Drunk Driver

Your best friend went to the bar, had way too many drinks and drove home.  However, on his way home he crashed the car into a ditch.  He caused some minor damage to his car.  You brushed it off as a mistake on his part.  You will just keep a closer eye on him and hope he doesn't do it again.

A few days later, he did it again.  Got in a car and drove drunk.  You brushed it off again saying it was a bad day and he was stressed out.  You watch him a little closer but don't really think much about it.

About a week later he gets in the car again, drunk.  This time he crashed the car taking out a telephone pole.  Causing some real damage to his car.  You have a long talk with him, explain to him this behavior is not ok.  He can't keep doing this.  You told him you were going to do whatever you can to help him so this doesn't happen again.  Things were going ok for about 2 weeks, then again he gets in a car, drunk.  This time he crashes into another car, seriously injuring the person in the other car.

Now you know there is a real problem, you get your friend help.


Not trying to compare or make light of drunk driving but my point is.... how many times does someone have to drive drunk before you realize there is an issues, there is a serious problem? Once, twice or just until they kill or hurt someone?

To me JUST ONE TIME I would be taking the drunk driving seriously.

So why is it that a dog can bite, bite, bite, send someone to the hospital, bite bite, send someone to the hospital, bite again and we keep making an excuses, we keeping blaming someone else.  Well maybe if so and so took the dog maybe if he wasn't around kids, other dogs, men, women, etc.  Excuse after excuse.   So tell me when is the biting aggressive dog issue taken seriously after it kills another dog or disfigures someone, maybe a child?

WE AREN'T PERFECT

As hard as it is to admit, we aren't perfect. We are human, we make mistakes. The difference between being an ok average rescue and being a great rescue which is what I strive for everyday is admitting from those mistakes, taking away from the mistake and learning and growing from it and doing the best I can to make the mistake right.

Now I am sure you are all wondering what I am talking about... here is the story:

On Feb 6th, Princess was scheduled to meet her new potential family. The foster home tried taking a new way to the farm then she usually takes and got lost. Her GPS had her doing U-turns because of a road closure. She was an hour late to the meet and greet appointment.

The people were nice about it but could tell as the time went on were annoyed. And hey I can't blame them I would have been too.

As usually we told the adopting family to make sure they take Princess to the vet within the first 10 days. Make sure the vet checks her out and let us know if there is any issues.

And now the fun begins........... They did take Princess to the vet, finding a lump on her chest. Something we didn't notice. Poor Princess had blood work done and was scheduled for surgery this past Friday to have the mass removed. The vet said that the mass was much larger then he expected and had branch offs that he had to remove causing a large incision area. Poor Princess had to have drains put in. She went back to the vet today and had the drains removed. Vet said she looks to be healing up nicely but did a fecal test finding whipworms. DEAR LORD! How much more could go wrong with this poor dog. So she is now being treated for this.

Lucky for the adopter they signed up for the Free 30 day Pet Insurance that we offer to all of our adopters. She has submitted the vet bills to the insurance company and is waiting to hear back from them. I believe the total is around $1,200.

I am completely embarrassed by everything that happened to poor Princess and this adopter. It started off rough and seems to be getting worse. If I were these people I would be cussing up a storm.

All though all protocols were followed with Princess and it is was all honest mistakes, nothing malicious at all. I still feel like an idiot. I have to keep reminding myself that we aren't perfect and stuff happens, especially when you are dealing with so many dogs with an unknown history.

So how are we going to make this right. Well from the first email I received from the adopter, I told her that I am glad she signed up for the Pet Insurance but if the Pet Insurance doesn't cover something to let me know so I can make sure she gets reimbursed. If we would have found the lump, we would have had the surgery so there is no reason for her to have to pay for the surgery since clearly it is something we should have noticed.

And now with today's message about her having whipworms. Although in rescue world that is not a big deal to us, we expect dogs to have worms when they come in and whip is a common one. That is why all puppies/dogs that come into the rescue are automatically de-wormed with 3 days of panacure. We did that with Princess but obviously she needed another dose. Whipworms are a hard one to control / treat. Usually does take two doses.

