Clifford’s Continues to Grow

First, we would like to wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May your holidays be blessed. We are blessed with a total of 57 dogs in our rescue at the moment. While that is a lot of dogs for us, we are blessed we are able to help them recover from their tragic days and find their forever loving homes.

With the Christmas season here, we will not be adopting any dogs during the next week. We do not believe dogs/puppies are Christmas presents and as such will spend time with our CARE babies next week and our families.

That being said, it brings me to a few things I would like to address what we do, how we do it, and why. First and foremost our rescue is about the animals. It is not a social drama club but is for and about the welfare of animals in our area and well beyond.  We will always stand up for them, be the voice of the voiceless, and do our very best to protect all of those in our care.

We will not be quiet when we see wrongdoings toward the animals. We will speak out for them. Everyone should speak for them.  Stand up and be counted. We are the only voice they have.

We try to take in the abused, the neglected, the sick, the injured, the handicapped. We strongly believe all lives matter and will take those in who are considered not to have a chance. We work hard at fundraisers to raise funds to continue to help all those in need. Hence we have strict adoption policies. We require a home visit from us, so we only drive two hours maximum to potential adopters. We don’t need a picture of your house. Michael Vick ran a fighting ring in a mansion. The size, cost, etc. have no bearing on being approved for adoption. We want to meet you, talk to you, and do our best to find the right fit for both the dog and you.

We also require all domesticated animals to be spay/neutered and current on vaccines. If not, we will turn you down. We want our animals to get the best of care and how your current animals are being cared for is the best way we can judge how your new family member would be taken care of. This is the second sentence in our online adoption application and yes we check.

With over 2.7 million animals being euthanized throughout the US a year (cats and dogs), I do think everyone can find their companion animal even if you do not meet our requirements. So please understand we are trying to do what we think is best for them. It is not personal, it is about them, what they have already been through in their short lives and protecting them as much as humanly possible by checking out their new family as much as possible.

We will end our year with 74 adoptions and many more that we sent to rescue partners up north to find their forever homes.   We hope to do even more in 2020 along with work on raising funds for our own facility. We hope you will follow Kubuki who will stay in our rescue and become a therapy dog as he starts to visit different facilities and groups. He does have his own Facebook page, ‘The Adventures of Kubuki‘, so be sure to go like and follow the page. He is the most adorable boy ever. We hope to recruit more fosters, more volunteers, more people to join the army as we could easily have over 100 animals if we took everyone we get tagged, called, messaged on. It is truly neverending and the animals deserve a home. Without more people willing to help, we are limited on how many we can take in.

 

 

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Rescue Speed Dating

Meet your Match and get the perfect date for Valentine’s Day.

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Sponsor a Dog for Christmas

$1 a day for the 25 Days of Christmas!

Can’t adopt or foster?  You can still help a dog in need by donating $25 to sponsor a dog in need for the holidays.  Don’t know what to give that person who has everything?  Why not sponsor a dog in their name as a gift?  There are a million ways to support those with no voice and here is a great one to help.

Donate $25 and receive a digital Holiday Card with a photo of the dog you sponsored for the holidays.

In the donation notes, please include “Sponsor a Dog for the Holidays,” and an email address where your digital card should be sent.

Those with no voice, appreciate your help.

Donate

 

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Rest Easy Sweethearts

How many innocent lives have to be lost? How many innocent lives have to suffer? When will humans, who are supposed to be the most intelligent animals on the planet, start to respect other animals with no voice?

Above is a photo of Louie. Louie was found outside, cold, alone, covered in lice, by a person looking at a rental property. Louie was only days old, and now Louie is dead. He never got to run and chase a ball, have a child, have a best buddy, or snuggle with his special human.  Instead, he was born only to die as a puppy. Who knows where Louie’s mom is? Dogs do not leave their puppies, which leads us to believe something happened to Louie’s mom.

Who was Louie’s Mom’s human? Why was she not spayed? Why was she left to wonder and her pup left to die? If her owners were responsible and caring, none of this would have happened.

