The Volunteers Behind the Woman

I am so lucky to have such wonderful volunteers to serve in Coastal Pet Rescue. Earlier this month, I had an unexpected trip to the emergency room, the same day I had scheduled to take a mom husky and her seven one-week-old puppies from a deploying soldier. With just three phone calls, I had someone at the house to let all the dogs out for me, and someone to pick up mom and her babies and have them delivered to the house. The next day, we had a big adoption day at Spiva Law Group. Determined to contribute my weight, I got my best friend to come drive me and the rescue truck with all our event equipment to the event location. I was amazed at just how many people beat us there, willing to lend a hand and make sure that I didn't. I was even threatened with duct tape if I tried to move from my chair. I had to just sit back and watch as the volunteers showed me that everything could run smoothly without my participation. I was sort of sad, but at the same time, so proud. We finally have a core group of people who work well with one another and know how to make things work, recruit volunteers, solicit donations, and promote pets for adoption. It made me proud. And our professionalism hasn't gone unnoticed. I have had numerous sponsors tell me how impressed they were with this group. That always makes me light up. And I can't thank them all enough for looking out for me for the next two weeks while I was in recovery, from having meals delivered, help with the pets, or just phone calls to check in, I felt so blessed to have so many people show they cared.

This month has been full of ups and downs. I've been celebrating inside my excitement as a finalist for the eWomenNetwork's Emerging Leader of the Year award. Again, I could not have been this successful without our wonderful volunteers. And once again, they all stepped up to help me, offering to split shifts to let dogs out in my absense. Joan and Mike even went a step further. In addition to offering to puppy sit DaVinci bear, they spent six hours on a Saturday at the mall with me while I shopped for new clothes for my trip. My good friend Lynda even came and cleaned the house, and yesterday, Alexi, Joan and Mike came to reorganize the porch and storage areas and finish doggy laundry so I could do mine. I'm very nervous about the whole trip, but feel so much better that I have these wonderful people around me to share it with.

For another up, my foster dog of three years was finally adopted by one of our volunteers. Cocoa (now Koko) went home after our microchip clinic last Saturday. It was bittersweet. I'm so glad she has a home where she is the center of attention, but I do miss her little surprise kisses when I got under the covers at night and found her hiding, her little stamper up and down the hallway, or nose her way into the bathroom when she decided I didn't need my privacy.

I've spent this month helping a mom raise her seven puppies. I've had the fun of watching the first time they opened their eyes, the first time they ate from a food dish, and as their first teeth came in. Mom's done the best job she can, but has decided she's wiped out. So, now two other foster parents are stepping in to take care of the litter until adoption.

As I said, there have been a lot of ups and downs. Unfortunately, the one big down is something we never want to see in rescue. A puppy we adopted out last December was returned to us for behavior problems. As it turned out, the family had a very difficult time training her, always just giving in to her instead of establishing rules. We took her back, as we always do, and had a behavorist brought it, but it wasn't enough. She lashed out at another dog in her foster home, sending him to the vet for extensive care and drainage tubes. She had gone from being a behavior problem to a major liability, knowing that she could do such damage to another animal or child again. It's always hard for me to have to be the one to make the final call, but sometimes, you have to weigh the safety of others against the life of one. After a chat on the phone with one of the vet techs at our vet office, the decision was made to have her put down. It always hurts so much when we have invested so much to try to save a life to have to end it. I still try to take comfort in knowing we tried everything we could, but sometimes, you just can't save them all.

But since we want to try and save as many as we can, I have started looking for a place to move to where we can make that happen. Our intakes this year have been more than we had all of 2006. Earlier this week, I found a place with an acre of land, and room for a second house or structure. I'm still waiting on my dad (a former architect) to go check everything out for me. If it all works out, it will be the start of the next level of Coastal Pet Rescue. I have such high hopes and dreams for this organization. We now have the people with the heart and dedication, and together, we really can change more lives, one at a time.