Annette Pendergraft

Well, according to Deb, I’ve been doing this for eight years. It does not feel like it has been that long, but when I go back in my mind, I realize she is correct.

I stumbled upon CARE quite by accident. In fact, it was not even an entity at that time. After many years of adoption holds at Cleveland County Animal Control, the ban was lifted, and pets were once again available for adoption. I went to an adoption event hosted by Tractor Supply in Shelby, NC to see the shelter pets and to talk with the officers. I wanted to get involved, somehow, but was not quite sure what to do. I had brought my camera, and just started snapping pictures of the available pets. One of the photos was of a blonde woman holding a big orange cat. We made small talk. I did not realize at the time, that we would be spending the next eight years together, working on helping these animals.

It began as a joint venture between the Humane Society and the Animal Shelter and a big red dog named Clifford. The “Army” was born of this venture by a small group of volunteers who raised money to help the pets who needed medical attention to receive that medical attention and in turn, to be a viable adoptable pet. It gave the shelter animals who would be deemed medically unadoptable, a chance.

The effort grew into collaborations between Cleveland County, North Carolina and other animal rescues. News of our little group reached out of state, and we began working with rescues in Tennessee, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., to name a few. We eventually separated from our earlier local partnerships and the Clifford’s Army Rescue Extravaganza was “born”.

Now the system works like this: A pet at the shelter needs rescue. A rescue agrees to help a pet. What is needed is a safe place to quarantine the pet until transport is arranged (typically 2-3 weeks). The place is provided by a foster, someone who opens his/her home to a shelter pet in need. That’s where I come in.

You see, years ago when there was a ban on adoptions at Cleveland Animal Control, I wanted a pet. I wanted to adopt and not shop, but without our county allowing adoptions, I had to go out of county to find a pet. I adopted a beautiful senior blind poodle from Project Zero in Gaffney, SC. When I met the founder and the foster, I could not wrap my mind around how the foster was able to let her foster go. She had a bittersweet look on her face, and the founder explained that is what they do. They took the pets in, loved them, and prepared them for their forever home.

I never forgot what that young woman’s gift did for me, and I realized I wanted to do this for others, too. While it is difficult at times to let go, my driving motivation is that for every pet I have fostered in my home, there are at least twenty to thirty more who need a safe place. Fostering helps me determine a pet’s personality and the right fit for an individual or a family. It helps the shy pets come out of their shells, and the battered to learn to trust again. When I see an adopter’s face light up, and see the love given to one of our rescues, it is one of the most rewarding life moments. The extra reward is when I have my fosters’ adoptive families befriend me on Facebook, and let me follow those pets’ happy lives. That is a motivation that keeps me going, and I cannot express how much I appreciate that.

I was asked to submit some photos and foster stories. While there are so many, I will touch on two of them:
Liesel was a shepherd mix young dog I was asked to foster. When I met Deb outside the vet’s office, I did my usual high pitched, “How cute!” voice. That dog was terrified of me. Of everything, actually. The first evening I got her, she crammed herself so far into her pet carrier, that there was nowhere else for her to go. She was trying to make herself as “invisible” as possible. Her shelter pictures showed a pet with the saddest face, ears down.

Fast forward to today: “Addy” has been with a wonderful woman and her family for years, now. She goes on beach trips, mountain trips, and has a wonderful, happy life with her sister dogs, and her farm family of goats, cats, chickens and ducks. Her ears are always up, now. She is one of my best success stories.
The other one I am compelled to mention is a beagle, Tobey, who was dumped at the shelter, “rescued” and then labeled “aggressive” and returned to the shelter. Anyone in rescue knows that once a pet has been labeled “aggressive” that it is a death sentence to that pet. I was mortified. “A beagle?! Aggressive?!” I ranted. “Beagles are NOT aggressive. Ever!” Then I made my pitch: “I will foster this beagle and PROVE that he is not aggressive! I double-dog dare someone to rescue him, now!”

A rescue took up my offer, and I fostered that beagle. He, like most shelter dogs, was scared to death and traumatized after his ordeal. I worked on his decompression time, and his socialization, and used my own hands, face and other needed body parts to work with him and temp test him. The result? He recovered and got a great adoptive home!
I suppose my parting “words of wisdom” are this: Anyone can help in any capacity. There are so many areas in animal rescue, that there is place for anyone. If you don’t feel comfortable fostering, then we always need transports from shelter to vet. We need extra hands at fundraisers. We need people to take photos. We even need people who can collect blankets, food, anything. Even a click on a mouse to share a photo can save a life. Remember the beginning of my story about going to see the shelter pets at Tractor Supply? Well, one dog did not initially get adopted. I took her photo and shared it on Facebook. “Christmas” got adopted and is still in her happy forever home.

Yes, even a mouse click can save a life.
Annette Pendergraft

I am a proud supporter of C.A.R.E. and am happy to donate for the purpose of rescuing animals from abuse, neglect and abandonment.

You can make an online donation now using your credit or debit card below or visit our Donate Page to learn about the many ways you can help C.A.R.E. continue to save lives.

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Annette Pendergraft

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