 year wedding anniversary. My husband very sweetly suggested that I just go up by myself and he would stay home with the toddler. The rest of the crew was at school. I'm not sure I've ever dropped pups off before alone or I just don't remember. The puppies "only" woke up to go out two times that night, but it had been raining for days and they were so muddy and wet puppy stinky. I wanted them to find a home, of course so I wanted the first impression to be great and there was a guy that wanted me to call him so he could be there when we arrived back to the rescue (they had put him in touch with me). I bathed them and put pretty kerchiefs on them, etc., etc.

And we got there and I got the crate out of my van and they heard the other dogs and they got scared. And my eyes got damp. What?! No. I was okay for these pups to be going back. It had been a long two weeks and they had been harder to deal with than babies. At least with babies, I could contain them somewhat and nurse them back to sleep! BUT my eyes got damp. I'm sure it was the rain. That must have been what made my heart twinge a little, too. I got them in and stumbled and stuttered trying to explain who I was and what I brought back. The rescue coordinator came out and knew so I was able to just give some pets and cuddles and not talk so much.

And that was my hardest fostering, in more ways than way. Good luck, sweet Marnie and Rocket. May you find your forever homes very soon.

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!

Litter # 3 - Catahoula mixes

I have a problem. It's called offering myself even when I shouldn't.

So I had been sick for...three weeks, at this point. I saw the S.O.S on facebook. The rescue that I work with had puppies. CUTE SQUEEEEE!!!!! puppies!!! So being my brilliant self, I say "If you ever need help, you know where to find me!" Well...we ALWAYS need fosters. How many do you want and when can you come get them?

Tomorrow? Okay!

So began our 3rd foster. I was feeling a little better by this point. I could actually get out of bed without screaming (until the next day, anyway) so that was saying something! My daughter (9) wasn't feeling well that day so off we went to Asheville.

C goes to look in the puppy cage, comes around the corner and says "Mommy, I REALLY hope those are NOT the puppies that we are getting. They are HUGE!!!" and I think her eyes popped out of her head. haha She had made the mistake of thinking they would be in the same cage that we had gotten the other ones. Turns out they had a full grown hound and lab in the cage that day. ;-)

I must say, I love, love, love this rescue. I love walking in. I love talking to the people. I love seeing the animals. I love seeing the volunteers. I just believe in this place so very, very much. I feel "home" there. Anyway, the foster coordinator leans down to my daughter and says "These puppies could REALLY use a bath." ;-) DD bathed the last litter before we brought them back so that they would be nice and fresh before their spay/neuters. It still amazes me that the foster coordinator remembered that, with everything else that she has to remember!

So these pups were CUTE and big. Like probably catahoula/hound/pitt/anybody elses guess, but they were still puppies and the SQUEEEEE!!! came later once they were cleaned. Because when I first smelled...er...I mean...saw? them? My first thought was OH. EM. GEE!!! you guys are shmelllyyyyyy! ;-)

We got them home and I bathed them right away. Too big of a job for C! Did I mention shmellllyyyyy?! And then I put a collar on each of them. They are finally tolerating them. Next step is leashes.

They are growing like weeds. So tall. They have these big fat thick heads and they are so sweet, soft and gentle. They love cuddles. They take their big fat heads and put them right under your chin and just snuggle up. They are crate trained and good with the kids and they just love to snuggle.

We will for sure miss Sage and Charlie when they go back. We have them for two weeks.

Our second fosters...for real this time...

Chance and Molly (the abandoned pups from the first post) were snuggly at home and settling in with my family and I got the text. The real one this time. The one saying "Okay so can you come and pick up this litter of 5?"

Sure...I can, BUT I have these other two puppies here that I didn't expect to have and I know nothing about them and...and...and...yes, just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it!

So we got Chance and Molly on Tuesday, I think. Or maybe Wednesday. Honestly, it all blends together now that it's over! And we got the text asking to come and pick up the jack russel terrier/beagle mix puppies on Friday. hahaha Yeah, sure. Easy peasy, right? What's 5 more?

WELL, what I didn't know then, but know now (and this is mucho important if you plan to foster more than one litter at once!!!) is that they cannot co-mingle. No eating together, no sleeping together, no poo'ing on the lawn together!!! TOTAL separation!!! You cannot co-mingle two different litters if you do not know where they are from, if they aren't on the same place in their vaccinations, etc. You see where this is going, right? CRAZINESS!!! Utterly fun, happy, panting, licking, tail wagging craziness!!!

Also, if you don't know, many rescues provide EVERYTHING you need to foster. Not just the puppies, but the food, crates, bedding, and X pens. Oh yes, X pens are from heaven. Especially when you need to separate litters!!!

I came home from work that day and instructed everyone, get in the van quick, we are going to get the puppies!!! BTW, vans are great, but 5 kids + 1 adult + 5 puppies and all of their gear is still a lot of stuff to fit in a mini van!

We got there and the foster coordinator said "Okay, here's all of your stuff. Are you sure?! You already have 5 kids?! Are you crazy?!" Yes, yes I am. What's 5 more?!

Oh. my. gracious! Five tail wagging, squirmy, cute little puppies!!! SQUEEEEEE! (I will warn you that this is my reaction every. time. I don't think the cuteness of puppies gets old. Ever. It doesn't for me, anyway.) They were ours for a week. One was already adopted out, but couldn't go to her home because she had to be fixed first. Between you and me, I'm secretly glad that she already had dibs on her because I was slightly attached to her. She was the cutest, smartest little Spitfire. And that's what we nicknamed her. Spitfire. We rarely know their names...whether they aren't named or we don't ask...I'm really not sure. We give them nicknames while they are here, though. Which is funny because that's what my parents always said to me as a kid and what I always said to mine...don't name them! If you name them, you will not be able to let go! BUT we name them now. And it's okay. So we had spitfire, spots, bambi (my other favorite!), shady and jumper. They were fun and chaotic and it was a really fun, crazy and neat experience.

And I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I brought them back. Not because they were bad or hard or anything like that. Simply because, in case I hadn't mentioned it, having two different litters that needed to be kept separate was really, very, difficult.

And my children? Hats off to my children. I worked all of that week and was sick as well. My children were absolute troopers. They did so much. If I ever doubted their work ethic or their loves of animals, that week would have proven to me that they were perfect.

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!