Piper's Story

As a puppy, Piper probably looked something like this:

Like many dogs, Piper at one point found herself without a home. She may have been given away free to a good home on CraigsList, or perhaps she was just let loose in the country to fend for herself. Whatever happened, she ended up at the home of an animal hoarder. Yesterday, when the animals were rescued, authorities found between 100-150 animals on the property, including dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, goats, and several other animals including several doves and a skunk living INSIDE the house! Many different shelters and rescue groups stepped up to save these animals and get them the care they needed. TASTC, a wonderful shelter in the area, worked hard to find temporary foster homes for these animals.

When All Paws Rescue, the group I volunteer with, stepped forward and offered to foster up to ten of the dogs, I was very proud to be part of such an amazing group of people. We were told the dogs were mostly under two years old and were small breeds which should be easily adoptable once they were released by the courts for adoption. We made arrangements for the dogs (I offered to take only one because I have several other foster dogs currently), and we waited for the call to come get them. As the hour approached, I prepared to leave work and head to the pre-appointed meeting place to pick up the dogs. Several other rescue groups were also meeting there to take in the dogs that they had offered to help. Then I got a phone call. It was my friend who was coordinating the rescue for All Paws and had offered to take four of them herself. She told me that among the many young small-breed dogs, they found a 16 year old pit bull. My heart fell – who would take this dog? All the groups helping out were anticipating dogs such as Maltese and Chihuahuas and Italian Greyhounds – the chances of someone taking an elderly pit bull were very slim. It’s not that the rescuers didn’t want to help her – but a commitment to foster a highly adoptable dog for thirty days is quite a bit different than a commitment to foster a 16-year-old pit bull who will have a really tough time finding a home. Still, this dog deserved to get into a foster home more than any of them. So I called the nice people at Wonder Weims who were coordinating all of the rescuers, and asked about the 16-year-old pit bull. That’s when I found out the dog was blind, and had a growth on her, and was very sweet. I asked what would happen to her, and at the time they had not found anyone to take her. That’s when I heard the words coming out of my mouth – “I’ll take her, at least temporarily.” I knew that my house was not the best situation for her – she’s mostly blind and very frail, and I have several energetic large dogs who would easily bowl her over. But at least she could stay with me until a longer-term foster home was found.

So a few hours later, the transport van pulled up in the parking lot, and they began to hand out dogs to the various groups for fostering. I helped load up the All Paws dogs, and quickly fell in love with a scruffy little Chihuahua pup. The dogs, although skinny and extremely smelly, were all adorable. Then as most of the other dogs were led away, they brought out Piper.

This frail, malnourished dog was missing an eye and looked overwhelmed by the noise and the people. As I walked her around the parking lot, she sniffed everyone she passed and even wagged her tail. She was not a small, fluffy little dog that everyone would want. She could barely walk, and stumbled several times. Her skin was awful, and she had several growths that would need checked out. But as I looked in her one good eye, and promised her that I would take care of her, she looked at me with trust and licked my face in thanks.



Piper

Last night Piper got to spend the night in a clean kennel, on a soft bed, with good food and water – all things she hasn’t known in too long. Although it’s obvious that she is confused by her new location and change in circumstances, she continues to be loving and affectionate. I may have given up the adorable Chihuahua pup in order to take Piper (although I’m still trying to figure out how to take them both!) but I know I made the right decision in taking Piper. And while I hope to find her a foster home where she can get more of the attention and care that she deserves, she will have a home here with me for as long as she needs.

There were many heroes in this situation - the people from TASTC and Act Now and WonderWeims who coordinated and made this rescue happen, as well as the many other rescue groups who worked together to save these animals. All of the foster homes and shelter workers have their own rescue stories (one friend has spent the entire day bathing, trimming nails, and deworming eight of these dogs!) This is just Piper’s story, one of over a hundred in this case alone.  And as with all the other rescued animals, Piper's story is really just beginning.

Senior Dogs

While doing some research for my Ten Most Wanted project, I discovered another blog written by another St. Louis area dog foster mom.  It's written by the President of St. Louis Senior Dog Project, a rescue group who mostly focuses on rescuing and adopting out senior dogs.  You can check it out here.  I'm also putting a link to it in the Links to Related Websites section so you can easily find it in the future. 

I like senior dogs - they're a nice rest from the young dogs I usually foster.  The majority of dogs in shelters seem to be around 1 to 2 years of age.  That's the age that families start getting tired of the puppy they got from a friend a few years ago who's grown up now.  The age when the dogs who weren't trained as puppies start becoming problems - the little puppy who liked to jump up and mouth on your fingers was adorable, but the same thing at 50 or 60 pounds just isn't so cute anymore.  Instead of taking the time to work with the dog, people are more likely to develop sudden allergies or find some other reason to dump the dog at a shelter.  So the majority of the dogs I've fostered have been younger.  But there are plenty of senior dogs out there needing homes also, and it's great to have a rescue focus mostly on them.  These are the pets who are more likely to already be housetrained, and don't want to chew up every piece of furniture in your house.  They sleep more and run full-speed around the house less.  Just the thought of it makes me smile.

 

I have only fostered two senior dogs.  One was Benny, a bloodhound mix who we all expected to take awhile to find a home.  He was adopted within a week of me taking him home.  The other is Neo, a purebred Neapolitan Mastiff.  Due to his purebred status and being such a rare breed, he had adoption offers pouring in within days of being put on the web.  He has a family coming from Tennessee to meet him tonight, so hopefully I will be reporting his adoption later this weekend!  So basically my time with these easygoing, calm, sweet senior dogs has been very short.  I'm looking forward to my next senior dog foster. 

All of the pictures of dogs in this post are senior pets currently waiting to be adopted.  The schnauzer at the top is named Shelly and she's from the St. Louis Senior Dog Project.  The Australian Shepherd mix is Cosmo, from Heartland Humane Society.   The white Pointer mix is Maggie, from Tender Care Adoptions.  And to the left is Casey, from All Paws Rescue. 

I love the fact that I can talk about any pet I want on here. I'm no longer linked to any particular rescue group's website, so I have a lot more freedom to support other pets and other rescue groups.  As a new volunteer for All Paws, I was initially concerned that they would ask me not to write about other groups.  But I'm pleased that they've been nothing but supportive of other groups, by word and example.  They're referred adopters to other groups when they didn't have the type of pet the adopter was looking for.  They've also encouraged me to save dogs from anywhere, not just one particular shelter or pound.  They are a great example of what we can all accomplish if we just work together.  So Thank You, All Paws Rescue!  And if you're looking for a rescue to donate to or volunteer with, I highly recommend them. Of course I highly recommend you adopt from them too.  In fact, I highly recommend you adopt from me personally - especially if you're in the market for a cute orange tabby kitten, or a sweet tortoiseshell cat who despises dogs, or a beautiful black cat who answers to Artie.  Or if you want a puppy - I'm pretty sure I know where you can get one or two... or nine.