Rescue Strong, Rescue On

Every day the phone rings, normally numerous times, with someone who either wants to surrender a dog to us or someone who has found a dog, many times in dire need of help. We try, we truly try to help those in need. There are times the dog is in such bad condition, we cannot say no, even if we do not have a foster available or the funds. We fly by the seat of our pants at times, but it is so very hard to see dogs in this condition and not help.

We cannot for the life of us, understand how anyone can take in the one creature who loves you more than life itself, who loves unconditionally and would truly give their life for yours, and treat them so very badly. How do you ignore, neglect or abuse such precious souls?

Because we focus on those who are injured, sick, abused, abandoned, and/or neglected, many times we have to say no to those who ask us to take dogs who are basically healthy. It is overwhelming the number of dogs we have been asked to take into our rescue. If we could, we would take them all. We realized years ago that we could not take them all, and developed partnerships with other rescue centers with the same beliefs we have so we could help even more.

We have to stop the madness. These babies have no voice but ours. We MUST have stronger laws to protect them. It is a proven fact that people who abuse animals, also abuse humans. So even if these photos do not truly reach you, remember the same person who let this happen would do the same to a human.  The numbers of animals in need is now more than ever, it has not dropped since we started the rescue mission almost 10 years ago.

We NEED more fosters. At the moment we can only take in as many dogs as we have fosters to take into their home. We NEED you. Even if you can only help short term, it will help those with no voice.

We WANT our own facility so we can help more. We are working out a land donation and we now have a separate building fund that was started due to an awesome supporter who designated their donation to a building fund. They pointed out that if we never started one, we would probably never get there and that was what the donation is for.   You can now designate your donation to our future facility. This would enable us to have a quarantine area, a play area, an adoption and events area, and much more. We would be able to help many more animals than we do now.

So far this year, we have had 32 adoptions and 34 other dogs that went to our rescue partners (we have a few kitties too but as most of you know we are a dog rescue that does try to help the felines when we can). We have 49 dogs in our rescue, and the list is long for those still in need.

We work hard to raise funds for the care of these precious ones. Through the end of February, we had spent $8200 in vetting alone. Rescue is not free, we have to pay for vetting just as everyone else. We have to buy food, vaccines, collars, leashes, crates, blankets, supplements, and whatever is needed.

Just this week, we picked up a stray neglected and possibly abused pittie girl who we named Eclipse. Her face is scarred, she limps on her back leg at times, not all the time, very emaciated, a torn ear that had healed on its own, missing teeth, but young. We thought that was bad enough but we had no clue what was to come. On Wednesday evening we got a message from our local county-run shelter, the dog could have been Eclipse’s twin except she was more emaciated, more scarred, and pregnant. She even limps at times on the same back leg. I checked the area she was picked up in as a stray and it was not even close, one in Shelby, one in Kings Mountain, so no connection other than abuse and neglect but still eerily so identical. Our foster who takes in pregnant females has a mom with 10 babies that are only a week old, she could not take on another. Our other foster who takes in pregnant dogs is in the process of moving and will have more room once that is complete, but is not able to help until the move is completed. We had absolutely nowhere to put her. We put out a cry for a new foster, no one responded. So then we put out a message to our rescue partners and they did respond. We are so very fortunate as now we could get Minnie out of the shelter and in a home until she can get to our rescue partner. I am going to end the article by sharing Minnie’s pictures. God bless her sweet soul, there is no telling what she has suffered in her young life, but she will not suffer anymore. She is safe, she is and will be loved for the rest of her life, she will be taken care of, and we pray she will be healthy enough to deliver her babies without issue.  So please consider fostering, even short term, please consider contributing even if it is just a dollar or two, please consider volunteering, please consider sharing our articles, our events, our pleas for help. The animals need you now more than ever. Please speak up for them, we are their only voice. No matter how little or how much you can help, it truly helps and is truly appreciated.

Now, meet Minnie and keep her and her babies to be born soon in your prayers.

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Rescue Adoption versus County Shelter Adoptions

Recently we had someone ask why our adoption fees were so much higher than many county-run shelters. While I cannot speak for all shelters, attached is the 2018 public shelter report from Raleigh which tells what each county-run shelter in NC operating expenses were.

