HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

Today’s story is a guest post by Debbie Winchell, of New York, who adopted a sweet kitten across the miles.  Read my previous post about the matter HERE.  Congratulations all around!  Have a great life, little girl!  Inspired?  Click Here to find another life that needs saving.

Shortly after 7 pm, I picked up Miss Molly Kaylene, formerly of Heard County, Georgia. She is much prettier than in the photo and very small. She is very scrawny and seems to be mostly ears at the moment. Matt said she didn’t say anything during the trip, but she started talking to me almost right away. No, southern cats don’t seem to have an accent.

Emily has surprised me by being very curious about the kitten, but maybe a little jealous. Midnight isn’t very impressed right now. She’s probably worried Molly will be another hyperactive dynamo like Emily was. I don’t think so. When I held Molly in the car in the rest area, she settled down nicely under my chin and watched the traffic. Emily never would’ve done that at that age. Molly is very uncertain about the big cats. She arched her back, raised her fur and hissed and growled at them. She retreated to the carrier for a while. She does like being held and petted and likes to rub her little cheek against me. I’ve missed that! She sort of looks like Emily’s little sister. Hopefully someday that’s how they’ll both act.

Pretty soon, I will be posting another list of animals in need, but I thought you could all use a bit of good news.  Previously, I reported about a little calico kitten in need that was posted on the Holy Cuteness blog.   After the post went to press, I found out that another little kitten was also adopted!

The other calico kitten was adopted by Debbie.  The blurry photo, I am positive, doesn’t do this little one justice.  Her pattern is gorgeous. It was really a leap of faith, as she lives a number of states away in New York.    There are a couple leads on getting this pretty kitty a ride, but I also thought I would toss it out to my blog readers as you are all a very helpful bunch.

Are you a cat lover who is taking a flight or a drive to visit your relatives in the NorthEast?   Did you know that you can fly with a small dog or cat in a carrier under the seat in front of you and you can provide an escort for a little one who is waiting to meet their new family?  Most airlines offer that service for a fee.  If that sounds like you, pipe up and let us know, please!

Congratulations, Debbie, on your new family member, and thank you!

What is a “Ready Made Dog?”  In the rescue community, or at least among the people I know, it describes a dog who is looking for a home who is already leash trained, housebroken, or it is otherwise evident that someone has taken some care and put some time into.  They can easily fit into a new home with very little effort.

So may times I see ads on the internet or get requests from people seeing a posting about a dog on deathrow, and the first thing some people ask is “Are they trained?  Will they have accidents?”  My reply is always: “I don’t know.”  Dogs who are reliable in the house will have accidents at the shelter.  It is just not a normal place to be and dogs get scared.  Sometimes dogs who are not housebroken will be perfect model citizens at the shelter for those same reasons.  They might “hold it forever.” A dog that is in a new home may have a couple accidents in the beginning while still figuring out what is expected of them, or learning the household routine.

In otherwords, the “perfect dog” is few and far between.

It is wonderful that people want to adopt, but I admit, it is sometimes hard to hold one’s tongue when someone issues a laundry list of things a dog must already know and so

There is one dog right now who is at the shelter who knows “sit” and knows “heel.”  In truth, they never asked her to “heel” at the shelter.  She just does it on her own.  She walks nicely with you right at your side.    No one has come forward for this very nice dog.   Of course, its impossible to know at the shelter if she is housebroken or not, but if she is not, she is highly intelligent and would learn quickly.   She is a nice medium size, and because of her smarts and her coloring, they think she is a border collie mix.

Please give this loving and intelligent girl a chance. Out of area adoptions accepted! She only has until Friday at 4 to find a home or to be claimed by a rescue.

Heard County Animal Control Center
11818 Ga Hwy 100
Franklin, GA 30217
Phone: 706-675-3570

When I have some free time, I have stopped at Holy Cuteness to get my smile for the day.  If you have not visited the blog, it is chok full of photos and videos of the most adorable animals that you have ever seen.   Truly the antidote for a blue mood.

Most of the time, shelter photos are not that great. They are blurry, have bad lighting, or the dog or cat is so scared wondering where their people are that they just don’t photograph well. There was an exceptional picture this week from the pound of a kitten that really showed how adorable she was. I didn’t really know if Holy Cuteness accepted submissions like that, but I thought it was worth a try.

Linda could not have been nicer! She posted the kitten HERE. Not only that, but she had taken it upon herself to post the Kitten on forums she belonged to, etc.  And, you know what?   She found somebody to adopt the kitten!!

To me, this kitten was definitely being watched out for, as the people who adopted her just “happened” to be in Georgia on vacation!!  What were the odds of that?

This little baby kitten is on her way home thanks to Linda at Holy Cuteness!  If she was near you, Linda, this kitten would give you sandpaper tongue kisses for being instrumental in saving her life.

Visit Holy Cuteness! to get your dose of daily cute.

Want to give it a try and help a homeless cat or dog on deathrow find a home? Keep reading this blog for the latest scoop!  You can subscribe by rss/add to your google reader or favorite me on technorati. You may just see a face that steals your heart.

I was just informed that someone who mentioned my blog made a very generous donation to Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., earmarked for the very deserving puppies that were hoping to sign up for the Puppy Promises program. Whoever you are: I want to thank you for your genorisity. Thanks to you, everyone is now “enrolled.” This means that instead of being dumped at the shelter, they have the shots they need, are quarantined for an additional 14 days at home, and get to go on to a rescue. In addition, which is what makes the program so effective long term is that mom dog, and all the other pets in the house are also spayed or neutered.

