Flight for Life Sends 20 Dogs to NH

Here's a video about Operation Pets Alive! and Cloud Nine's second "Flight for Life", which sent 20 rescued dogs from Montgomery County, Texas, to a Shelter partner in New Hampshire. Thanks to all who helped make this flight possible!

From Operation Pets Alive's Facebook site, February 28, 2011:
"BIG THANK YOU to Lone Star Animal Welfare League (formerly The Woodlands Dog Park Club) for funding OPA'S recent FLIGHT FOR LIFE!! Without your generosity 12 shelter dogs would not have the same chance for adoption that they now have. In fact, 7 "short listed" dogs were in urgent need of "saving". Way to step up and take action!! In addition, this flight allowed OPA to keep 6 pups out of the shelter and give them a great chance of finding a wonderful home! Hats off to you!"

The Volunteer Arms Race of Dedication

In the 10 years I’ve been doing animal rescue work, I’ve found that disputes and divergences are rampant among the rescue community.  Animal rescue work is a highly emotional enterprise, and it attracts tireless, but strongly opinionated people.  It’s extremely challenging to get people to sign on to a single course of action—which is why groups tend to splinter and re-splinter as people choose to pursue their own view of what needs to be done.

One core problem we have as volunteers is that we are not affiliated with a 501(c)(3) group.  We work as a loose network, with only minimal oversight provided by the County.  Registered 501(c)(3) groups do work with the Shelter, but we don’t have a dedicated (privatized) group that runs the Shelter. The County runs the Shelter.  The head honcho is a Constable, which gives the entire endeavor a police-law enforcement sort of mentality.

Our volunteers end up in an arms race of dedication—with the pressure to do more and more.  This weekend, I was at two events, and was gone from my own dogs from 8:30 a.m. to 9:20 p.m., except for a brief stop to feed and run my own animals.  

At the second event, a large off-site event, I did not stay to the bitter end with the Off-Site Coordinator, who still had to oversee the return of about 20 animals to the Shelter, plus finish paperwork.  Not mention she had the two or three loads of stinky blankets shoved into her van.  My guess is that this volunteer didn’t get home, whereupon she still had to tend to her own foster dogs, wash the dirty blankets, and take care of her own needs.  I wouldn’t be surprised to find out she collapsed into bed about 1:00 a.m.

When new people begin doing off-sites, they plunge in full force—one twenty-something man and his girlfriend hauled 12 large dogs to a Wine Festival and adopted 7, with a “promise” from someone to come on Sunday for one of the 4 remaining dogs.  The couple expressed amazement that everyone couldn’t have this sort of “success”—after all, the man told me, they took photos of each dog and made up professional flyers for each animal, plus they bathed all their dogs before the event. 

I felt like such a slacker—I don’t bathe my Shelter dogs and only make up flyers for my individual fosters.  I did keep my mouth shut, though, and didn’t comment on how many dogs might be returned from that event once the festival-attendees lose the glow from their wine-tasting.

Between the volunteers who bathe and haul, the ones who spend hundreds of dollars out their own pockets to provide outside veterinarian care for the Shelter dogs, the ones who hijack their family’s bathtubs and fill them with newborn puppies, and the ones who create “kitten hotels” in their spare bedrooms, we aren’t lacking for dedication.  But sometimes I wonder if our volunteer work is actually hurting more than it helps.

Certainly the animals benefit, but one fact remains:  no matter how much we do as volunteers, the dogs and cats, puppies and kittens keep coming in to the Shelter.  Our local Craigslist brims with animals up for sale or re-homing.  Backyard breeders park their pickups on busy roadsides and offer purebred puppies for sale.  We have a “Puppy Store” in the area and another pet store that sells puppies and kittens in the local shopping mall.  Our newspapers are chock full of classified ads peddling animals.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep plugging along—I may not bathe the big dogs I haul to Off-Site Events, and I don’t take home litters of puppies to nurse along,  but I’m in this for the long haul.  Pacing myself is the key.

Atticus Unchained

Atticus Unchained
Originally uploaded by Calsidyrose

Atticus is going home--to a new home, a forever home. Removed from the Shelter, after facing certain death to severe decline (see "Saving Atticus," September 11, 2009), Atticus is on his way from Houston to a new home in upstate New York.

He joined a convoy of 90 animals, mostly Labradors and Lab mixes, bound from Texas, where the hunting culture produces untold numbers of Lab puppies, to the Northern U.S., where Labs are in high demand but rare in shelters. He'll be adopted by a family who has been thoroughly interviewed, and who will pay a fee that covers his transportation costs.

