I have a beautiful story I wanted to share with you all. It is a long
one, but worth the read. My purpose of sharing this story is to remind
everyone how working together and putting in a little effort, can be a
magical thing for the dogs we all try to save. This a touching tale of
2 different dogs, whose fate was remarkably changed by people coming
together for the sole purpose of saving their lives.
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If you follow my emails, you will probably remember a little black pit
mix named Sugar. She was found as a stray, full of milk, babies
nowhere in sight. She ended up at a St. Louis area animal control
facility. There had been no offers on her, and when we were leaving
one day, we were informed that she as well as 2 others would be
euthanized in the morning due to lack of space. With only 15 minutes
to save their lives, I contacted a rescue friend who agreed to tag
them, and we would work something out for them by the morning. Later
that evening, a wonderful rescue group, Dont Bully My Breed, INC
posted her photo on their facebook page. A woman named Hannah from
Indianapolis, IN fell completely in love. Although she was reluctant
knowing the dog was rather far away, she pursued it anyway. She agreed
to be a foster to adopt, and passed the application process and home
visit with flying colors. Hannah waited patiently while Sugar
recovered from kennel cough and other minor health issues, and we made
arrangements for transport once Sugar had been spayed and vaccinated.
This past Thurs, a friend of mine and I traveled to Terre Haute, IN to
meet with Hannah so she could take Sugar home. Hannah and her friend
Leah drove off with a happy Sugar off to her new life. Sugar is doing
wonderful in their home with the 2 other dogs and couldn't be happier
in her new home! I have attached a picture of her in bed with her new
dog siblings!
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Sugar's story is wonderful, but here is where a new story begins.
Saturday afternoon, I received an email from a local rescue friend
Tammi. A friend of hers in Indianapolis, IN runs a car dealrship. They
saw a young male pit mix, huddled in a corner outside, shivering. They
invited him in to the building, where he immediately came out of his
shell. He had some cuts around his neck from his chain, and was
missing the pads on his rear paws. This area is known for the extreme
gang activity, and there is also known pitbull fighting rings in the
area. It is a war zone, where on any given day, a dead body will
appear in an alley somewhere. The man knew he could not leave the dog
there, but had nowhere to take him. They would be leaving work in
about 3 hours, and without anywhere to go, the dog would be released
back onto the vicious streets, where he would likely die from freezing
to death, or picked up to be a bait dog. Knowing I had no rescue
contacts in Indiana, I contacted Dont Bully My Breed to see if they
had any contacts in the area. They were able to provide some contact
info, and I passed it along to Tammi. She contacted them and left a
message, but due to the urgency, we had to continue to work on it. It
was clear to me that I only knew one person in the whole state of
Indiana, who I had met for the first time on Thursday, Hannah, Sugar's
new mom. I thought it was worth a try and sent her a message asking if
any of her friends would be interested in keeping him safe until a
rescue could be found. Within minutes, Hannah called and said her
friend Leah who had come along for the ride on Thursday, was not only
interested in helping, but possibly adopting! They had been wanting to
adopt a rescue dog. I put Tammi and Leah in touch with each other, and
Tammi thoroughly explained that there was no history on this dog and
all precautionary measures that were needed to ensure her family's
safety as well as the dog's. Leah has 3 daughters ranging from 5 to 11
years old, and Tammi covered every aspect of making sure everyone was
protected. Within just a short time, Tammi had been in contact with a
rescue contact who picked the dog up, and began the 45 min journey to
Leah's house, not only for an introduction, but to evaluate the home
setting. As you will see, everything went better than planned. Leah
had immediately gone out and picked up a crate and everything she
needed to invite this dog into their home. This dog is now named
Bruno, and after a nice bath, he is spending this night cuddled up
next to his new parents in their warm, soft bed. Bruno will be getting
vetted next week, and he will now begin a new life of his own.
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The moral of the story, is that even when things seem hopeless, reach
out and ask for help. Don't give up on these dogs, because you may be
their only link between life and death. When people work together and
focus their energy on each individual dog, you will see that so many
others will end up with a wonderful fate like these 2. If the rescue
had not posted Sugar on their facebook page, and Hannah seen her
picture, Bruno would not have stood a chance. It is a very small world
we are living in, and each positive action you take, may bring you
that much closer to helping another dog in need.
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This was a good week, and I wanted you all to end your week with happy
and positive thoughts as well. Thanks to all of you who work so hard
to save dogs like these, in whatever way you do so. It is these
stories that keep us motivated to keep doing what we do! A special
thanks to Dont Bully My Breed, INC, Hannah, Leah, and Tammi for their
roles in saving these 2 precious babies.