We are an all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit rescue that relies on donations and fundraisers to take care of the animals in our rescue. Most of the animals we take in are in dire need of veterinary care. Just recently we took in a dog with a tumour that needed to be removed and was heartworm positive. So they will need treatment once she has taken her antibiotics for a month, a female shep mix that was not only pregnant but heartworm positive, a dog with a shotgun hole in his leg, a dog on death’s door that spent two weeks in intensive care and two dogs with chemical burns down their backs. The list is long but we feel that as a rescue, this is our main purpose. We do get some dogs that are surrendered to us that may not be in as serious physical need, but many times they are in emotional need. Recently we took in a four-month-old pup who goes in his crate to sleep but then acts like someone is going to hurt him when you go towards the crate. We work through these issues too to help these animals gain trust in humans again. We take in many either directly from owners or strays and hold the appropriate time to try and help keep the dogs from ending up at our local shelter, which has a certain amount of kennels and cannot continue to take dogs in once full, which in turn leads to them euthanizing dogs.


We are very fortunate that our county shelter has a very generous budget, along with a full-time veterinarian and a full-time vet tech. I have attached the 2018 public records of all NC shelters and you can go to Cleveland County to see the operating expenses there (2019 should be out by the end of this month). CCAS had operating expenses in 2018 of $1,148,369.00 according to the state records and it has increased since. We are very grateful our county is putting forth such an effort to help the animals that end up at the shelter and has the ability to do so.
As a rescue, we must take our dogs to the veterinarians like everyone else, pay whatever needs to be paid and if you follow us, you also know we take our dogs to specialists when needed. We do whatever is needed for them. We have had veterinary bills for one dog be up in the thousands. Our adoption fee is the same for each dog no matter how much was spent on them. We do tons of fundraisers throughout the year and we are fortunate to have supporters who believe in as we do that all lives matter, and contribute to our cause.
Out of 40 dogs currently in our rescue (currently, we have had over 50 at one time), 31 are in homes with fosters, where we also know if they are crate trained, house trained, dog-friendly, cat-friendly, kid-friendly and leash trained, etc. The nine in rescue boarding are also dog tested, have playtime with other dogs, work on their leash training, have a schedule to work on kennel training and have a trainer available if needed.
We have an awesome adoption coordinator who, on her own time and dime, goes over applications, checks vet references, does home visits and meets and greets to make sure the family and the dog are a match. We strongly feel most of the dogs we take in have gone through enough, whether it be physical or mental suffering and we want to do our best to find the closest to perfect home for each and every one of them.
Our dogs are with us until they find the perfect home. We do not euthanize any of our dogs unless they are “irremediably suffering, or rigorously defined.” We furnish everything for our dogs, give them medicine if needed (we have seizure, diabetic, and hospice dogs all on different meds), food, heartworm preventive, and whatever is needed until they find their forever home.

Hope this helps understand what we do, our passion to save lives… because all lives truly do matter.

http://www.ncagr.gov/…/2018PublicAnimalShelterReport3-13-19…

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Kaleb, The Bionic Dog

 

August 22nd 2018, started out as normal. Up early, feeding and walking the dogs. Checking messages on the phone and computer. There was a message on Social Media, it said “my name is Vicky, and I manage the NC Welcome Center. Tony Vaughn, a supervisor with D.O.T. has found a dog that has may have been hit by a car. Can you advise us what to do?” As always, in rescue, you take a deep sigh as you wonder just what all the dog has endured, and then you thank the Lord that compassionate people had found the dog and were reaching out for help.

As fate would have it, the dog was found in a ditch probably two miles from my house, and Tony had put him in his truck with him and was less than a mile from me in the direction or our vet’s office.  Some things are just meant to be, so out the door, I went, calling Boulevard Animal Hospital along the way. There was not much I could tell them other than the dog could hardly stand, and had been found in a ditch unable to move.

This was a day that renewed my faith in the human race. Tony could have just ignored the dog or called animal control where he would have most likely been put down due to the extent of his injuries. Vicky could have told Tony to just deal with it, but neither did because they both wanted to do what was right for the dog, and they both knew that little dog’s, life, who we named Kaleb (he was found in the ditch on Caleb Road) mattered.

After picking up Kaleb from Tony, Kaleb and I went straight to our vets. Kaleb’s hip needed surgery and on his other hind leg, his bone had shattered and he had more than one break. There was also a hole where you could see the bone through it. He was extremely emaciated, hip bones pronounced, scared, and could not walk. Where to start? How do we get him back to health?  Kaleb stayed at our vet’s office for a little over a month, where his movement was restricted and limited as he gained weight and got healthy. After about a month it was time to consult a surgeon, and off to Carolina Veterinary Specialists we went.