So with all the issues/trouble/hardship her poor adoptive family has had with her in just the 10 days they have had her, I will be sending back their adoption fee. There is absolutely no reason or excuse for something like this to happen. But again I have to remind myself we are a human and doing the best we can with the information and resources we have. And although the adoption fee being returned can't take away from the last 10 days of vet visits, surgery, medication, etc. I hope the adopter knows this is NOT normal and I hope my writing about this to all of you helps for people to understand a little more that being in rescue, running a rescue isn't easy nor predictable and my rescue isn't perfect but we do the best we can and will make right where we have failed.

The word KILL

The word KILL is a strong word.  It sounds horrible, it sounds unjustified, cruel.  I also think it is over used by some in the rescue community or those that call themselves animal advocates.
When someone says to me "The dog is going to be KILLED"  in my mind I jump to the dog doesn't deserve this, how can someone KILL an innocent dog.  But when someone says to me "they dog is going to be euthanized"  I believe that there is a reason for the dog being euthanized and don't question it all that much.

The reason I am bringing this up is because there are people who believe that every dog should have a home regardless of the dog's behavior, aggression, illness, etc.  When a dog is going to be euthanized for aggressive behavior they tend to jump to the word KILL as if the dog being put to sleep is the very worse thing ever. In my opinion there are worse fates then being humanely euthanized.

Dogs are by nature pack animals.... meaning they like to be around other dogs, they don't want to kill them and shred them to pieces.  However, there are dogs that are that way.  To me this is not normal, to me this is a clear sign the dog is mentally suffering.  They are living in a world the rest of us aren't living in one of fear, one of pain, one of confusion.  Yet THEY DESERVE A HOME.  THEY DESERVE TO LIVE.  Deserve?  I am not sure about that.... they deserve to be treated humanely, they deserve to not be in pain and not to be suffering.  That is what every living thing deserves.

If a dog was hit by a car and you took the dog to the vet and the vet said to you.  "This dog is in a lot of pain, I am not going to be able to make the pain stop and he has zero quality of life, assuming he lives through all this trauma and pain"
Do you believe that dog DESERVES to live, DESERVES to go home with you and continue to be in a pain? Having no quality of life?  Or do you believe that dog deserves to be at peace and not in pain?

The same holds true with a dog that is aggressive towards other dogs or that is aggressive towards people.  Don't get me wrong, do what you can for the dog.... hire a trainer, talk  to a vet, work with the animal and really make sure that any decision you make is the right one FOR THE DOG!
However, if the dog is aggressive towards other dogs or towards people and has hurt other dogs or people and all the training and time and vets aren't and won't help this dog then the dog is clearily in pain, mental pain.  That is not normal behavior for a dog, to be aggressive.
So you mean to tell me that dog DESERVES to be in pain just so you can say "it's alive"
I don't agree.

What about my child, my baby niece, my BBF's toddler?  What about my dog?  Do they DESERVE to not be bit, hurt, scared for life, killed or mauled by the dog who is aggressive? Do they DESERVE to be safe?   When placing a dog that has aggression in a home out of your control you are putting others at risk.  All it takes is one mistake by the new owner or foster parent.  One time of not muzzling the dog in public, one time of  forgetting to make sure the collar is on tight, one time of opening the door just a little too wide when the girls scouts come selling cookies, one time of the gate being left open by the meter reader, ONE TIME, ONE MISTAKE.

The reality is, in my opinion, not all dogs DESERVE a home.  In my opinion all dogs DESERVE wait let me rephrase that ALL LIVING BREATHING THINGS DESERVE respect, kindness and to not be in pain, not be suffering

2015 is over

I know I haven't written much this year and I took a few years off but as anyone who has been reading this blog since the beginning I had a lot of issues with my neighbor harassing me.  He then started to use this blog against me.... well he tried, it back fired horribly.

The case was "over" early in 2014... the 5 years of harassment were finally over.  In late 2014 the man had some health issues and has since been in a nursing home.  His wife, a very nice lady is now living alone and I worry about her.  She has sent a few cards.... the first in March 2015 for my son's birthday and I have invited her to a few parties we have had at the farm.  I feel bad for her because I know it was all her husband being mean and I most certainly am not going to hold it against her.
I have helped her with a few things and will continue to keep an eye to make sure she is ok.  I have often thought her husband was probably not so nice to her either...

Neurological Puppy

Rescue most definitely is not for everyone.  We had a litter of puppies born and to make a very long story short one of the puppies we discovered was blind.  Ok, so no big deal.  Well as the weeks went on the puppy was developmentally slower in progressing then her litter mates.  Ok, no big deal, she is blind.  WRONG!

