I quit doing rescue because of a few factors. Firstly, I had serious car troubles (resulting in nearly $2000 worth of work being done to it. Ouch!) and a lot of my activity involved transport. We would arrange for a dog to be transported from foster care or a shelter to a foster home or it’s new forever home by car, each volunteer taking a leg of the trip which was usually around 100 miles. Obviously, without a reliable car, I could not volunteer to do this.
There was also a lot of animosity and unpleasantness going on between rescue groups. They would back-stab each other, compete for dogs, homes and fosters and just generally act like fools. This is why I never dedicated myself to a particular group – I didn't want to be categorized or discriminated against because of an affiliation like that. I just volunteered for whomever needed me when I could.
The "straw that broke the camel's back" was my own adoption gone awry. We had decided to adopt another Boston, and after being approved we finally found one. Her name was angel and she came all the way from Alabama to live with us. Angel, like a lot of rescue dogs, had issues but we liked her and were willing to work with her. After only having her for a week or so, the coordinator of this particular rescue group gave her away! I kid you not – she promised Angel to another family that she thought she'd be perfect for, a family that had lost their Boston to disease. After much begging and groveling on her part, I let her send Angel on to this other family with the promise that she would find us another Boston – never happened. So much for promises...
I have done a lot of transports and have fostered a few dogs. That can be a big adventure. One that we fostered, Tia, was a funny little Chihuahua/Boston mix and she was such a sweetheart. She must have been mistreated, though, because every time you would so much as raise your voice, she would squat right there, pee and shake like a leaf. We found her a great home and she is a happy little girl now.
Another foster we had kind of freaked me out. She was really demanding of attention and would become very jealous if I were holding Pugsley or Derrick. She would lunge and bark at them, as if they were in her spot! Pffft. Get over yourself, dog!
As I've been writing this, I've been surfing through the listings on Petfinder just to see who's out there looking for a home. I think I'm in trouble – check this little baby out:
Just look at that face! She needs a home and she's only 25 miles away. Her name is Nora, which was my Grandma's name. Isn't she pretty? She is young and is described as very loving and playful, great with kids & other dogs. They think she's a boxer/terrier mix, but she looks Corgi to me. Hmmmm...looks like I need to make a phone call.
Anyway, I'm going to be dipping my toes back into the rescue world, so you will probably start seeing related links popping up on here.
Oh, and thanks to all of you guys talking about doggies for giving me the fever again. LOL