Kaleb’s Surgeon, Dr. Daniel Mertens, brought us the news. Kaleb needed surgery on his hip joint, but also needed plates and pins in his other leg. He would need lots of supervision to make sure he had limited movement afterwards, and he would need to come back each week for several weeks to redo his cast and bandages. He then gave us the estimate for the surgery, over $7000 and there was a possibility he may have to do another surgery if things did not go as planned.

Needless to say, as an all-volunteer small 501c3 non-profit animal rescue, we were between shock and “how are we going to raise that kind of money” all at the same time. Faith in humanity restored once again as we did an online auction, we did a fundraiser, we asked for help and people helped! Within a little over a week, we had the funds for Mr Kaleb’s surgeries. Thankfully both could be done at the same time too.

We lined up one of our awesome fosters to care for Kaleb during his recovery phase, Annette Pendergraft. She had handled many of our medical cases in the past and had the perfect set up to keep him calm with limited movement. Annette was a nurse, doctor, caregiver, she did it all, and was perfect for his recovery.

Kaleb began to want a little more, as he became very active once well. He had typical cattle dog tendencies wanting to herd you, and a little bit of a stubborn streak when he did not want to do something. We enlisted the help of the awesome Dana Van Sickle, and then Kaleb went to foster with our trainer/foster, Tammy Freeman. Once Kaleb had other dogs to play with, lots of room to romp and have fun, he became the most perfect boy ever.

He was adopted to the perfect family for him and is now in his forever home. We thank the Good Lord every day that the D.O.T. supervisor found him, got him out of the ditch and that we were called to help. We also thank all the great contributors and supporters who believed in Kaleb and helped him survive.

 

 

 

 

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Zelda, Escapes Starvation

We received a call that a very emaciated dog, truly a skeleton with skin over the bones, had found her way into a fenced-in pool at a good Samaritan’s home. When we saw the photos we immediately got her to our vet’s clinic to try and help her. Zelda (we named her) was not given the best of chances. Her body had started to survive off muscle tissue, no fat at all on her, and her bloodwork was all over the place. We found out the next day she was also diabetic, had a horrible growth on one of her feet, and was heartworm positive. Our vet estimated her to be around 10 years old.

Our firm belief that all lives do matter, made it imperative that we give this sweet girl a chance. Her blood sugar was very hard to regulate, as it was super high one minute, the next reading normal, and the next high again. The growth on her foot continued to grow, and we had to decide what we would do first.

After Zelda gained some weight, we proceeded to have the growth removed which was located between the pads of her foot.

Her blood sugar is still not exact but she is getting better and is getting ready to have her heartworm treatment. She is loved by all the people at our vets and most of our volunteers. She loves other dogs but thinks she is the Queen, no matter what the size.  We are so very happy to be a part of Zelda’s journey and look forward to her getting heartworm treatment behind her, and on to her forever home.

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Injured Boy Reaches Out for Help, Meet Axel

These first couple of pictures would never tell Axel’s story. I am still amazed how sweet and loving this boy is considering what he has been through. We got a call. A man was working on his farm when a dog just pretty much showed up and collapsed at his feet. The dog, extremely emaciated, but even worse, had a huge open wound on his leg.

I met the man at our vet’s clinic, saw the wound and grabbed Axel and carried him in for treatment. What happened next was new to me. An actual piece of bone from the open wound fell out of this baby’s leg.

The wound, which could possibly be where someone shot this sweet boy, was terrible, not fresh, and Axel had done his best to keep it clean. He sat calmly on the exam table as we surveyed the damage to his leg, found a place on the other leg, and worried about what would be next.

It was amazing how this boy’s tail just kept wagging through it all. It was determined that there was nerve damage, and an older wound, all we could do was to amputate the leg.  Axel was admitted to our vet’s clinic and surgery began the next day.

Axel came through the surgery with flying colors, getting neutered too whilst under. He is adjusting very well to a tripod and is moving well. He has gained weight and is back to becoming a healthy boy. He loves other dogs and people! He will make a great new family member. We hope someone will love and care for him and make him forget his rocky start in life.

Axel is approximately 8 months old, a lab mix, a complete love bug, and just wants to be with his people. We are so happy we were able to help Axel survive a horrible injury and now flourish to become someone’s best friend.