The puppy was moved to a new foster home away from mom where she could receive some one on one attention.  After 4 hours of having the puppy the foster home called me and said "something isn't right."   At 13 weeks she was evaluated by a very well known vet office with excellent vets specializing in all sorts of things.  We use this vet office a lot!  The prognoses was not good and the vet recommend immediately taking her down from the adoption website.  This was not a health dog and she had zero chance of a happy life.  The puppy has neurological issues, she was pace non stop until she got so tired she just collapsed from exhaustion.  She was blind, which we knew.  She has sensory disorder meaning sometimes you touched her and she didn't mind other times you touched her and she would growl and snap.  She was only 13 weeks at this point but she was going to be a 60 pound dog soon enough and that is a scary though.... a blind dog growling and biting!   To add to that the older she got and the more she grew she was going to eventually be unable to walk at all.  She was already high stepping (sign of neurological issues), she was walking in circles, unable to balance so always had to lean against something and her back end would just give out from time to time.  She had started flying biting the air which is a type of seizure and with time would get worse.  She did not have the ability to understand she had to potty so would never be house trained.  AND she had no sense of smell.. you could put a treat the smelliest treat you can find under her nose and if she wasn't hungry she wouldn't eat it.  She also never wagged her tail and didn't respond to voices,  maybe for a second but then would turn away and this was all the time only randomly.
Basically she was a heartbeat in a puppy outfit.  She only did what she needed to survive... eat and drink.
So at 13 weeks old I had to make the decision to put a puppy to sleep.  That was not on my top one million things I want to do list.

Of course when this decision was made I had people contacting me saying they were take her, they could handle all of this.  To those people I want to say YOU ARE SELFISH! And that would be the most inhumane thing that could ever be done.  To be honest I am pissed that she went through a spay surgery and was microchipped and given 2 rounds of shots.  There was no reason to put this poor dog through any of that.    And this is why rescue isn't for everyone.  YOUR HEAD NEEDS TO MAKE DECISIONS NOT YOUR HEART.  Would it be easier to keep her alive... easier emotionally, yes.  Physically no but emotionally yes.  But the truth is you are doing it for YOU not for the dog.   And that really makes me mad.

Am I sad yes, am I devastated no.  I feel like if a dog is suffering putting it down is the right thing to do. Am devastated over the dog that was perfectly healthy that someone was mean to and I have to put to sleep because they are no sick from the abuse, I am devastated over the puppy that gets parvo and dies because some a-hole didn't vaccinate their dog.  Those thing devastate me. Putting to sleep a sick dog that was no fault of anyone's doesn't devastate me.

I Found Him, Mom (Heaven Sent)

My son, Brandon Austin, loved all animals. There was a special place in his heart for dogs, and he wanted to save every stray with which he came in contact. We dubbed him "The Dog Whisperer" because he had a way with even the most unapproachable dogs. He said, “You just have to love them enough, and they will love you right back”. Had I given in to him, we would have had more animals than people in our home!
His dad had a golden retriever m...ix that lived until he was sixteen. We had gotten divorced when Brandon was seven, and "Puppy" went out of state to live with his dad. From that moment on, Brandon began with his endless pleas to find another one "just like Puppy". We started our search, but until we had a stable home in which to live (rather than an apartment), I kept saying, "Soon, Brandon, soon."

Due to a tragic accident, I lost Brandon last year. I was, and still am devastated, as he was my heart. To honor his memory, I have spent hours helping whatever animal rescue groups I can. I am very active online, with Facebook being one of my key ways to find out about various agencies. It has brought me comfort, and hope, to carry on my son's legacy in this way.
One day, while scrolling through my news feed, I came upon the Multiple Breed Rescue (MBR) Facebook page. I was shocked to see ‘Brandon Austin likes this page’. Was this a sign? The picture, of course...a golden retriever/Chow mix!! Nothing like that had happened before in all of my months of online searches. What were the chances that I would happen across this rescue? MBR is based in Ohio, and I am from Rhode Island, so I wasn't sure how that was going to work. But I could not ignore what was happening. It was like my son was showing me what he wanted me to do.
I filled out an application online, and held my breath. I remember thinking, ‘well, if it is meant to be, it will all work out’. I got an email reply within 24 hours. Within the next few days, references were checked, and I became the "mommy" to Little Austin. I was ecstatic! I flew to Ohio, met his wonderful foster mom, and then drove home to RI with my new, very nervous, fur-baby! One of the requirements of Multiple Breed Rescue is that you have to register the microchip within a certain time frame. When I called to do this, the man on the phone told me Little Austin’s birthdate, as he had been registered before: Little Austin has the same birthday as my son, Brandon! It's as if Brandon was reaching out to me. He knew I needed saving and someone to whom I could give my love! From heaven, Brandon said, "I found him, Mom!" And I believe with all my heart, he did!


