new family addition!!

[blkfordsedan]

This is Cora! She was confiscated from a her owner due to neglect and abuse and was taken to the local Humane Society where my wife works. She was in pretty nasty condition and her entire coat had to be shaved due to all the matting and tangles. She is tiny, scrawney and pretty old (approx 10+ yrs), and she suffers from cateracts. We suspect she may also have the start of some tumors in her mammaries. The decision was made to euthanize her due to her age and medical conditions.......but she is not in any physical pain and we just couldn't let that happen :nono:
She is a complete sweetheart and only wants to be loved and held constantly. My wife and I decided that she deserves to be loved and live the life of luxury for what few years she has left.

[festyfreak39]

your a good person, i love animals i think you made the right choice!

[PhoenixSHO]

Glad im not alone out there saving them.

I got 5 small dogs , and 2 of them are coming from the SPCA coming from harsh places.

My wife and I decided that she deserves to be loved and live the life of luxury for what few years she has left.

Thats how we feel too.

[turbokid]

Definatly some good karma heading your way. Thumbs up from me.

[Tex Law]

Animal Rescue

Good form,
Saving an animals life is as good for us as it is for them. At my house we have two rescued dogs and five rescued turtles.
Tex

[blkfordsedan]

Glad im not alone out there saving them.

LOL, trust me, you're not alone.....look at my sig! All of our dogs were rescued from the shelter, many of them were abused, and several of them had serious behavioral issues that would have made them impossible to adopt to the general public for liability reasons. My wife does behavior assessment and training for the shelter, so we end up with the "problem dogs". I could buy a brand new car with the money I spend each month on food, vet bills, medication and cleaning supplies! On top of the dogs we personally have, we also foster dogs for the shelter that have special needs (like pregnant dogs and newborn pups without mothers). Over the last 3-4 years, we've probably had 20-30 puppies run through our home. It's a ton of work and we don't get paid to do it. In fact, it usually costs me money. Plus, working for a non-profit shelter means my wife barely makes minimum wage. To be honest, sometimes I get frustrated and just want to live a "normal" life, but it's what my wife loves to do and if she's happy.....:p

[DriverOne]

blkfordsedan, congrats. I read a signature on someone's post in an advice forum that says, "It's not the things we own or what we do that matters when it all ends. It's, 'have we done our part of God's plan in taking care of the animals'?"

[blkfordsedan]

That makes me nervous...because I EAT waaaaay more animals than I take care of !!!!

[Skrapbob]

Many thanks go out to anyone that adopts or helps an animal in any way.
You are my hero!

Not sure if this link works. I have saved the link to my computer and try to click it whenever I think about it. It helps to feed rescued animals. It's not much, but I hope it helps in some way. Maybe you have seen it before.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

[neanderpaul]

What's not to love?! It's hard to resist taking them all! I'm happy for Cora she found you. And happy for you that you are good.

[DriverOne]

To be totally honest, that's why I don't go to the animal shelters. I know it's horrible to say, but I can't bear not taking them all home with me! My wife and I have rescued five cats just by being at the right place at the right time. As far as eating more than you take care of, that's actually part of it, just as long as you pray over your downed animal and thank God for his creatures. As far as grocery store food goes, I guess it works the same way...

[blkfordsedan]

To be totally honest, that's why I don't go to the animal shelters. I know it's horrible to say, but I can't bear not taking them all home with me! ..

I understand completely. Its a very tough job for my wife. Many times in the evening, after we get home from work, she'll spend an hour venting to me about several of the dogs, tears in her eyes while she does it.

She does the behavior assessments for all the shelter dogs, and many times they rely on her assessment to determine if a dog should be euthanized. She is very adept at reading their body language and always says that no matter what, you ALWAYS trust your gut instinct. Some times it's pretty easy to know when a dog is a real danger to people and other dogs. Sometimes, however, they can pass all the assessment tests but she just gets the "vibe" from them that they are unpredictable and can't be trusted. Those are the tough ones. It's very hard to condemn a dog that hasn't actually done anything wrong, but the last thing you want is for a child, shelter employee or anyone to get hurt.

[Stivadiva]

What an adorable little face! I can see how this little dog would be so hard to resist. I truly admire your wife. That is one job I would not be able to handle. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about what she has to do and the decisions she must make.

[blkfordsedan]

Thanks! The only saving grace is she technically does not make the "live or die" decision. That decision is made by a supervising board, which takes the results of her assessments under advisement. This is good, because it allows her to be objective and non-biased (at least in theory). There are times that they decided to euthanize even if she says a dog is "good to go".....and there has been a few times they adopt out dogs against her recommendations. I don't think she could do the job if it was entirely her decision. It sucks, but all-in-all, it has been good for the shelter. It has allowed them to increase the rate of successful adoptions and reduce the cost of holding dogs in the system that should not be there. This, in turn, helps reduce the shelter's financial loses and helps to keep the doors open.

[DriverOne]

Thanks! The only saving grace is she technically does not make the "live or die" decision. That decision is made by a supervising board, which takes the results of her assessments under advisement. This is good, because it allows her to be objective and non-biased (at least in theory). There are times that they decided to euthanize even if she says a dog is "good to go".....and there has been a few times they adopt out dogs against her recommendations. I don't think she could do the job if it was entirely her decision. It sucks, but all-in-all, it has been good for the shelter. It has allowed them to increase the rate of successful adoptions and reduce the cost of holding dogs in the system that should not be there. This, in turn, helps reduce the shelter's financial loses and helps to keep the doors open.

This is awesome. I'm glad that she's not the proverbial axe-man (axe-maiden?). How many animals get a debut at Pet Smart?