Here in Texas, Atticus will be greatly missed by his foster Mom and her Husky, Togo. During his confinement for heartworm treatment, Atticus blossomed, gaining weight, growing sleek, and regaining the loving gleam in his eye. He is everything that people adore about Labs: shiny, sturdy, friendly and eager to please. He will be missed by those of us who saw the diamond personality hidden under his dull sooty coat as he hunkered, hacking and shivering, in a dank kennel, but we know he'll find the love and good care that he so much deserves.

Godspeed, Atticus!

-*-
Artwork by C. B.

Saving Atticus

I don’t normally do rescue transport—I spend more time doing commuter hauling of Shelter dogs to and from Off-sites. But on Wednesday, I stepped in to help an older Black Labrador get out of the Shelter and into a safe house. His Shelter name was “Lassoe” but now he bears the more dignified moniker of “Atticus,” short for Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird renown.

I’d already had a long day--working an Off-site at PetsMart for the company’s “Second Chance at Love” promotion, although none of my five Shelter dogs got a second chance that day due to rain and other unknown factors. After turning over my shift at 3:15 p.m., I went to the High School to pick up my daughter, who ended up shanghaied for the ride to the Shelter and beyond. She was cranky about this disruption in her schedule, but if Atticus didn’t get to the kennel by 6:00 p.m. (It was now 4:30 p.m.) he would miss his appointment at the Vet’s, scheduled or the next day. Lab-to-Rescue, a local group, had agreed to take him into their program, but we had to do the transport.

Atticus was in the Blue room, with the word “DESPERATE” scrawled across his kennel card. He had worms and mange, and was severely underweight. But his tail never stopped wagging as I snapped on a leash and led him out to my van.

Riding loose in the rear seat didn’t work—Atticus is a shot-gun riding dog—so we had to stop and swap my 15-year-old (who was rather sulky about all this) to the back seat. I drove for 40 minutes in rain and rush-hour traffic to get to a kennel that works with rescue groups, stopping once at a gas station to let my daughter get a Snapple (bribery—yes). I walked Atticus, and this old dog still has some hunt left in him—a flock of grackles streaked across the cloudy sky and Atticus snapped to attention, his head raised, eyes gleaming. Even sick and emaciated, the old dog still has that Lab joie de vivre! What a trouper!

Back on the road, we made it to Strawberry Dog, the kennel, in time to settle Atticus in a crate. And we made it home safe, which is a miracle in itself—Houston area roads are horrible during rainy weather. I learned today that Atticus has received his first round of meds from the vet. When he is fully healthy, this senior Lab, who is clearly a retired hunting dog, will be taken up north to New England, where he’ll be placed in a carefully selected home to live out the rest of his days. I hope whoever ends up with Atticus appreciates this true Southern gentleman.

What Would You Wish For?

If you had a fairy dogmother, as someone passionate about animal welfare issues, what would you wish for? Would it be for pet owners to spay and neuter all their animals? For low-cost vet care for those who need financial assistance? For the end of back-yard-breeding? Or puppy mills? Or dog auctions? Or kill shelters? Or something else?

If I could ask my fairy dogmother for one wish, it would be for people to realize that a dog is not a toy, a fashion accessory, a movie tie-in, a fad item, or a décor item that will improve your image.

If people to put more thought into their decision to get a dog, many problems would diminish or even entirely disappear. Your dog can be many things, but disposable shouldn’t be one of them.

Puppies are wonderful, but they grow up. And adult dogs are great, but you can’t put them on a shelf or park them in a garage after a year or two. As your dog ages, it’s not fair to your senior dog to hand it off just because you don’t have the commitment to take on the needs of an older animal.

In the volunteer group I work with, we don’t all agree on what makes an ideal adoption candidate. My foundation in dog rescue began with a private group, with the motto, “A Pet Is Not a Toy; It Is For Life.” We were picky about placing animals. Of course, we didn’t always make good judgments, but we took our time. At the Shelter, there are so many animals, it’s tempting to let a lot of things slide and settle for a “good-enough” home rather than the ideal “forever home.”

I know that not every home can be the forever home, but I don’t believe a dog is a good impulse acquisition. Our adoption process at the Shelter makes me feel rushed. It's hard to focus on what's best for the animal when there is continued pressure to keep the adoption numbers moving up. However, just because someone says they want a dog when they see a cute puppy doesn’t mean they need to take a dog home right that moment.

I like for my adopters to consider these questions:

1. Do you realize that a Shelter dog often needs to be re-introduced to the skills needed to be a good pet--such as housebreaking and walking nicely on a leash?
2. Does everyone in the family want a dog, and have you decided who will be the primary caregiver?
3. What will it be like for the dog while you are at work? While you travel?
4. Are you willing to put some time and effort into training a dog?
5. What will you do with the dog when you evacuate for a hurricane?
6. The adoption fee is minimal compared to the yearly costs of maintaining an animal. Are you prepared to spend the money on preventive health care (e.g. heartworm), decent quality food, secure fencing, etc.?