**** This was written by an adopter of the rescue I run.  She submitted to PetCo to help us win a grant.  WE DID!  And I wanted to share the story*** 

Rescue isn't as easy as you think it is

A lot of people think "I love animals"  I can rescue animals.... it's easy, right?

WRONG

There is a lot more to being a responsible rescue person and running a rescue operation then loving animals.  You have make decision with YOUR HEAD not your heart.  You have to know when to say no, you have to balance life.... your paying job, your family, your friends, every day life chores like laundry, cooking dinner - heck just eating, etc.   There are some that can and some that can't and you have to go into rescue knowing what you can and can't handle. If you aren't an organized person, if you can't separate your head from  your heart then this isn't for you.... I mean volunteer by all means but please don't do it on  your own  it seems to always end in disaster  FOR THE ANIMALS!

I just shake my head in disbelief when I hear of yet another rescue with too many dogs, dogs being in shelters / boarding / foster homes for YEARS, dogs not getting all the vet care they need, the dirty cages, the aggressive dogs they are spending thousands of dollars on because all dogs deserve a home.   It just never seems to end.  They put on such a good front, you think they are doing good stuff, they attend events, fundraisers, etc.   Then you get close to them and learn the truth.

If you are going to run a rescue, take a business class.  Learn what it is to run a business, then maybe you will be able to run a successful rescue.... maybe.  The second part is using  your head instead of your heart to make decision.  I have many many times had to put an animal to sleep that I loved so much but the truth is the dog wasn't safe, wasn't healthy, wasn't happy and me keeping it alive was making ONLY ME feel ok not the animal and in some case most certainly not the person that dog could potential hurt because of it's aggression.

Rescue isn't for everyone that is for sure

Application processing

You might think that rescuing a dog that is abused, neglected, starved, beaten, missing hair, broken bones, list goes on is the hard part. But I will be honest with you it isn't. The hard part is applications........ deciding what family would be the perfect or close to perfect match for dog X. I basically have to predict the future. UGH it sucks. And then like with the puppies I had 20 applications........ 12 that were approved 100% but there were only 4 puppies. Going over every scenario, reading what the references had said over and over again........... my head hurts. We selected 4 homes but what about the other 8 people?? They are so great, I want them to have a puppy too. Then I worry about them being angry, taking it personally. It seriously keeps me up at night when I have to make these decisions.

The ups and the downs

This year has been a great year so far with the rescue and really in my life.  I mean there are ups and downs but you just take the hits and keep on pushing through.  The good for sure outweighs the bad.

I found out that the person who had in the past, which is why the blog went off line for about 2 years has moved.  I feel bad for this person's spouse. They have reached out to me several times, you can tell the spouse feels bad for the way they were acting.  Just nice knowing I don't have to "look over my shoulder" on my own property any more.

2 weeks ago we had some pretty bad situations with 4 dogs.... 4 dogs all had to be rushed to emergency vets because of reactions to being fixed.  Makes me so mad, if they were just fixed in the first place then they wouldn't have gone through what they did.  All but 1 recovered.  We unfortunately lost one.  That was a long night.  Up till 2:30am with the Emergency vet, coordinating the pick up / taking to the emergency vet and then having to get up at the butt crack of dawn to drive to my works headquarters for a meeting.  It ended up taking me 3 hours to get to work, find a parking place and get into work. Because I was 10 minutes late for the meeting there weren't any seats so I ended up standing for 2 hours!!!!!!!!  I really thought I was going to collapse in exhaustion.  Took me the rest of the week and weekend to recover.

All in the name of rescue I guess.

The weekend turned out great with about 6 dogs getting adopted and then another one going home this week.  So the good for sure out weighed the bad...   Let's hope things stay positive..

