The Price of Success?

Riley, an almost senior dog, was adopted!

My least favorite part of rescue work is placing an animal I am attached to in a new home. Of course I know it's the best thing for them; that doing so makes room for another animal who may otherwise die in a kill-shelter; that I definitely cannot keep every animal I love, and that it is my duty to do this very thing. Logically, this little machine we have built is running just as it should. We are saving dogs and cats, caring for them well and finding them wonderful homes. Emotionally, however, I am finding myself in need of a tune-up.

What I did not consider when I started my own rescue is how many adoptions I would be doing! When I was with another rescue group, the animals in my home were just a few of the total number of animals in the organization. But now, with all our animals under my care, every application for an adoption comes directly to me; every animal that leaves Almost Home for a new life and forever family is a goodbye that must be endured. I get to do all the celebrating, but also get to do all the grieving.

Shiloh found her forever home!

This week has proven particularly wonderful, perplexing and difficult all at the same time. Our pet listings finally went public (meaning all legal paperwork is now in order enough to qualify to reach millions via pet adoption websites). In just the first few days of going public, my mailbox filled with applications. In the last few days, two of my hard-to-place dogs have found their forever homes, two adoptions are pending and another is in the works. This is remarkable and I am thrilled, but also finding the whole experience emotionally exhausting. It has always taken me a couple days to recover from each adoption. Now, I am finding myself without time to come up for air between them. I don't know if the current rate of adoptions from Almost Home is a trend that will continue, is related to the season or is just a fluke. And, I am certainly not complaining about what it means for our critters. I began this project with the worry that keeping our rescue small would fail to make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but five adoptions per week certainly puts those concerns to rest.

Riley with his new Mommy before leaving our shelter!

So, I am adjusting. When I began rescuing animals, I told myself that if the time ever came when I wasn't sad saying goodbye, I needed to evaluate why because I did not want the experience to harden me. I am grateful my job has not become rote; that my heart is as open as it was when I began, as that means my animals are receiving what they need from me while in my care. And, as I am saying goodbye to an animal I have loved, however briefly, I am content in knowing I did so with my whole heart.

Dumped

We took the back roads home from a late night trip to the store last night. At night-time, with no streetlights on narrow gravel roads, it's a bit of a creepy drive through thick wooded areas separated by barren fields and cow pastures. Because of this, my daughter and I immediately noticed when an oncoming car turned onto the road we were about to turn on and abruptly stopped. When their interior light came on, we could see the silhouette of an opening car door. Not wanting to encounter someone in the middle of nowhere at night, we were both relieved when the door closed and the car slowly pulled away.

But as I made the turn onto the same road, we immediately saw why the car had stopped. Running in frantic circles, in the middle of the road, was what looked to be a small Rottweiler mix. We figured the other car had perhaps tried to help this dog but couldn't catch him, so I was surprised when he ran right up to me when I called. He leaped into my back seat. It was only when I began to pet him that I realized what we had just witnessed. Though it was 30 degrees out, his fur was nice and warm. The poor baby, who looked to be maybe eight or nine months old, had just been dumped by his family.

A mix of sadness for this sweet boy and fury for the horrible people who'd just thrown him out like trash flooded my senses. My attention shifted to the road ahead, where I saw the dumpers had stopped to watch us. When I got back in the driver's seat, they sped off, throwing gravel up in their quick exit. We never caught up with them.

Fortunately, we have space for him on our shelter. I'd just set up a kennel for a former foster dog that is, unfortunately, coming back, so I got our new boy settled in with fresh blankets, new toys, cold water and a bowl of food. After he settled in a bit, the two of us hung out in the lobby, where he met the resident cats, showed me his tennis ball skills, gobbled up some canned food with de-wormer hidden in it and let me apply flea medication.

I have rescued many dumped dogs in my years doing this. I have never, ever understood how someone can just abandon their pet in the middle of a road. The idea sickens me, but to be witness to it in action adds a whole new level of disgust.

And this is how it goes in rescue. Just when you are filled to the brim and barely have room and resources for more, an animal that needs you desperately comes along. You have to figure a way to make it work because the finger of responsibility points at you.

Don't worry, little buddy, you're almost home.

A Very Special Announcement

If you haven't already given up reading this blog due to my unexplained absence, then I applaud your patience and shall reward you by letting you in on some very special happenings.

I did not just fall off the face of the earth for eight months, but I did go on quite a journey. Last winter, a sort of perfect storm of events combined in my life. I will skip all the mundane details, but will share that these events lead to some serious soul-searching. I was very unhappy with where I was living, as neighbors were making fostering extremely difficult. The short story is that I faced the choice of no longer fostering or figuring out a way to do so without offending the neighbors.

