What is behind the rescuers that people don't see...

Just because I rescue animals doesn't mean I sit waiting by the phone waiting for it to ring so that I can jump up and save the next dog in need.  Just because I rescue animals doesn't mean that I have more time and money then the next person.  Just because I rescue animals doesn't mean that I can perform miracles and that horribly aggressive or horribly abused dog I can turn them around into beautiful family dogs like they were born to be.  Sometimes I can't save the dog and the outcome isn't the outcome we all dream of.

What people don't see about the animal rescuer is:
A house that needs cleaned
Laundry that needs done
Bills that need to be paid
A full time job that is extremely demanding
Our own animals that take the back seat to all the animals in need
Our family who takes a back seat to all the animals in need
Health issues either ours or a member of our family
Financial struggles
Cars that need oil changes, new tires, etc.
Dentist appointments
Doctor appointments
The lawn that needs mowed
The friend's wedding we are in
The close family member or friend who has passed away


We are JUST LIKE YOU!!!  The only difference is we have an overwhelming calling that we can't ignore to help those who can't help themselves.  So when someone calls and says "COME NOW THIS DOG IS IN NEED NOW."  That means we are leaving our husband sitting alone in a resturant with a 1/2 eaten meal in the empty seat next to him while we rush to help whatever animal needs us next.  That means we have to NOT piss off our paying job by finding someone to help while we are at work and then RUSH out of work right at 5pm to step in.  It means that we don't get our laundry done, we don't get our house as clean as we want it, we don't eat dinner until 10pm at night and we go to work tired the next day.  All because we have to COME RIGHT NOW!

And to top it all off WE ARE NOT PAID ONE DIME!  NOT ONE CENT!  Actually in the long run we loose more money then some people make in a year!

So the next time you are angry because a rescue person can't help or needs help or the outcome of an animal that you donated money to make feel better doesn't come out with a fairy tell ending that you hoped for stop and think COULD YOU DO WHAT WE DO? COULD YOU SACRIFICE EVERYTHING WE SACRIFICE?

And the next time you think to yourself.  Oh that poor dog / cat shouldn't be in a cage for 12 hours a day while the foster is at work or the poor animal shouldn't be in the no kill shelter but in a home.  Think of it this way. Someone sacrificed A LOT so that "poor" animal could be there ALIVE!  And NO it isn't perfect but it is temporary and necessar!y!

the alternative is death.... YOU CHOOSE WHICH IS WORSE...

I know what I am doing, promise

I realize not everyone has had over 900 dogs come through there home, I understand that most people have not dealt with some of things I have dealt with including but not limited to:
Kennel Cough
Dog fighting wounds
Broken legs
Broken backs
Parvo
Litters of puppies
Litters of puppies without mom
Dogs who have been shot with a BB gun
Intestinal worms
Eye issues
Hip issues
Cancer
Flea allergy so bad that dog has no hair
Dogs from puppy mills
Dogs from hoards
Dogs who have been starved
Chain dogs
Aggressive dog
Fearful dogs

The list could go on for a long time....  I just want to look at people sometimes and say TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING!
Just because you have one (or two dogs) doesn't make you a dog expert. Please don't tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing when you have never dealt with such a illness / behavior issue / etc.

The reality is I take dogs WHO WOULD DIE if I didn't take them.  I take dogs that aren't living in a temperature controlled house with fresh water and food every day.  I am taking in dogs who humans have failed and if I didn't take them THEY WOULD NEVER EVER EVER KNOW that humans can actually be good to them.

Yes, when I take them in they get attention, socialization, fresh food, fresh water and all the vet care they need but NO they aren't always sleeping in a house on a bed as a family member.  At least not yet.  They are  in a boarding kennel or in the kennel at my house.  Probably crated more then a dog should be but guess what IT IS BETTER THEN DEAD and it sure the hell is better then where they came from.

The reality is yes dogs when I rescue them aren't immediately placed in a family and it may take them a week or a year but eventually they are and the rest of their life is glorious and safe and they are loved.  Just the way it should be but there is a transition period until they get there and TRUST ME IT IS BETTER THEN BEING DEAD.

Do I ideally like to have dogs crated for 12 hours a day NO.  Is it better then being dead?
Do I ideally like dogs to have to move from foster home to foster home.  NO.  Is it better then being dead?
Do I cry every time a dog is adopted. NO Why? Because they could have been dead!