I am not Willy Wonka

I am a busy person, I don't do "fluffy" very well.  If you ask me a question that is a Yes or No type of question then you are going to get a reply of Yes or No.  I am not being mean, I am not mad at you, you asked a questions I answered.  Sorry I didn't thank you for emailing me and ask you how you are doing... to be honest I am rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off and I just don't have time.

I was always taught not to lie so if you ask me "do you think I am a bad pet owner..." and my answer is YES don't tell me I am mean, horrible and curse at me.  I am not the one with 3 emaciated dogs living in my house, a dead mom chihuahua and before I stepped in 3 dead puppies but now 5 dead puppies because you took too long to ask for help.  NOT MY FAULT!

I have had it up to my eyeballs in stupid people today.

A lady didn't want 2 of her dogs because they were "old" and she had 2 new puppies.  Oh and NONE of them are fixed and all have been purchased from a back yard breeder or a pet store.  Got mad when she asked about one of the dogs.  I didn't know her name, honest I didn't care and she asked a question on FB so I answered.  My answer was "Walter went to another rescue who specializes in Doxie's.  He has to under go 3 - 4 months of treatment for heartwork.  I spent SO much money on Buddee (500) and Bob the cat (1,000) I didn't have the funds for him.

Apparently that makes me a bad person???!!  Um who gave up their dogs? Who gave up their OLDER dogs and kept the younger ones??  Who was offered to have both of the younger dogs fixed for $25 each but has yet to take me up on the offer??  OH RIGHT YOU DID!  It is not my fault that you feel guilty for being a shitty pet owner.

Guilt is a bitch.

I am not going to apologize because you realize you aren't a good pet owner and that you treated your dog(s) badly.  I am not going to apologize for not making you feel like you are a wonderful person for owner surrendering your dogs.  I am here to take the dog(s) you threw away like trash and make them feel loved, wanted and happy.  I am not here FOR YOU.  You are part of the problem not part of the solution.
I understand people get into bad situations and need help and I am happy to help them but 3 people I had to deal with today are not one of those people.  They are selfish, irresponsible and have never had to take owner ship for their bad actions.  I don't go out of my way to point it out but I don't go out of my way to make them feel ok either.
All I hope is karma is real and some day they fall victim.

This was posted on Craig's list and wroth sharing!

Craigslist Pet Policy Please Read

Craigslist clearly states animal selling or breeding is prohibited.

Pet Posting Guidelines

Some of your posts are painful to read. Do us all a favor and memorize this list. 
*Unless he ate a loaf of bread, your dog is NOT a PUREBREAD, he is a PUREBRED 
*Horses are thoroughbred; dogs are not. 
*AKC is NOT proof of breed quality. Two horribly bred dogs can have AKC puppies 
*Rehoming to ENSURE good home, not INSURE good home 

*It is spelled: 
Neuter not Nueter or Newter 
Chihuahua not Chiguagua, or Chiuauauaua, or Ciuauaua or Cheewawa 
Rottweiler not Rottwhiler 
Shih Tzu not Shitzoo 
Cocker Spaniel not Cockerspaniol (and they do NOT come in 'miniture') 
Jack Russell Terrier not Jack Rustle Terryor 
There is no such thing as a Golden Lab 
German Shepherd not Shepard 
Puppy not Puppie 
Very not Verry 
Adoption not adaption 
You had your dog dewormed, not wormed. No one gives dogs worms on purpose 