When it comes to choosing between people and animals, you can bet animals come at the top of the list, so before we knew it, a search was on for a new place to live. Perhaps it was divine intervention, good karma or just hard work and perseverance, but from the moment we made the decision to move, things fell into place with little effort. We found a beautiful, secluded home on twenty acres with a brand new out-building, just begging to be converted into an animal shelter.

With the help of many people, we have built Almost Home Rescue & Sanctuary. I am so excited to make our new venture official by this announcement. It's been hard keeping it under wraps!

Please, visit our website to read all about us and see photos of our facility! You can find us here: Almost Home Rescue & Sanctuary 

This couldn't have happened without the help of many people. A huge thank you to Nick at O'Fallon/Warrenton Fence, who converted our building, built our dog yards, put up with a million last-minute changes, donated a beautiful window for our shelter's loft and even helped us move supplies from the old place to the new! If you need a fence built, be sure to look him up. He's fantastic!

Also, big thanks to our new friend and attorney, Peter Merideth at GroundUp STL. He roots for the underdog, bites when needed and can even sing and dance (really!). From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for taking on the daunting task of government paperwork and answering our panicked phone calls when doggy-do was hitting the fan. If you need an attorney with a heart who can also pack a punch, look him up. He's wonderful!

We are looking forward to many years helping the critters in our community. Stay tuned here for updates!

A New Start for a New Year

It was late in the evening when we got the call . . . two dogs on a chain outside an abandoned house. Could we take them? I called back and, honestly, was thinking they'd have to be evaluated first; shelter staff would have to discuss if there really was room, etc. But when I heard their story and discussed it with other shelter volunteers, there was no doubt these dogs needed to be unchained . . . immediately.

You see, these dogs, a Shepherd/Husky Mix and her Boxer mix puppy had lived at the end of their chains for 9 and 4 years, respectively.

A huge storm was brewing outside. The kind of Spring Missouri Storm that brings threat of tornado. The dogs' caretaker cautioned that, with all the rain, the dogs' area would be so muddy we'd be unable to access it for another week. Somehow, one more week for those dogs seemed too much. I picked up another volunteer and we headed to the abandoned house.

It was, undoubtedly, a dramatic rescue. In the dark, rain, thunder and lightening, we met our new dogs, freed them from their chains and loaded them in the car. By midnight, we were at our shelter . . . all four of us, dogs and people, soaked to the bone and unsure what the future would bring for these poor babies, but sure it had to be better than the lives they lived before.

Tai and Tater lived at our shelter for over a year. During that year, Tai was diagnosed with cancer. Everyone who knew Tai and Tater loved them. These two big dogs, with such a sad story, were the gentlest beings one could ever know. Their hard lives had, miraculously, not succeeded at hardening them one bit. We were faced with such a dilemma. Occasionally, someone would apply to adopt Tater and, though it was never the right match for Tater, the thought of having to break the pair up pained everyone. We couldn't imagine Tai living at the shelter without her boy. In fact, we worried she wouldn't survive the separation.

Finally, I was able to bring Tai and Tater to my house to foster. It took some rearranging of my foster animals and a little remodeling work by my handyman friend, but we constructed a place Tai and Tater could live comfortably. My thought was that it would at least give Tater a shot at a home and that Tai would do better in a home with a foster parent than at a shelter alone. We took some new photos and wrote a new bio with a plea for a home for Tai and Tater together. And waited.

Then a miracle happened. Someone wanted both Tai and Tater! Someone willing to sign up for the heartbreaking task of adopting a senior dog with a medical diagnoses and willing to work with two dogs who'd had a rough existence. After almost two years in a shelter and then a foster home, Tai and Tater were going home!

It was a special Christmas this year, as I spent my last couple days with these two beautiful creatures. It was not an easy goodbye. I was so relieved to have been spared the decision of breaking Tai and Tater apart, but my resolve that I'd probably have Tai until her time was up was hard to let go of. It's always bittersweet to say goodbye, but this one was especially hard. It was also a goodbye worth celebrating, as Tai and Tater are getting the happy ending so many of us hoped for, but didn't expect.

Perhaps it's a good sign for a wonderful, new year. For sure, it's a wonderful new year for Tai and Tater.


Be good babies, enjoy your life and know that I'll always love you!

Tater, Tai and their new, human sister, on the couch

Tater, Tai and their new, human sister, getting used to the neighborhood