Saturday, April 17, 2010

Another rescue

An e-mail came from a previous adopter, telling us about a dog that needed help.  The dog had been abandoned by its owners and taken up residence at a neighbor's house.  The neighbors were unable to keep him, and he was in danger of being shot (an all too common method to get rid of unwanted dogs in rural areas around here with no animal control).   We wanted to help, but there are always too many dogs and not enough available foster homes.  Fortunately one of our volunteers made arrangements to get him into an area shelter temporarily until he could be adopted or we had an opening in a foster home.  And so I drove out after work one night and met the family that had been taking care of him, and brought him home with me for the night.   


 I called him Jack, in honor of another Yellow Lab named Jack who has his own blog.  My past experiences with labs have always included a lot of wild behavior.  So I figured since I already have three fosters who like to engage in wild puppy behavior, it would be easy to take Jack to the shelter in the morning where I knew he would be very well cared for.  


But Jack surprised me.  He is probably only a year or two old, but he wasn't wild at all.  He rode calmly on the front seat next to me for the 45 minute drive home.  He waited calmly in the garage while I went inside to get him some food and water.  Then he ate dinner, and relaxed in the grass in the front yard while I went back inside to take care of the other animals.  He never barked or made a sound.  He was affectionate and loving.  He spent the night in Rachael's room with her and the cats and was just about perfect.  I could hardly bear to take him to the shelter the next morning.  If I knew he'd been vaccinated, I probably would have kept him as another foster.  But I have to be careful who I foster right now since Ziggy was sick and he could have left some dangerous germs behind for unvaccinated dogs.  So I dropped him off at the shelter the next morning, with strict instructions pleas to keep me informed on how he did. 

Jack has now been named Rolo, and I'm pretty sure he will be adopted rather quickly.  He's getting a lot of love and affection from shelter workers and volunteers, and tomorrow he goes to his first off-site adoption event.  It'll be at a different location than I will be with Ziggy, Rachel and Kirsten, so I won't get to see him, but I really hope he finds his forever home.  It's a far cry from almost being shot.  Sometimes people question why so many volunteers do this, day after day, without pay, and with all of the hassle and heartache that can come along with rescue.  But this is why.  Each one we save makes it all worthwhile.

13 comments:

3 doxies said...

Awwwwee...Jack or Rolo or whatever you want to call him is BEAUTIFUL!!! I hope he finds a wonderful, loving forever home. I know all too well about the act of shooting dogs so they don't have to be "dealt" with. I live in a rural area as well and it happens quite often around here...and we do have Animal Control, thouh you can never get them when you need them. Our vet even ha problem with people droping off animal at his home.

Raising Addie said...

What a sweet boy!

We will keep all our paws crossed that he finds his forever home fast!

Chasing my tale...
Addie, Lucie and Hailey

P.S. Thank you for visiting our blog! You do great work helping these pups.

JacksDad said...

I don't know... Jack sounded like a pretty good name to me. Especially when he turned out to be good and nice and gentle and kind. I'm gonna keep calling him Jack :)

Kari in Alaska said...

I liked the name Jack better :) He looks like a very special pup

the booker man said...

holy cow!! it's my long lost brother!!! he's a good boy, and he is gonna make a special family super duper happy. i've got my paws crossed for a speedy fast adoption.
*woof*
the booker man

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

Oh, I do so wish we could come and scoop him up. He sounds lovely. Please keep us posted with anything you hear about how he's doing.

wags, Lola

Remington said...

Nice to meet you Rolo. I like your name. You are so lucky to have found a friend that gave you a safe place. I am certain you will find a loving and happy forever home. You look like a really nice guy. Have a nice day.

Golden Woofs! SUGAR said...

Woof! Woof! Hi There. It's Sugar here. Just want to let you know that you WON one of the GABE prizes. For sure one of your pup will be very happy. Please provide us your info so we can mail your prize. On my blog Contact ME is our email address. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

Mollie Jo and Bobo said...

We know exactly how it is. Glad he got out of that original situation. He is a handsome boy and will find a home soon.


Wags and Licks,
Mollie Jo & Bobo & Uncle Puppy by proxy

Lorenza said...

Jack sure is a happy boy and I am sure he will find a lovely family who will take good care of him.
You are the best DFM!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Kapitein Haakje said...

hi Dog foster mom :)
thank fur visiting GABE :)
we dont have a dogfoster mom as furiend so yeaaah :D now we got one

Kissslobbers
El'bow & Hauwii

havetailwillwag said...

aww... you have such a big heart! i'm sure jack/rolo will be fine and find a new home. he's adorable and with that awesome personality, people will be lining up to adopt him.

ocmist said...

What a sweet looking boy! We sure hope that he has found a wonderful forever home, where he will be able to have someone to love and to love him! The Country Corgis