*It is 'a lot' not 'alot'. 
*Multiple dogs 'are'; one dog 'is' 
*YOU didn't provide a loving forever home and you can't GUARANTE that someone else will either oh and it's GUARANTEE 
*Your dog is 'housebroken' not 'housebroked' 
*Your dog was 'spayed' not 'spade' 
*Your dog was born, not borned. 
*Commas and periods are your friends. USE THEM. 
*YOU DON'T HAVE TO CAPITALIZE YOUR ENTIRE POST, TRUST ME, WE CAN READ IT. 
*Just say 50.00 adoption fee. Rehoming fee does apply is stupid, evasive, wordy and unnecessary. 
*Every sentence! Does not need! An exclamation! Point! 
*It is not "please only call if your interested", it is "please call if YOU'RE interested". You're is 'you are'. Your is possessive (your hat is nice). 
*There are a few exceptions, but to keep things simple, follow this general rule: 'a' comes before a consonant, 'an' comes before a vowel. 'A cat', 'An apple'. 
*You don't need to clarify that you will only give your dog to a 'good loving home'. It is assumed that decent people are not going to give their dog to a random scumbag. If you are concerned about the quality of the adopter, do a HOME CHECK (you should anyway). 
*Stop threatening to take the dog to the pound if someone doesn't 'save it'. YOUR lack of responsibility is not other people's problem. Also, before threatening us with the pound, take a few minutes to view this video: http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/dealingdogs/ so that you know what exactly your'e doing to your pet. 
*You interview a PERSON; you do a HOME CHECK. You do NOT interview a house 
'Rehoming fees' are NOT $400.00, nice try, but NO. 
*PLEASE stop saying you have to 'get rid of' your dog. You 'get rid of' an STD; you hopefully find your dog a better home than you choose to provide. It is heartbreaking to see you care so little for a dog who probably loves you more than life. 
*Some of you play the cute little game of saying "No rehoming fee, Adoption fees apply" HUH?! CUT THE ****,JUST TELL US HOW MUCH MONEY YOU WANT FOR YOUR BELOVED. You are starting to sound like a used car salesman. 
*STOP blaming your landlord. It is YOUR responsibility, as an adult, to find out what the pet restrictions are BEFORE you bring a dog home. 
*Stop blaming flaggers for interfering with your dog finding a home. Your refusal to honestly post the rehoming fee is the reason the dog isn't finding a new home. 
*Please Please Please stop giving your pets away for free. People who collect pets for medical research or dog fight bait aren't going to tell you that is why they want your animal. They will seem sincere when they tell you they desperately want to add a new member to their family. A $50.00 adoption fee will protect your pet from many untold horrors. 
*One last thing. If you have an 'accidental litter', and you are asking $250 obo, YOU ARE A BYB. Don't pretend to be a victim of circumstance, or innocent. If it were your teen daughter who got pregnant, we would all understand; you can't spay your human child (although that might not be a bad idea in some cases). You CAN be responsible for your pets though, so it is not an accident if they get pregnant.

Applications

People sure do act like total children when they don't get their way!

I really want to say "you filled out an application not an order form!"  

In 1 week we have had:
An application that was great but the foster home's 2 year old was in LOVE with the dog.  We let the 68 year old man know that the foster home was going to keep the dog and that in turn made him scream at us, hang up and then send a nasty gram.   I think the 2 year old would have been less childish if the dog was going to be adopted by someone else.

An application from a women who has an unspayed 1 year old Great Dane.  When I asked why the GD was not spayed she said because they were thinking of breeding her.  SERIOUSLY!  Let me add that prior to this conversation she had asked the adoption fee because money was tight but clearly not tight enough to breed a dog.  Dear lord!  When I told her that we were unable to approve her application because we do not condone breeding she replied back with "this is why people no longer go to shelters, she hears people complain all the time about being denied because they don't have a fence"  My reply was "yes some rescues require a fence for all adopters.  We do not require a fence for all of our adoptions but do for dogs who must have a fence.  And comparing needing a fence to breeding a dog is like comparing an elephant to a mouse"
For the love of Jesus people STOP BREEDING!  I know you think your dog is special but that is because IT IS YOUR DOG.

An application from a women who said she would return a dog that soiled in her house.  I told her I can't promise that the 8 month old puppy would be housetrained and I wouldn't promise or guarantee any of our dogs will be even if they are in the foster home so I wouldn't be able to approve her application.  Of course she sent me a nasty gram.  I didn't reply.  I am sorry I have to do everything I can to make sure the dogs are adopted to FOREVER homes and GOOD homes.  When the dog gets older are you going to call me to bring the dog back b/c he is peeing in the house.... sorry not taking that chance.

Sorry for the 2 year lapse

Not sure how much I am going to write but just wanted to say hello.

A lot has changed in the last 2 years.  My baby boy was born early March, the rescue has exploded and is bigger then I ever thought it would be.  In 2013 and 2014 we spent around $40K each year just at the vet!!!  We rescued just under 200 dogs each year.  Things are going amazingly well.  I have an amazing job, amazing rescue, amazing child, amazing husband.  Life is great.