This is Blade who we rushed to our vets and tried to save him.  He was literally starved to death, a skeleton with skin over the top of the bones.  His body temperature was low, his blood sugar almost non-existent, full of parasites, and who knows what else. We rushed him to our vets, stayed with him, helped with fluids, warming his body, and gave him meds. No matter what all we did and how hard we tried, we lost him. The neglect was too much. This sweet boy never knew what it was liked to be loved.

Here’s Shorty, a senior, dumped at a shelter to die. He was with us for a bit before cancer got the best of him and he was such a sweet boy. He was well mannered, house trained, and a love bug, but yet, someone dumped him out in his old age, to die alone.

How would you feel as you get older if your family did this to you? How can you take a defenceless animal and dup him/her without care? How can you open your door and let your dog run out into a road and not know if they got hit?  How can you let an unaltered female run loose only to get pregnant and then dump them?

These babies are only three of the many animals we take in and we do everything possible to save them, so that they may have the life they deserve.  Until humans value their lives, we are fighting a losing battle, but you can bet we will continue to fight.

Dogs (and all animals) require commitment. They are for their entire lives on this earth, not just until you’re tired of them. They are not toys to dispose of when humans get tired of them or when they get old.  They are living breathing creatures who love us unconditionally. You would think we could learn from them and love them as they do us.

Next time you think you want a dog, please think about the commitment you need to make, and if you are willing to let them be part of your family, provide medical treatment including spay and/or neuter, keep them for their entire life, love them as they love you, then go for it.  If you are going to tire of them, chain them in the yard, neglect feeding them, neglect the care they need, then please go by a stuffed animal out of the toy department

 

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Spooktacular Extravaganza at Broad River Hemp Co

Halloween photos for $5.00 donation printed on site.  Bring your entire family both two and four legged.

Anyone can have their picture taken.  Dress in costume or come as you are.

Halloween costume contests for children in age categories and for animals.

Games, prizes, and treat bags and yes maybe even a few tricks!

 

Please let us know if you are able to volunteer or would like to donate prizes, etc.

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Circle of Love – The CARE Dogs

cliffords army rescue, animal rescue, donate to animal rescue
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Meet Kota

Kota is a five-month-old, 25 pound, Carolina Dog who is absolutely stunning.  He is also as sweet as they come, a quick learner and looking for the perfect home. Kota appeared at a Good Samaritan’s home, after having scanned for a chip, posting about him for longer than the required time by law, we were contacted to see if we could take this handsome boy.

Kota still has a bit of vetting before ready for adoption but if he is the boy for you, please go ahead and fill out an online application.

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Rescue, Adopt, Repeat

The photo above speaks volumes of what we do and why. This is Beau, who after over four years was adopted to a wonderful lady who has great plans to spoil him beyond rotten. Beau came from our local county-run shelter back in a time where he faced certain death. He was a frightened young boy who medically was in terrible shape. We pulled him, gave him time to recoup from all his issues, and listed him for adoption. For the life of us, we could not figure out why he was not scooped up immediately as we all loved sweet Beau. Was it because of his mixed breed? Was it because he was really energetic at times? Were there too many dogs who looked just like Beau? We do not know. People would meet him, say they wanted to adopt him, but never did.

Meanwhile, Beau was in a foster home with other dogs. He was taken care of, he was happy, but he did not have his own human.    Now he does. Many would say how could you let him go after all that time? Beau could have continued to live with his foster mom, sharing the home with multiple dogs, or he could have his own mom and be the center of her world. The answer is easy if you truly love them and want what is best for them. Is it hard, you damn right it is. But again, it is all about the dogs, not us humans. This picture symbolizes Beau smiling goodbye to those who cared for him as he embarks on his new life. (Below is Beau’s intake picture years ago at our local shelter.)

Our rescue takes in those like Beau. We take in the sick, the injured, the pregnant, the heart worm positive, the ones that have been dumped on the side of the road, the ones no one wants.

We are currently facing challenging times. We have several heartworm positive dogs who will be having their injections all within the next couple of weeks as they are all finishing up their prescription meds around the same time. Kubuki had to have surgery, two weeks later, Bella had surgery. Kubuki is going to physical therapy, not to mention our regular vetting, and helping citizens of our community with vet bills, food, so they may keep their companion animals. Some days we truly do not know if we are going to be able to survive, and then our prayers are answered by compassionate people who care.