The reality of it is the dog can either go through a NOT PERFECT but not awful transition period or they could be dead.

YOU PICK

DOG FREE TO A GOOD HOME

Are you sure about that?

Many dogs that are given away for free live their lives suffering at the hands of that "good home"
People do not value things that are free.  To them they are disposable.

People will take them and breed them in hopes to make money off the puppies, sell them into a puppy mill... They will sell them to medical research facilities as test subjects and will use them for fighting or bait for fighting.

Dogs have feelings, they have emotions and suffer all the same illness as people.  They are much more then just a dog.  They are a leaving breathing creature who does not have a voice and depends on you as their human to take care of them.  Do what is right by your pet.  Spay/neuter them and do not offer them for free.

At the very worse surrender them to a dog pound.  At least they stand a better chance there then FREE.

Applications....

As a dog rescue group we take applications for the dogs we have for adoption.  It is kind of like a job application I guess you could see.  You write down all the information we ask, we review, check references (vet and personal), if you have a land lord we call them to make sure you are able to have a dog, we run checks on the internet to make sure you are who you say you are and that the house  you claim to own you really do own and sometimes we do home visits and sometimes we do drive by.  

We do all these for several reasons:

#1.) To make sure the dog or dogs you are interested in are actually a good match for you.

#2.) You are serious about adopting.

#3.) You are a responsible dog owner... this is where reference checks come in a lot of the time

#4.) Home visit or drive by.

#5.) So your time or our time isn't wasted.

#1.) Ok so to explain the about things a little more.  I would say 50% of the time people do not read the bio's we have up on the dogs. They see the picture of the cute doggie and that is it.  They want it.  They have 3 cats and yet the dog is a cat killer.  "oh they say" after you tell them the dog they are interested in is a cat killer. "That won't work then" they say.

If it wasn't for the application, the family would have take time out of there day to come visit with a dog that they weren't going to adopt anyway because it is a cat killer and the volunteer would have wasted an afternoon.  So now you have 2 disappointed families/people.

Believe it or not people have gotten angry when I have said "I don't believe the dog you are interested in would be a good match for you."  WOW do some, not all people take serious offense to that.  I sometimes I just want to scream at them and say "OK, come get the dog and be miserable and upset when he kills your cats and then return him DAMAGED because you probably were mean to him when he did EXACTLY what I told you he would do and then I can put him to sleep because he is now SO aggressive towards people from the way you treated him.  Good Idea!  I mean we wouldn't want you to NOT get EVERYTHING you wanted always!"

UGH!!  I refrain from saying that even though I really want to.

#2.) Then you have the people who actually fill out an application bug you and bug you because they want to come RIGHT NOW!  TODAY!!!  To see a dog that is up for adoption... You tell them that is not possible until after their application is approved.  They get all whinny.. but my husband doesn't work today and we want to come today....blah blah blah.

Then 2 days goes by and you contact them, "your application has been approved for you to meet the dog you are interested."

"Oh" they say "well we thought about it and my husband decided he doesn't want a dog that size"

REALLY LADY ARE YOU F-ING KIDDING ME??? 

Could you imagine what would have happened if they would have come THAT DAY to see the puppies, they would have gone home with one and then where would we be in a few days... buyers remorse, that is where we would be.

My favorite is the lady that filled out an application, was scheduled to come see the dog and 2 days before.. so at least they gave me notice.. said I am sorry my child has to move so we have her dog and cats.  Then her next message to me was "hinting" around that they are going to need to find a home for her child's pets.  She didn't come right out and say it but "hinted"  I DID NOT REPLY!

#3.)  It is SO unbelievable how many people LIE  on their applications.  Yes, my dog is fixed...call the vet, um.. no sweet heart it isn't.  Or other things they lie about... I have a fenced yard.. you do? Really?  When I drove by last night you sure didn't have a fence!  Just silly thinks like that.  It is amazing how much you can find out about someone on the internet too.

#4.) We don't care if you are rich or poor all we care about is will the dog have a good SAFE HOME!  And I learned a lesson, I don't care how good of an owner you seem if you live in a neighborhood where I know that dogs have been stolen from YOU ARE NOT GETTING ONE OF MY DOGS.  I am not going through what I did last weekend, loosing sleep and spending nearly $200 to find a stolen dog.  No thank you!