Rescue is still stressful but I think with age I have learned to not let it get to me so much.  Saying NO has helped a lot :-)  I have a great group of volunteers who back me with the NO's!!  2013 towards the end was a bit rough but got through it and 2014 Rocked!  2015 is rocking too.

I will pop in from time to time but between a busy job, a busy family, the farm and FB not sure how much I will post but I am still here.

All gone!

The last two puppies were adopted last night.  that means NO MORE DOGS AT MY HOUSE... woohooo... Well besides my 4 and one 1 foster dog but she is so good I totally forget she is even here.

I am excited for my break.

Just tired!

These puppies are trying to kill me, slowly I swear.  Day 22 of hell.

A few puppies have gone home but one did get sick a few hours after going home so I am a bit stressed to see if the others are going to get sick.

We have a policy that if you take your dog to the vet within the first week of adoption and the vet finds something medically wrong with the dog we will take the dog back and give you back your adoption fee.  In the case of puppies within the first 7 days if the dog comes down with Parvo we will give you back your adoption fee but you can either keep the dog or return it.  you get your adoption fee back either way.  Anything else we will not give you back your adoption fee.  SO since some of the puppies are HOME I just have to hold my breath the next 7 days and hope I don't get any phone calls from adopters.  Not because I don't want to give an adoption fee back but b/c I don't want any of the puppies to get sick.

I need a break from rescue... I just can't do this any more.  The last 22 days have been really really bad.

Just a few more hours

Well looks like I am track to get a few puppies into their homes.  Let's hope so. I am way past ready to be done.  Granted I love them,don't get me wrong but way too much work for this big bellied girl right now.

Tomorrow 7 puppies go to get fixed. ASSUMING in the morning I feel everyone is healthy enough to go.  There is always that chance someone will not seem right so I will hold back but that is pretty much a game time decision.

I am pretty sure by Sunday at least 6 of them will be in their forever homes and will hopefully live happy healthy lives.  I still going to worry about them for about 2 weeks after they leave... I just hope that my worrying will be for nothing.

Soon very very soon I will be able to "enjoy" my last few weeks of NOT being a mom.  UGH! I am going to be a mom... how is that normal?  Poor kid... I hope he turns out ok. LOL!

Hoping there is light at the end of the tunnel

Friday morning I am waking up at 5am. getting ready for work and loading up 7 puppies into my truck and off to the vet.  At least I sure freaking hope so.  I am pretty sure I have 7 puppies healthy enough to go...  at least right now I do.  let's hope for my sanctity it stays that way.

There is only one puppy that is sick, one of course that was in a foster to adopt home.  He apparently threw up last night and according to the home he was up all night throwing up.  He is at the vet right now on IV fluids.  The vet said he is feeling good he will pull through but still UGH!  what a pain in the ars.

I so can't wait till these puppies are in their homes.  This stress is out of control!!!!!!!

Made me sick

Well the puppies getting sick... ALL 16 of them one at a time.  most seem to bounce back within 24 hours which is great but some take a little longer to feel good again.  OMG Seriously these puppies are going to be the death of me.

On Saturday I was so stressed out and upset that I didn't eat or drink anything all day.  NOT good when you are 31 weeks pregnant.

My hands are so chapped from washing them so much they bleed and HURT so bad.  I put lotion on them and then sit there in pain until the stinging stops.

As of right now all the puppies are a live but with puppies there is always such a risk, you just never know.  I don't get it, I don't understand who they got sick and got sick with WHAT??  I mean none of this makes any sense.

I so can't wait until they are all better and in their homes.  I made myself so sick that I am now on a prescription ;-(  I am not very happy about being on a prescription while pregnant.  The doctor says it is ok but still I am not happy about it!

Keeping promises

I really wish when people said they are going to do something THEY ACTUALLY WOULD DO IT!

Back at the end of October I was contacted by a volunteer for a shelter in Southern Ohio.  This county is at the very bottom of the state and rarely do dogs come out of there alive.  They had 2, yes 2 pregnant dogs.  I said I can't take on puppies right not because I am pregnant and getting bigger weekly, taking care of puppies is not a good idea for me.  BUT if anyone wants to foster them great!  2 people did step up to foster them.

So, I arranged for them to get to their foster homes and to get fixed.  They were going to get fixed the day after Christmas.  I took Friday the 21st off of work so the puppies could come to my house that day and then I would have families come pick out their puppy, take them to get fixed on the 26th and then they could all go home!  PERFECT!