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On Death’s Door, Molly Survives!

On December 6th we received a very disturbing call. A sweet senior girl, who had at one point been a part of a family, had been tied outside and left to fend for herself. We heard that she was not doing well so we asked for a picture. We got a photo of her lying in the yard, with every rib in her body showing.

As soon as we saw her, we knew she had to have help. One of our awesome Army volunteers went to pick her up. She immediately started sending pictures on her way to our vet’s office. Meanwhile, a couple of us were out picking up another dog in need. We had no idea we would end up with two, much less one in the condition poor sweet Molly was in.

Once Molly was at our vet’s office, we got the call about her condition. Our vet put her body score at 9 with 10 being the worst possible. She was extremely dehydrated, infection from who knows where at this point, gook coming out of her eyes, nose, and anywhere else it could. Our vet was not very optimistic about her chances, but he knows us well. During the conversation, we were like start the fluids, antibiotics, bloodwork, whatever she needs to have a fighting chance to survive.   Molly was admitted into their ER care and everything possible was started to help her fight.

Our first visit with Molly and you can tell she has a long road to recovery. Not only due to being extremely emaciated, but the infection. She also had some eye issues. It was discovered that she had pyometra, which opened a new issue. She needed surgery immediately but was she able and strong enough to withstand the surgery? Molly was improving each day, but we were petrified she may not make it through surgery.

Molly began to want to go outside for short walks, she loved the food we were bringing her to get her appetite back, and soon she was ready for her surgery. Molly came through it like the champ she is, and also got the growth off her eye at the same time.  Several days later her new foster mom went to meet her as it was getting close to the time for her to go to a home to recover.

These are the last two pictures before Molly left our vets clinic and went to her foster home. Since Molly has been in her foster home, she has blossomed into such a wonderful girl. She absolutely loves the couch!

Her first days at her foster home, she started to fit in well from the start. Molly is great with other dogs, house trained and just loves to be with you. A month later and she has gained 20 plus pounds and is looking very healthy.

Molly’s eye is also beginning to come back. We are unsure if her eye will be completely normal, but the cloudiness is slowly going away. We are hopeful that she will return to normal too. This girl is one more fighter. She literally was at death’s door, a few more hours without help and she would have died, but Molly has so much more to give. Molly is a wonderful, loving girl who now deserves a special family to love and care for her. We are so very happy we were able to help with Molly’s journey back to good health, love and care.

Our girl loves her couch poses and you can see what a huge difference a month has had on her. We love you, Molly!

 

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C.A.R.E. NEEDS YOU!!!

We desperately need all our supporters to go to the link at the end of this article and vote. #mygivingstory could help Clifford’s Army Rescue win some much-needed funds to help us continue with our mission to assist even more of the sick, the abused, the neglected, the injured, the terrified and the abandoned animals in and around our area.

Our goal is to be able to construct our own facility. With our own facility, we could have space for animals when fosters are full,  rotating them to fosters as they become available hence saving more lives. We could have space to help our rescue partners.  We could have space for those in need of emotional help, training, quarantine areas for the sick and the young. We could truly help so many many more.

If you would be so kind to click the link below and it will pull up #mygivingstory which is called ‘Innocent Eyes’.  A voting box will come up for you to click. You may vote daily one time a day. Please help us to help them… your vote could help us win some much-needed funds.

We are the only voice they have.. we are rescue.

https://binkd.co/xyDYV

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Photos with Santa & Bake Sale at Deer Brook Golf Club

Once again Santa is coming! He and his reindeer will land on November 21st for our annual Santa pics and holiday bake sale.   This is a great time to get a photo of your family, be it two or four legged, and/or both.   We will be offering printing on site, and emailing files ( we are hoping to email the files on site too, if at all possible)

We will of course have some of the best homemade baked goods in the county as we have the best supporters who always bake up some delicious desserts, breads, snacks, and much more.

Not only great homemade goodies, but $5.00 printed on site pics of you, your two and/or four legged kids, or anyone you want in the pictures. We will email the file to you for $10.

More details to come and a few surprises to be announced so mark those calendars now!

Please let us know if you are able to volunteer or would like to donate baked goods for the sale.

 

 

 

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2nd Annual C.A.R.E. Golf Tournament at Deer Brook

funraiser golf tournament at deer brook golf tournament

The info for our 2nd! Annual Fundraising Golf Tournament will be added as we gather the details.