These questions are not on our adoption questionnaire. The answers given indicate, to a large extent, whether the person has done some basic research. This won't guarantee a forever home, but I think it makes for a better starting point.

What wish would you ask your fairy dogmother to grant you or your rescue group? Leave a comment and let me know.

-*-
Photo: My dog Cross patiently awaits your command.

Guarding Against Burnout

Observation: The Shelter receives an endless parade of abandoned, unwanted, surrendered, forgotten, left-over dogs.

I place one in foster here, adopt-to-foster another, see the finalization of the adoption of a third dog, and take another foster home. Four, eight, 10, 25, 32 dogs—maybe a few more—so far this year have come into my advocacy as a volunteer for my county Animal Shelter. I have lost one foster dog to distemper (Queeny, a heeler mix who I nursed for more than a week), returned one foster back to the Shelter (Darla, who bit my own dog) and have seen at least three of my “adoptions” return to the Shelter.

What am I doing wrong? That’s the question that arises—and it is one of the first symptoms of burnout.

For the past two weekends, I’ve not done Off-Site Adoptions, and my team leader coordinator is frustrated with me. Last week, I wanted to celebrate my daughter’s 15th birthday on April 11th, and I had church obligations Friday and Sunday. Plus I had an emergency vet visit.

Yesterday, we had our second day of extremely wet weather—we recorded more than five inches of rain at our house between Friday and Saturday. Many of our Off-Sites were cancelled due to the weather. I could have helped or led one, but didn’t.

This morning, I declined to run an Off-Site because of church obligations. My church services let out at 12:15 p.m. By the time I come home, change and get to the Shelter it is after 1:00 p.m. Getting animals and getting to the local PetsMart can take up to an hour. If I don’t pack up and leave the PetsMart by 3:00 p.m., the Shelter staff leaves before I arrive back at the Shelter. Unloading animals and finishing paperwork takes at least 30 to 45 minutes, and generally consumes an hour. By now it is 4:45 p.m. I’m exhausted, the dogs have missed the feeding time, and in the brief time I was at the PetsMart, I may not have completed any adoptions.

Frustration builds. This is another symptom of burnout.

It was not easy to tell my Team Leader I will not be volunteering Off-Site today. She is frustrated, too. She sees PetsMart locations without our presence. She sees dogs that languish in the Adoption Room. She tries to be five places at once. I don’t want to see her burnout. But the danger is there.

I want to volunteer. I will continue to volunteer. However, I can’t do it around the clock, every weekend. I don’t like to haul six dogs to a PetsMart and do all the set-up and take-down by myself. And on the days there are no adoptions, it is depressing. No matter how many hours we invest, the dogs keep coming into the Shelter.

Our volunteers are awesome and dedicated beyond belief. However, when we crash in burnout, it hurts us and our families. And it hurts the dogs. Succumbing to guilt when we can’t staff every event does nothing to help to the dogs. There will always be more dogs. We have to focus our energy, and pace ourselves for the long haul.

How do you guard against burnout? What works with your group? Please leave me your thoughts.

Post-Exchange--Dogs Deserve Freedom

I am finding my way slowly into the blog world of animal rescue. The first blog I came upon is Dogs Deserve Freedom (DDF), at http://dogsdeservefreedom.blogspot.com/ I had been reading as a "lurker" for some time. Her passion for justice and love of animals fills DDF's posts!

I owe DDF a thank-you for providing me with the nudge I needed to start my own blog. Back in early March, I was reading the DDF blog and realized I wanted to write about the same things. That same day, I designed a banner and uploaded my own blog. I added DDF to my "Blogs I Follow" list and I check it often to see what is posted and who is reading. I'm still learning how to use the blogging tools, so please forgive me that I don't yet know how to highlight the link. Drop by if you haven't already sampled "Dogs Deserve Freedom."

-*-
Vintage dog graphic, scanned from my personal collection.

Meet My Mutts

I have two rescue dogs of my own—a 9-year-old male stag red miniature pinscher (adopted in 2001), an avid hunter who has never figured out he’s been neutered, and a 5-year-old black-and-white rat terrier mix girl with fluffy hair and terminal cuteness (adopted in 2004). Taco is named after the southernmost Taco Bell in Louisiana. Cross answers to her rescue name--as a puppy she had a white "cross" marking on her forehead--which stuck because she was the group’s official mascot for two years. Both dogs like living in Texas, and they're tolerant of the fosters who cycle in and out of my house. Taco requires payment in treats, but Cross just wants a little lap time without having to share.