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by Linda Olson
Last week was one “of those” weeks. You hope they won’t be repeated,
but in pet rescue work, there will always be another.
I found myself at the County Shelter looking for a really good dog
that would qualify as a traveling companion for a woman in a motor
home. She chose to adopt a pet quality sheltie from a local breeder.
That was very good news, of course. But, I couldn’t get a dog out of
my mind and heart that was left behind at the shelter whose time had
run out.
I made a nuisance of myself calling and working to get that dog out.
He was a young border collie/lab mix who had been evaluated by both
trainers/behaviorists and classified as a Level 1 dog—even better
than that. That’s the highest level there is. They don’t get any
better than that—the kind of dog that everyone is looking for and
can’t find. Well, there he was. Waiting and hoping.
He waited for 4 weeks and no one stopped long enough to see what was
inside that nondescript black dog. His heart was pure gold and full
of love. He had no faults. Neither the two trainers, the kennel
workers, the volunteers could say anything negative about this dog.
His last day was the usual Wednesday of last week. The hours came
and went as I frantically called everyone trying to find a foster
home—or adopter. I pulled out all the stops. I knew he had a home
waiting for him outside the shelter but needed a different kind of
help in finding it. The day ended, the shelter closed, and he was
still there. There was nothing left to do but to turn him over to a
higher power to take him home.
Early the next day, I had an e-mail waiting telling me that a rescue
group was trying to call the shelter as they had an opening for him.
I had to wait another whole day until the shelter opened so I could
check.
Sure enough, when I called on Thursday morning, the kennel worker
said he was still there—and, no one knew why he was spared as that
“P” was still on his papers. I had to wait till the end of the day
when I received another e-mail saying that Partners 4 Pets rescue
group had come to get him.
His picture is now on their website and his description tells it
like it is. He is, indeed, the dog that everyone is looking for. He
is even better than a Level 1 dog! They just don’t come any nicer
than this guy. He was given the name of Lucky but I think it was
much more than that. . .he was under the grace of God and given a
2nd chance. And, he needs a really good home.
His story is not unusual. There are many Level 1 dogs at all
shelters at any given time. They lose their lives every day. The
facts and figures for the SCRAPS shelter in Spokane for 2004 are as
follows:
* Dogs brought to shelter. . . . . . . . 2,979
* Claimed by owners. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,002
* Adopted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
* Transferred to other locations. . . . . 418
* Died. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
* Euthanized. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
These figures are for just one of the Spokane shelters. . .there are
three shelters in Spokane. Their stats are probably much the same.
Being rated as a Level 1 dog does not guarantee being held until
adopted. Lucky, was. . .well, lucky. I heard about him and pulled
out all the stops.
Shelter dogs don’t have much time. There are just too many of them.
Please, if interested, don’t wait. To see some of the animals
waiting for adoption anywhere in the U.S., check out this website:
www.petfinder.com. And, please remember: DOG
OWNERSHIP = RESPONSIBILITY.
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Linda is a freelance author of many rescue stories. She
writes articles about different types of animals for newspaper
and websites.
e-mail
lolson@icehouse.net
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