#5.) We are 100% volunteer group and the dogs live in our homes.  So really this is two fold.  I am not having every Tom, Dick and Harry come to my house when they feel like it so they can LOOK at dogs/puppies.  I don't want you to know where I live so you can tell your friends whose house to tie a dog they don't want to.  I don't want you to come to my house and decide 'Hey we could rob this place'  although at my house anyone who thinks that is CRAZY and STUPID!  4 dogs in the house 3 of which can be aggressive towards strangers when frightened, 24 hours security system that can't be turned off because it isn't connected to electricity and 3 concealed carrier permit holders.  Ya probably not to your best interest.  

BUT the main part is, I am busy.  I work full time, I have friends and family I would like to spend time with, I have animals to take care of.... I don't have time for you to come over and spend an hour LOOKING just because you don't have anything better to do that day.  THEN when you fill out the application and are not approved you do something to my house or try to steal the dog.  NO, that is ok I am good on that thanks!. LOL!

 

Dog Stolen....

Instead of re-writing the HELL I went through this weekend, I will just let you read the letter I wrote to an X - adopter.  I pray to God he NEVER gets another dog.

I wanted to email you and let you know what has transpired since Saturday morning.

After spending yet another long stressful week at work, I spent my Saturday at an adoption event.  Adoption events that we have at Rural King are always crazy busy, as you already know because that is where you met Kassa.  I am up early dealing with 5 - 10 dogs getting them bathed, walked, loaded in the car and ready to go to an adoption event.  I spend all day on my feet no time to eat or even getting a glass of water, talking to people all day.  And the craziest part is this is ALL VOLUNTEER.  Not one dime paid to me for this but I do it religiously every month to help animals that have been through hell and back.

When leaving after a long exhausting day at Rural King I happen to run into you and you calmly told me that Kassa was stolen from you 3 weeks prior.  I was shocked and disappointed all at the same time.  So many things ran through my head.  The first one being "I TOLD YOU DO NOT LEAVE HER UNATTENDED DOGS IN ELYRIA GET STOLEN ALL THE TIME"  did you not believe me?  And then the thought of if you wouldn't have seen me would I have ever found out????

That evening my sister who lives in China was coming to my farm with two of her friends from China.  She wanted me to show them around the farm as they are not exposed to such things in China.  I told my sister I am sorry, I am not able to spend the few hours with you as promised.  I needed to act quickly regarding Kassa.  She was disappointed but understood and my husband showed them around.  I spent the next 4 hours making fliers and posters and trying to come up with a plan on how in the world I would find her after so much time had passed.

That evening at 8pm my other sister was having a movie night at her house to say good bye to my sister who lives in China.  Saturday night was her last night in the states.  I won't see her until next June when she comes home again for the summer.  I told my family that I was sorry but I would not be able to attend as I was busy with the stolen dog issue.  

I put up posters and passed out some fliers in the area and FINALLY at 9:30pm was able to eat dinner.  I went home and immediately got on the computer, emailing all my media contacts, posting Kassa all over Facebook.

We then had email correspondence back and forth on Sunday morning.  You tell me the exact date of Kassa being stolen which was JULY 13th.  Just so you know that was 1 month, not 3 weeks ish as you had stated when I saw you.  When asked why you didn't tell me sooner you stated because you were busy.  You also said you had been checking the pound.

On Sunday I once again gave up my ONLY DAY OFF!!!!  And had 500 black and white fliers made and used all the color ink in my printer to make color copies.  I along with 5 other very concerned volunteers spent 3 hours going door to door asking if anyone had seen Kassa.  I then went back at 9pm that night and talked to more people and a volunteer walked her dog around the neighborhood just in case maybe she was running loose.

I am sorry David but here is where I call BULL SHIT on your "story" and wonder if you even care about Kassa.

Thanks to a volunteer the one that actually saved her after she was thrown from a car on New Years Eve....she spent 2 hours after already spending 3 walking around Elyria, on the computer checking Craig's list.  GUESS WHO SHE FOUND!!!!

After contacting my networks here is the story of what happened to Kassa.