Notes from Deb on our First Annual Golf Tournament:

Want to restore your faith in humanity? It may not seem like the most likely place but the golf course will do it for you. Many people battled not only the golf ball and the course, but the cold weather, sometimes wind, sometimes sprinkling of rain, to play in the 1st Annual Clifford’s Army Rescue Charity Tournament.

Many contributed back to the rescue, many bought tickets for chances to win prizes, bid on silent auction items, played their hearts out and because of them, we can continue to grow and help more animals in need.

We also want to thank all the sponsors who without them, this would not be possible. From Gold to bronze, to donations for the auction, we so appreciate all of you.

The hole sponsors were awesome too… two cars parked at different holes, two 10K holes, and a chance at two golf carts.. and there was prize money!!! What a tournament.

Special thanks to Barbara McKay, who came up and launched the tournament for us and who is always there for Cliffords Army Rescue. We are so appreciative of her support and I am so glad to have met her 8 plus years ago and call her friend.. She is truly a rock star for the animals and for so many more.

And what can we say about Lisa Revels Jaynes and Deer Brook Golf Course? The best of the best, the most awesome people ever… we are so thankful and we love you to the moon and back for all your compassion and help for those with no voice.

Below is the info from our FIRST ANNUAL Golf Tournament Event to give you an idea.

THE DETAILS
4 Man Captain Choice with a shotgun start. Tee Time 12 PM.

NET 1st PLACE – $1000 2nd PLACE – $500
GROSS 1st PLACE – $1000 2nd PLACE – $500

Must have a verifiable handicap for Net Prizes. Net Score is based off team handicap.
All play from white tees – 60 and above may play from senior tees

HOLE SPONSORS
100 – 499 BRONZE
500 – 999 SILVER
1000 & UP – GOLD

For Registration, contact Derrick Dellinger (704) 482-4653
For More Information, contact Lisa Jaynes (704) 297-8637

 

2nd Annual Golf Tournament INFO:

Sponsors: Hole and Gold

WOW!!! HOW GOOD IS YOUR GAME???? Major thanks to McKinney Insurance LLC for sponsoring a $10,000.00 prize for a Hole-in-One on #14!
HUGE THANKS TO CRM Insurance Services for sponsoring a $10,000.00 Prize for a Hole-in-One on #6 Can you do it?
Thank you Renaldo Honda for sponsoring hole 12… and all your golfers, make a Hole-in-One, and win a Honda Civic!!!
E-Z Go -make a Hole-in-One and win a Golf Cart!

Sponsors: Gold

Norris Merchandise– While you may think of them for your archery needs, furniture, hunting, etc… do you know they have some of the most awesome women’s clothes ever…. great buys and they give back to our community and support our animals in need! Big thanks to them for being a major gold sponsor of our golf tournament!

Sponsors: Silver

Broad River Hemp Co.- one of our great silver sponsors! And where we got our third party certified CBD oil for Falco, a Great Swiss Mountain Dog who was battling seizures….worked perfectly and he is no longer on prescribed drugs.

Silver hole sponsor, Just In Time Plumbing! Wow! we have an ADA Toilet with installaton.. $505 value.!!!! You can bid on this at our silent auction held during the tournament. ( More info below)
We have an ammo box full of products and a $300 gift certificate from Jack’s Pawn & Gun! Wow! got to bid on this.. might need a new addition to the arsonal ! Thanks so much! ( see photo)

Update!

Jack’s Pawn & Gun graciously donated the Ammo box full of great items and a $300 gift certificate which y’all already know but here is the awesome update! If you are the highest bidder on the gift certificate, you can use it as is … or instead you can choose 500 rounds of 9mm FMJ ammo !!! Most of us carrying adults know just how hard it is to find ammo these days…. this is nothing short of amazing.( age restrictions apply )

Sponsors: Bronze

Hord Insurance Services is also one of our hole sponsors! Have we told you how excited we are that Hord Insurance not only offers all the normal services, but pet insurance too! Check them out!
Many thanks to Witherspoon Insurance Agency for being a Bronze Hole sponsor ! We so appreciate your support!
Thank you so very much Homestead Landscaping and Feed Company for being a bronze hole sponsor in our tournament. We so appreciate your support!
Many thanks to Arthur Services for bronze hole sponsorship at our golf tournament and your continued sponsorship helping those with no voice. We are so appreciative!
Thank you Hord’s Container Service for being a bronze sponsor in our Charity Golf Tournament.. we so appreciate the support!
We cannot say thank you enough for HSI Land Clearing being a bronze sponsor at our Charity Golf Tournament!
Huge thanks to our County Commissioner Johnny Hutchins for being a bronze sponsor and supporting the animals in need in our county!
The Pankcake House – Thank you so much for supporting our efforts in saving lives!
Susan Haskell –
Kozi Italian Kitchen, Shelby – Donated 4- $50 Gift Cards!