In otherworfs, this uncertain little face is going to grow up safe, and get a wonderful home.
There will be more litters in the next couple weeks, as puppy season is in full swing. Funding for the Puppy Promises program is an ongoing need. If you would like to donate to the “Class of August 2008″ puppies, you may do so here. Just $45.00 saves a puppy. They are intercepted from being dumped at the shelter, given proper shots and transferred to rescue. Plus, the money collected for that puppy and their siblings goes towards spaying “mom” and any other dog or cat residing in the household or otherwise on the property. This was a blockbuster sized group, and it shows no signs of letting up.

No, it’s not my birthday and I am not near 50, but someone has just turned 50.

Saving Shelter Pets Inc.’s 50th transport has successfully arrived at rescues!   The last dog was delivered yesterday evening.   Six adult dogs who were very deserving of a second chance, and 26 puppies who deserved a good start in life were the lucky passengers.  The transport committee is taking a week after.   After that, we’ll all be back in full force working on transport #51.      I say “we,” because after being a supporter of SSP for quite some time and volunteering for this and that, I have joined the transport committee.

Right now, you can reminisce over Transports #1-42, with galleries and stories to enjoy on the Saving Shelter Pets site. Transports #43-50 coming soon.

There are several precious souls are on the euthanization list at Heard County Animal Control for this Friday. Today I am going to make several posts about them, in hopes that someone will look at them and say “that is the dog for me.” What can you do to help?

• If you have been waiting to adopt a dog just like this, call the shelter immediately.
• Spread the word to potential adopters and your favorite rescue.
• Offer to foster for your favorite rescue. Even if not for one of these dogs, by you helping them, they may be able to say yes to one or more.
• Donate to reputable organizations that pull and heal shelter dogs.

This loyal dog is listed as an Anatolian Shepherd, which may work for or against this dog. Personally I see some shepherd/Curr, and have shown photos to Anatolian rescues who do not see Anatolian in him either. However, someone who used to raise them visited the shelter and said that they can see a little bit in there. Some dogs in Heard County are purebreds, mixes, or more likely, are Heinz 57s that look like a “breed” by a happy accident. So no matter what this dog’s true lineage is, we know that he is a sweetheart. He was tied to mailboxes with a “leash” that the owner wanted back that was made up of fishing line and hooks! No one seems to want this dog because they don’t know what to physically make of him, but he is a life worth saving. Dog ID 22908

Contact Immediately:
Heard County Animal Control Center
11818 Ga Hwy 100
Franklin, GA 30217
Phone: 706-675-3570

UPDATE: THIS DOG HAS BEEN ADOPTED!

Princess was chained to this tree for three years. The chain wore the tree trunk down as she walked around and around. It is a miracle that it did not fall upon her, as top heavy as it became. The next bad wind storm could have been her end. Three years of dirt and clay were baked on her. Her front teeth were chewed down to a pulp from chewing rocks. Flies nearly ate her alive. Somehow, she survived.

But now the chain is empty, thanks to Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., and Dogs Deserve Better….and dozens of people around the country and world, connected by the internet, who donated to Princess’ rescue and recovery, to the person who said “yes” to giving a spot to Princess at their rescue, and to the family who will look at those blue eyes someday soon and say, “yes, we were meant to be.”

Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., was preparing for a volunteer to pick BeBe up from Heard County Animal Control. One of their approved rescues had said “yes” to the sweet “mini Lab retriever.” At the last minute on Friday, it was discovered that Georgia, one of the dogs brought to the shelter with BeBe had nowhere to go. It was euthanization day and no one had looked at her, or called from the publicity that she received on the internet. It was impossible to think that a popular type of dog – a 25 lb smooth coated terrier mix, was in danger of being euthanized. Sadly, many dogs that one would think should have 10 adopters lined up are euthanized every day.

At the last minute, a rescue said “yes” to Georgia. But the only way that she could hop in the car with BeBe is if sponsorship money could be raised by the time that the volunteer got there.  The whole affair made me almost loose my lunch with worry that it wasn’t going to happen.

Time was ticking, and in only 2 1/2 hours, SSP’s friends and supporters were able to contribute the $245.00 needed to get Georgia completely vetted, spayed, and take care of her “bus ticket” to head to her rescue after 2 weeks of quarantine out of the shelter. Everyone gave just a little. Just when you think that your $5.00 isn’t going to make a difference, there is someone else thinking the same thing. And if enough people who just had $5.00 talked themselves into believing that it mattered, adding it all up is enough to make a big difference.

What’s more, is that the shelter needed to get at least 4-5 dogs out of the shelter so there was enough room not to have to euthanize. The rescue of Georgia, as dog number 4 saved the day for everybody there!!

Most shelters have trouble adopting out dogs around the holidays because people are distracted by other plans who would normally adopt, so it usually is a fatal time for shelters. Luckily, the dogs at Heard County are among the lucky ones this time!

I will post updates about Georgia’s new life as I receive information.

This dog was at the pound for almost a week.  

Legally, the pound holds strays for three days, then they are available for adoption, or are in danger of being euthanized if the pound is full.  

This little girl was reclaimed by her owner in the nick of time.    I couldn’t believe they didn’t come looking for her sooner.   At any rate, all is well with her.  I hope they keep her close at hand from now on.