From Heartbreaking to Hopeful

A week ago Sunday, Wendy and I drove up to Camden, SC to rescue two Golden Retriever brothers, a young Shepherd puppy, and a female Chihuahua mix. We had gotten an email the week before telling us they were on death row. Knowing that we usually have success with adopting these breeds, we committed to the six-hour trip, also adding on a "hitchhiker" senior Eskie to his new home in Jacksonville on the way back. We departed around 7 am on our journey.

While I love Wendy dearly, I will be the first to tell you she is not a morning person. She is also not someone who will help keep you awake on an early morning drive. She woke up about 20 minutes from our destination when I stopped at a McDonald's in Columbia for a potty break.

I had no idea how rural this shelter was we were going to. I have been to lots of shelters around Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and even the ASPCA in New York. But when we drove up, all I could think was "wow, this really makes Chatham County look good." But what met us on the outside was complete deception.

Normally, the shelter is closed on the weekends, but staff and volunteers come in to take care of the pets and arrange for out-of-area rescues to give reprieves for death row puppies. We were amazed at the friendliness and interaction the folks made with us and the animals. One person took to getting our paperwork ready while Wendy and I went to meet other pets. We were so heartbroken; so many good looking dogs and cats and we only came for three. We watched puppies run together and play in their pool; adult dogs grouped together for play as well. Kittens shared two dog runs where they could climb and be kittens; adult cats napped on top of the runs. With so little given to them, this staff has really done so much.

After thirty minutes, it was apparent we were not headed back to Savannah with just three pups. We contemplated the exact arrangement of crates in the SUV and how we could get everyone back safely and comfortably.

Wendy and I both fell for this beautiful white retriever girl. Wendy said it; I told her we needed to wait and see what else was available, knowing full well we'd be taking her back with us. But Wendy wouldn't let up; she really wanted the retriever. I saw a couple of puppies that caught my eye; they were all so cute, how could you just pick out a couple, but two really struck me. One was a pug/bulldog puppy. It wasn't just her face that struck me, but her fearlessness with the pack. I couldn't resist her. And then there was a carbon-copy of Wendy's beloved Blue, which we later named Bluebelle. And then there was this quiet little puppy in the back of another pen. She caught both our eyes. I picked her up and noticed a little bit of clear discharge from her nose. We figured it was just the start of kennel cough, so decided to keep her separate from the others.

We thought we were done, until a staff member pointed us to two Chihuahuas. They had been seized from a local dog fighting ring. It made me sick to see them, covered in fleas and cowering in the back of the crate. The brindle one was closest to us. He had his head bent down, almost as if he was ashamed for the way he looked. I asked the staff person if she had held him. She said he did fine though he shivered a lot. Behind him was a white pint-sized Chihuahua (the brindle was larger than standard breed size). I asked for a towel to keep my hands from being bit as I reached in to grab the brindle Chi. He did just as the staff member said; I placed him in Wendy's arms and went to get the other one. Just as I entered my hand into the cage, he snapped, an obvious reaction to the life he had been living. I shook my head, knowing we didn't have a place to work with one that had been taken that far away from a loving companion. I told the staff I was sorry, but we would take the brindle one, which we named Jose Cuervo.

So while the staff went to finding all the additional paperwork for the the additional five canines we decided to rescue, I took to getting all the crates rearranged and ready for our long journey home. We left nearly an hour later than I had planned, but Wendy and I both felt great about what we had just done. She even offered to take the retriever (we named Magnolia) home with her. I joked that her husband was going to divorce her, but I knew he'd be just as big a sucker for her as we were.

We drove an hour to Manning, SC, picking up our canine hitchhiker and made good time to get back to the ranch. Wendy took to bathing puppies while I prepped kennels and crates. All puppies settled in after a good meal, and I began uploading photos and descriptions to start adoption promotion.

Throughout the night, I kept an eye on Carrie, the only puppy that seemed a little under the weather. I started her on Clavamox we had left over from other puppies, resolving to get her to the vet the next afternoon. But by the time I had returned from the radio show at 9:30, she had already vomited. I couldn't believe it. This shelter had not had any parvo cases this year, part of the reason we agreed to take so many puppies back with us. But we had her now, so we set about the usual protocol. But by the time we arrived to the vet, she had progressed downhill so quickly, we had to let her go. It was so incredibly hard. Carrie was the sixth puppy we had lost this year to parvo, something we had never experienced more than once in a year.

But the bad news ended there. A week later, Magnolia has really come out of her shell. I'm puppysitting her and her foster siblings for the weekend. She is so obedient and smart, and eager to have her head scratched and be told she's a good girl. Our little Jose has even come a long way, too. On Wednesday, he started interacting with the smaller dogs without bribery, and today, he even let the bigger dogs sniff him without soiling himself. Rita (the other Chihuahua we took) is doing awesome. I even took her on the radio show with me on Monday where everyone said she is not the typical Chi. She still doesn't like to be with the big dogs, but she does fine with Jose. The Golden pups are still taking some extra care; Tigger is more confident and comes to me at feeding time while Pooh still runs to hide behind the Dogloo. Both have joined in the pack play time in the dog yard and enjoy romps in the puppy pool. Charlotte (pug puppy) and Bluebelle (border collie mix puppy) love getting attention at feeding time, particularly biting at my ankles until I take a moment to hold each of them. And little Samantha (the Shepherd pup) really showed me just how smart and determined a pup she is by finding ways out of her kennel and the dog yard, earning her a spot inside until her relocation to another foster home.

While these all feel like great rescues for us, I'm more amazed by the wildlife rescue I got to do on Monday. I don't remember the last time I was involved in one, but this sure wasn't a phone call I was expecting.

My nutritionist and chiropractor called me while I was on the radio. I called him back when we were finished. He wanted to know what to do about a momma opossum and her babies that had been hit by a car. I told him some people to look up, including animal control. He called me back that he had found a woman on Wilmington Island who said she would take them for rehabilitation if he could get them to a specific vet. I gave him some tips on what to do and how, and proceeded to run my morning in-town errands before heading back to the ranch. He called back about ten minutes later and said he was too nervous to do it. So I drove over and met him. You could hear the gasps of the babies that had gotten separated from their mom. I have never seen opossum babies before, but they were so tiny, I thought they were newborns. We picked up the scattered babies first and put them in the box. Then I threw two towels over mom, picked her up gently from both sides and placed her in the box. We did another walk through to check for babies before he headed to the vet with them. I immediately called mom to tell her... her first question: "You aren't taking them home with you, are you?" Yes, there are some critters I know I can't help, but it's nice to know there are others that can.