AUCTION RULES:

Auction items will have a starting bid posted on the bidding card with item.
Bids can be written down from 10am – 6pm.
All bids stop at 6pm, prompt.
All bids must be made in person.
Please place name, phone number and time of bid on card.
Highest bid at 6pm wins.

You do not need to be present to win.

Items in Silent Auction

Huge thanks to Arnold’s Jewelry and Gift Gallery for the awesome donations ( Swiss Army knife, gorgeous mug and coaster set)

Major thanks Uptown Sweets & Treats Shelby, N.C.   for the great gift certificate!

Toscanos Bistro contributed a gift certificate and we so appreciate their support. If you have not been there to eat yet, you are missing out. Something for everyone!

Much thanks to Pheiffer Cafe for their gift certificate! We so appreciate your support!
Many thanks to the Shelby Cafe! We also have a gift certificate from this wonderful traditional Cafe in uptown Shelby.
Huge thank you to Affinity Salon & Spa for the gift certificate for a facial ( $50 value) to go in our silent auction! We are getting so excited, this is awesome to go in one of the gift baskets you can bid on!
We will have some of Baker Buffalo Creek‘s awesome wine on our silent auction table.. we cannot wait!
Silver hole sponsor, Just In Time Plumbing! Wow! we have an ADA Toilet with installaton.. $505 value.!!!! You can bid on this at our silent auction held during the tournament. ( see photo)
Veronet Vineyards Wine & a Gift Certificate.. thank you guys so much for the donation for our auction.. and please check out this beautiful vineyard.. right here in Cleveland County! ( see photo)
We have an ammo box full of products and a $300 gift certificate from Jack’s Pawn & Gun! Wow! got to bid on this.. might need a new addition to the arsonal ! Thanks so much! ( see photo)

Update!

Jack’s Pawn & Gun graciously donated the Ammo box full of great items and a $300 gift certificate which y’all already know but here is the awesome update! If you are the highest bidder on the gift certificate, you can use it as is … or instead you can choose 500 rounds of 9mm FMJ ammo !!! Most of us carrying adults know just how hard it is to find ammo these days…. this is nothing short of amazing.( age restrictions apply )
Kozi Italian Kitchen, Shelby – Donated 4- $50 Gift Cards!
Jane’s Grooming – Gift Certificate for Nail Trim
Shear Country Salon – Gift Certificate for Men’s Haircut
Associated Brands – 2 Bottles of Wine
Adams Distributing – Bud Light Panther Mirror & Golf Bag
Carolina Premium – 2 Miller Beer Chairs / Umbrella / Cooler / Red Apple Ale Sign
Patterson Springs Pawn – Vizio Smart TV 32″
Roy and Lisa – 2020 Silver Dollar and a Tennis Bracelet
Oliver’s Hardware – Clock
Poppy & Co – 2- $25 Gift Certificates
Stephanie Marsh Seybold – Pony Tail Palm
Ron Philbeck Pottery – 2 Mugs
Jan Whisnant – Snake Plant
Nicole Smith – 4 Etched Wine Glasses, Masks
C.A.R.E. – Name Brand Purses
Lots more to add… stay tuned!!
Clifford’s Army Rescue (C.A.R.E.) is a all volunteer non profit animal rescue who takes in the abandoned, the sick, the injured, and the elderly.
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We Will Rescue

 

When I first got involved in rescue, I had no clue what I was even trying to do. There is not a magic class one takes when they decide this is their passion. There is no written handbook as to this is how you do it. Thankfully, some really great people who were involved in rescue before me, and who we had become partners with trying to save lives, were more than willing to share their wealth of knowledge with me. I tried and continue to try to soak all the information they share up like a sponge. It has been invaluable to myself and Cliffords. They were and continue to be true rescuers, dedicated to the cause, and willing to help others who share the same passion to succeed. As it should be, the more rescues doing the right things, succeeding saving lives, the less that die, scared and alone.

