Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Never go out of town!

For Easter weekend, I took a short trip to Cherry Grove with my mom. My bags weren't even unpacked yet when message comes through on the Blackberry that there was a Puppy Mill bust in Lee County. It started off as 10-15 dogs and turned into over 150. Of those, CARE took in 10. The same weekend, 4 more dogs came from a retiring breeder along with one St. Bernard with numerous health problems freed from a chain. That night, I dreamed of hundreds of dogs crossing the road in front of me while I tried desperately to scoop them up one by one and figure out how to find them homes. All total, 25 dogs came into CARE while I was on vacation.

One of the Puppy Mill dogs is very pregnant as well as a dog I brought in myself before leaving, so the total will soon rise. We do not spay/abort when the moms are too far along for the health of the mother. Another of the PM dogs is Heartworm positive. A tiny baby puppy has a severe cleft palate that will require surgery, if he survives to 6 weeks. So far, so good.

Things get crazy sometimes in the world of rescue. It's important to take time for yourself to keep from burning out. Just be prepared for what awaits you when you return. Wish me luck. I go out of town again in a few days.

Kelly Whittington
Canine Director

1 comment:

  1. Good luck! Can't wait to see all of the dogs on your website! :)

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