Well the foster homes both wanted the puppies gone BEFORE this dates so I ended up with BOTH litters on the 16th.  M - R I had to work.... my job being very demanding and well my boss is all over me all the time for everything.  Ever feel like you can't do anything right?   So on the days I had to work I was up at 5:30 am cleaning puppy crap.  I had people come over while I was at work and I made sure that I was home by at least 6:30 so that I could pick up more puppy crap.  AND then I would go back out every night at 10 for the last clean up of the day.  And every time I was out with the puppies it was at least 1 hour of cleaning.

So thinking that an end was near b/c I was seriously getting so overwhelmed and burned out on Christmas Eve morning Holly came over to help me vaccinate 16 puppies and to help clean up after them.  I swear they go worse as the week went on with the amount of poop.

As we are vaccinating the puppies the runt of the one litter (we called them the rottens) got up, walked away from her bed and pooped WATER!  My exact words were FUCK!

I took her to the vet and she tested positive for Parvo.

The vet gave me medicine for all 16 puppies and I went home and separated her from the rest of the puppies.  gave everyone medicine, canceled the spay/neuter appointment and let all the people adopting know that one puppy got sick.

The puppy that was sick didn't act like a parvo puppy.. she ate a little, drank a little and just wanted to sleep.  By Thursday no one else had gotten sick SO I re scheduled appointments and told everyone that they could come get their puppy and foster it until surgery.

Well a few more have gotten sick, just not as bad and I am going to loose my mind!

First of all I DID NOT WANT EITHER OF THESE LITTERS!  I knew that I couldn't handle them.  I am 9 weeks from giving birth and I knew that I would be tired and not feeling good and I didn't want to take care of puppies.
WELL GUESS THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN NOW DID IT!!

I am so pissed off right now for being in this situation.   Next year when someone says they want to foster a dog that is a shelter, they are keeping that dog or dogs until it gets adopted.

I AM F-ING DONE!!!!!!

Weird adoption event

We had our monthly adoption event on Saturday.  What a weird day.  We were busy like always but sure seemed like people were window shopping.  Janie a poor little dog that is just full of life (aka high energy) did meet her new family but they aren't picking her up until Christmas Eve.  And Sade this REALLY COOL Pit Bull met his new family.  AND Koby met his but other then that slow day.  

I had a women who volunteers at the dog pound come over to the adoption event with a dog in hand, some type of hound beagle mix thing and try to pressure me into taking the dog.  It was the most uncomfortable feeling ever.  She was being really really pushy.  Until I got angry with her and really stern she wasn't going to take no for an answer.  I can't take hounds/beagles anything that is a known barker.  Sorry!  I told her flat out she is more then welcome to go to my neighbor and call his lawyer if she would like to take it up with them.

Then I had a guy get all "wrinkle faced and insulted" when I told him that we couldn't adopt to him unless his dog was neutered.  I really wasn't in a mood for it and I got snotty with him.  I told him do you think I do this for fun?  Do you think that these puppies are here because someone was responsible?  No they are hear because someone didn't fix their dog and trust me I don't do this for money, finding dogs homes, I do this because people don't fix their dogs and then don't take responsibility for the lives they created!  And I just walked away.

THEN I had a couple, nice couple who was interested in Slade.  I thought they were the couple that was already pre-approved... they were there right at 11am and we are always so busy and a volunteer said, the couple that is already has an application in for Slade is here.  What I didn't realize is they had turned in an application at 5:30, I never saw it b/c I left work at 5 on Friday and didn't look at my email again that night or on Saturday.  SO I wrongfully assumed that they were the couple from Lyndhurst.  Anyway, I told them if they were interested in adopting Slade they just needed to let me know and I we would set up a home visit.

Anyway, long story short is they emailed me saying they wanted Slade, I realized what had happened and emailed them back telling them.  Well they got all WE WERE FIRST WE WANT HIM YOU SAID WE COULD HAVE HIM!  Honestly felt like I was dealing with two spoiled 5 year old. UGH!  I had to call them and tell them NO your application hasn't been processed yet.  Kinda of hard to do that when you sent it at 5:30 last night and it is 2pm on Saturday!  They really made me mad b/c it isn't first come first serve it is whoever is best for the dog period and end!

It was just a strange day!