On July 13th she was picked up on Middle Ave by the Lorain County Dog pound.  She sat there until August 1st.  She was put on the KILL LIST!!  Yep that is right she was scheduled to die.  

On August 1st, 5 dogs were taken by another rescue organization.  All 5 dogs were on the kill list and all 5 lives were thankfully spared.

Kassa was then placed up for adoption and was adopted by a family.  Only after reaching out to my rescue contacts was I able to locate the rescue that HAD her and they scanned her this morning. Sure enough, Kassa who now has a new name and a new family has been located and no thanks to you she is safe!

You didn't even offer to help when I told you that we would be putting up fliers and posters.  You did not contact me when she was lost or stolen as the contract says.  I have attached the contract for you to read and I have highlighted the parts of the contract that weren't followed.  INCLUDING not letting me know your cell phone number was no longer working.

I lost sleep, had horrible anxiety, spent at least $150 between gas and fliers/posters, did not get to say a proper good bye to my sister and all for what?  Because you didn't care enough to do anything to find Kassa!  Because you didn't care enough to call me and let me know.  I would have had her back at my house the Tuesday after she went missing if you would have told me she was missing.  Instead that poor dog who had already been through so much spent 3 weeks at the county shelter laying on a cold cement floor with little human interaction and then had a DEATH DATE ON HER HEAD!

Thank God that she was saved and Thank God that through my networks she was located and I know she is safe and FINALLY HAPPY!  I hope to see a donation come through for the money spent trying to find Kassa a dog YOU PROMISED TO TAKE CARE OF!  And maybe a little extra for pain and suffering and for the fact I may have to get a new number because I am receiving a lot of prank phone calls!  Then maybe I will be able to save another dog from a horrible life, instead of knowing I wasted money on fliers / posters, ink. and possibly a new phone number.  Oh man I hope the calls stop soon!

The one thing I have learned from this............The next time someone wants to adopt and I am worried about the neighborhood they live in, I am going with my gut and saying NO!

No need to reply, I am not interested in your excuses or lies... I am not sure I believe she was even stolen!

Puppies pooping party

People breed dogs on purpose and have mom and puppies living in their house. OMG!  WHY????  GROSS!!!!

Mom dogs have horrible diarrhea issues and puppies are cute and fun until about 2.5 weeks then it is nothing but POOP POOP AND MORE POOP all over the place.  They don't care if they lay in it, roll it, walk through it, poop on each other, etc.  GROSS!!!

I really don't understand how people think the $50, $150 or whatever they get for puppies is worth it.

I want to cry... there is poop everywhere and the work that goes into trying to keep them clean and the smell. OMG!  It is enough to want to say ok, you can all go live somewhere else now. LOL!

4 more week, just 4 more week before they can be fixed and will be adopted.  Oh this is going to be a long 4 weeks. LOL!

The good news about Patrick....

After being found he was taking to a vet hospital where he received AMAZING care.  Believe it or not Patrick did survive and was adopted by the vet who take care of him.

You can follow him on his very own Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/ThePatrickMiracle


He was one of the lucky ones.  There are so many many many more that aren't so lucky and there are many many many more that no one even knows about because they weren't lucky enough to even be found dead or alive.

How many voiceless animals have died never knowing love or compassion.  How many have died horrible deaths and the hands of humans.  Humans are supposed to have soles, morals, an understanding of right and wrong.  I truly believe that not everyone has those things.  Either they weren't taught or they were just born evil.  Regardless of the reason, those who can do horrible things to an animal should be punished as if they did it to a human.  A living thing is a living thing regardless if they have a voice or not.  If you can do it to one "animal" you can do it to another "animal"  And news flash HUMAN ARE ANIMALS!  We sure aren't a plant!

Who did that to Patrick....

THIS WOMEN!

Kisha Curtis of Newark NJ.


Curtis, 28, said she only had the dog, which has been renamed Patrick and is now healthy, for just two days before leaving the animal in her hallway for the security guard to handle. She admitted she could not take care of the dog, and said the security guard would. Curtis said the dog was doing well when she leashed it to a stairwell doorknob in her hallway, adding she was upset after seeing photos in the news of the emaciated animal days later.






News flash your idiot.  That type of starvation doesn't happen in a few days.  That takes at least a year!
I hope I never have to face her because I am pretty sure I would curse like a sailor at her!