I have also been very fortunate to have a couple of friends I met through rescue who have shared their wealth of knowledge on behaviors, training, positive reinforcements, with me. While I am by no means any sort of trainer, I have learned so much from these people. It has helped me to work with feral, frightened, injured animals (as many of you know, feral and frightened are the ones I am drawn to), it has helped me to follow my passion to save them all. While I realize that is a huge feat to try to accomplish, I do not want an animal to die simply because they were frightened or injured.

I think there are two thoughts with rescues on the verbiage, “we cannot save them all”.   One thought is what I personally consider “old school”, in that if you can’t save them all, don’t spend money on the severely sick or injured, but instead let those go, and help those who have a much higher rate of survival and adoption. Another thought, which is also how I feel and our rescue’s belief, is that all lives truly do matter and unless an animal is suffering irremediably, we should try our best to save him/her. Why should we decide to end a life that may be saved? One could argue funds, but again do we place money over life? I certainly hope not. So we try whether it’s a senior hospice animal, an injured animal requiring special surgery, whether they can see or not, have broken bones, heartworm positive, what is wrong is irrelevant, if it can be fixed, then we are going to do our best to fix it.

So our saying is, “that does not mean we cannot try”, in response to “you cannot save them all”.  Is it a hard mission? Yes, it is.  We sometimes lose a life when trying to save them, we sometimes give it all we have and they still don’t make it. It’s hard, it heartbreaking but at the end of the day we know we did all we could do.

The rewards of seeing one of these precious angels healing and then finding his/her forever home balances out all the tears we shed over those who do not make it. That does not mean the ones who we lost do not matter, it just means it keeps us balanced and able to continue on our mission of saving lives.  We do our best to save as many as we can and it takes a lot of blood, sweat, tears, fosters, volunteers, and funds. We are truly thankful for those who have helped because, without all of you, we could not do what we do.  There have been times we have taken in dogs without a committed foster, or without the funds, we may need, but it always works out.  The funds come in, the foster steps up, whatever the need, it seems to happen. I still remember Kaleb’s estimate on his surgery, how I gulped when I heard 7 to 8 thousand just for the surgery, not counting all his other needs.  I still remember one officer asking me what was I going to do, and my answer was to raise the funds. We did thanks to some awesome contributors and fundraisers. My personal belief is that the Good Lord above is watching over his creatures, and he is making sure they get the chance they all so deserve. It seems to always work out and there has to be some divine intervention for it to do so.

We currently do have a lot of animals in our care, whether in foster homes or rescue boarding and we still want to be able to help even more. There is such a need not only in our county, in our state, and beyond. There is a need for stronger laws against abusers and even stronger laws on providing proper care. Even with all the ones we take in, we are constantly getting phone calls, text messages, to help even more.

We also want to educate the youth. We already do mock adoptions at our events, teaching the children about vet care when they adopt a stuffed animal from us. We have puzzles, coloring books etc. with education about how to take care of your pets. We want to do more.  We need to help our youth learn compassion for our four-legged friends.

And back to my first paragraph, talking about rescue being my passion. I do not know when I finally realized this was my passion. Even though I have always had animals in my life. Always picked them up off the side of the road, gotten ringworm from kittens sat out in the road, almost picked up baby skunks, and yes, I move turtles to the other side of the road, facing the same direction they were headed.  I was never quite where I needed to be until rescue came my way. I have learned great restraint to be able to save lives.  There have been times I really have wanted to go off on someone, to physically hurt someone ( when you see starving pups consuming a dead pup to survive) but rescue has given me the strength to save those in need, to get them to safety and to medical attention, and control myself.  (one has to slow down and think about how to get the animals safe, not go on gut reactions and it is truly hard). But we involved in rescue do it for them, not us. Some days we do not feel like we can do enough, but we continue to strive to do more and more.

We will soon be embarking on a plan of action to help more, but for this to happen we need your help. We need you to foster, volunteer, share our posts, donate if you are able to do so, pray for the animals and to pray for us to have the strength to continue.  So please say those prayers for those with no voice, and ask the Lord to guide us down our next path, so that we may be able to save even more lives.

Stay tuned… more to come on C.A.R.E.’s next chapter … and remember it costs nothing to be kind to one another and to the animals.

Until they all have a home…. we will rescue.

 

 

 

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