Some are amazed at the transformation of these animals, but we aren’t. We do not see them as unwanted, we see them as precious lives that need a chance to be loved. Thank you for your continued support. We truly believe that there is a family out there for our dogs. Beau is a perfect example.

 

 

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Defining Rescue

 

What truly is rescue? The definition is as follows:

“An act of saving or being saved from danger or distress”

When Clifford’s Army Rescue was started years ago, we wanted to rescue animals. We wanted to help those with no voice that others may pass by. The sick, the injured, the abused, the neglected, the abandoned and the troubled ones that truly needed us.

Of course, once ready, we wanted to find them the perfect family. A family who would adopt them, love, and care for them for the rest of their lives. We also agreed not to settle for anything less as these animals had suffered enough, and deserved the best of the best for the rest of their lives.

We are primarily a dog rescue and there have been (and will continue to be) dogs we take in who have more issues than others.    We have had feral dogs, frightened dogs, dogs on death’s door, but regardless of what is wrong, we do everything in our power to help them and fix the issues.

We may pull an injured and/or abused dog because of their physical health conditions only to find out once healthy, the dog may not get along with other dogs or the dog may really not be socialized and have fright issues. Many times we may work with our dogs in need for months and months until the dogs are ready for their own family. If their issues are severe enough, some may stay with the rescue so we can ensure they are loved and provided for. We have forever fosters due to both physical and/or mental health.

Once we take a dog into our rescue, that dog is part of our rescue family and is our responsibility. We take the good with the bad.  We remember that these babies have no voice, and cannot tell us what all they have been through and the pain they have experienced. It is our responsibility to provide for them for as long as they are with us. We DO NOT euthanize healthy dogs because they have issues. The only way we euthanize is if a dog is irremediably suffering, rigorously defined.

When taking in dogs, we do stress to our foster parents that the dogs need a two week decompression period. We also stress on day one, to not overload the dog and let the dog settle into the new surroundings. Dogs coming into a new home, no matter how great the home is, are scared, do not know what is going on, and need to be given time to take in the changes. While some may adjust before the two week period, we do use that as our guideline. We stress never to rush having the new foster meet the foster parent’s dogs and to not worry immediately about training. Let the dog learn that they are safe first.

So today, when I am scrolling and read a director of a rescue killed (and she is completely responsible as the details as to what happened were written by her) a dog after less than five hours at her house. She immediately brought the dog in with her pack, was immediately trying to correct the dog for not walking in the direction she wanted him to, and then took him back to the county-run shelter she got him from and told them to euthanize him (which I am told they did). This shelter had found no issues with this dog prior.

Earlier last week, another director of a rescue let their ego take over and would not let another experienced rescue shelter take in a dog in need. This director had threatened to kill the said dog, also stated the dog was feral, (we have worked with so many that I can promise this dog was nowhere close to feral) and even when offered to help, refused. Later I learned a few more of her dogs had been euthanized due to their behavior (when I say behavior, it is with other dogs, not human aggressive).

Someone posted that rescues should all be working together and not criticizing other rescues for their actions. We have a large base of rescue partners, wonderful partners who believe as we do and work with us, tirelessly to save lives. We are forever thankful for them. I would bet they feel like we do pertaining to the events mentioned above. That is in no way a shape or form of a rescue shelter. All lives matter and you do not just kill a dog because you may need to let a dog decompress. Possibly consult a trainer, maybe have more tests run to see if any medical issues arise, etc. When you take the dog, the dog is in your trust to provide care and do everything in your power to help him/her. There is no time limit for a dog recovering from the trauma he/she may have endured in the past.

We are well aware we are not perfect. We also know that we are constantly still learning.  What we do know is that we will always value each and every one of the animals in our rescue’s lives. We will work with them for as long as it takes, whatever the issues.

If you are not going to do right by every dog you take in, if you are going to kill dogs because they do not fit the perfect mold, then I would definitely say rescue is not for you.

Rescue is not about me, you, or anyone else….. it is about the dogs.

 

 

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