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debbiep_gw

Update on puppies and a special thanks

debbiep_gw
13 years ago

A special thanks to Craftyc and Olyagrove.Craftyc for her donations to help feed the pups and mom and Olyagrove with her help in getting the motions in order for the pups to go to a rescue.

They left yesterday,they were 9 weeks yesterday to.They went to Fl and will have homes there eventually.I'm not sure that they will make it to Tampa Olyagrove(its possible though) but your director was very helpful in putting me in touch with a lady closer to me.Sweet pea(mom)stayed with us.I'm going to try keeping her.When we have all the pictures organized I will probably post some one last time as they had grown so much.I do miss them but not the work.Thanks to all the other pet forum members who answered all my questions to these last nine weeks..Debbie

Comments (16)

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, Debbie, that is wonderful. You just made my day.
    Thank you for the update, and I am so happy things have worked out.

    HSTB is the best rescue group, with wonderful staff and volunteers. I am glad we could help!

  • craftyc
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Debbie...thanks so much for the update on the pups...we just got back and the first thing I did was to check on here to see if the pups had been taken to a rescue group...I'll bet it was a bittersweet time for you...also, glad to hear that you'll probably be keeping Sweetpea...she looks like a real sweetheart..does she get along good with the dog you have? Looking forward to the latest pictures!

  • betsyhac
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Congratulations, and I'm so glad you're keeping Sweetpea. You're a good person for doing these good deeds, and I know that you'll be rewarded in kind. I'm very happy for you. Following is a little story someone sent me by email once. I found it and copied it here bc it reminds me of your Sweetpea. Hope it's not too long.

    "Oh, no! Look out!" I fearfully said to myself as I watched a truck in front of me narrowly miss a little black dog on the highway. The dog cringed away, limping to the shoulder and then turned to stare hopefully at my car as I drove past. Something in that earnest stance stayed with me well after the stray was out of sight. Stray dogs were a problem in the rural community where I lived. My husband often spoke about the miserable plight of these forgotten animals. Most did not survive long. If they were not killed on the roadways, they died of starvation or disease. I kept thinking about the a dog as I drove home. Then I made a decision to do something. I pulled into the parking lot of the veterinary clinic. I explained about the stray dog. "If I can catch it, would you put it to sleep?" The vet thought for a moment, then answered quietly that he would. He didn't seem very pleased with my plan. Armed with a blanket and some dog biscuits from the clinic's waiting room, I drove back along the highway. I found the dog once again on the shoulder. I pulled over, grabbed some biscuits and walked to where the dog lay. I got my first good look at just how miserable the dog's existence was. The little black dog's very thin hair was missing in patches. Rough and raw skin showed through the bare places. One tooth caught on its lip, giving it a snarling appearance. One eye had been injured. It was so hungry that it was gnawing on the bottom half of an old turtle shell it held between its front paws. Kneeling down, I fed it the treats and then carefully picked up the dog and set it on the blanket in my car. During the drive back to the veterinary clinic, I kept telling myself that what I was doing was the right thing. This animal had no home, no owner. It was injured and starving. A quick, painless euthanasia was better than the fate that awaited it otherwise. I glanced down at the dog and saw it studying me. The look in that one brown eye was unnerving. "Just don't think about what's ahead," I told myself. The vet was waiting for me when I pulled back into the parking lot. He opened the car door, picked up the dog and carried it into the clinic. Reluctantly, I followed him inside. Instead of taking the dog to the kennel area, he carried it into an exam room. There, he looked over his newest patient. "It's a young female, about a year and a half old. She has mange, that's why her skin looks so bad. Probably hit by a car, but this leg's not broken. Her jaw is fractured, though, and starting to heal itself. This eye needs some corrective surgery and the eyelids need to be closed..." While he continued to examine the black dog, she sat quietly on the table. Her gaze never left my face. Why was she staring at me? Did she understand why I had brought her to this place? His examination completed, the vet turned to me. He looked at me meaningfully and said, "There's nothing here that can't be fixed." I looked once more at the dog. She was still watching me with her single brown eye. I felt heartsick about this dog's sad life, and the decision I had to make.
    It's been twelve years since that day, and I think about it often - especially on days like today, when I'm sitting in the yard watching my hens peck around in the grass. My orange cat stretches lazily on a sunny spot on the patio. The season's last hummingbirds are fussing about the feeders. And an old dog leans against my leg. She lays her gray muzzle, once so black and shiny, on my knee and looks up at me. I give her soft head a pat. I've come to understand the expression in that solitary brown eye. And I answer her, "I love you, too."

  • Lily316
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's a tearjerker...Debbie, you're a very nice person to help Sweetpea and her babies. Best to you.

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Betsyhac, that is one beautiful story.

  • yborgal
    13 years ago

    Betsy, what a moving story. Bless you for taking her in; I'm sure you've been rewarded many times over by her unconditional love for you. You both were lucky that day.

  • yborgal
    13 years ago

    Olyagrove, please tell me more about the rescue group HSTB. I'm not familiar with them.

    The group I usually refer to is Lost Angels Animal Rescue. They're local and will keep a dog until it is adopted, even if it takes years to find a permanent home. The founder happens to work in my husband's office and she's the closest thing to a living saint I know.

  • debbiep_gw
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That story brought tears to my eyes especially since I'm not sure she will be able to stay.It appears she doesn't like my bassets.There was a dog fight yesterday afternoon between her and my oldest hound,she did not want Lucy to come around us.I don't know if dogs feel jealousy or not but thats what it looked like.Sweet pea prefers that its just myself and my husband with her and not the other dogs.I'm not sure how to work this out.I don't want to leave it to them to work out as both bassets have some joint issues and I don't want to end up at the vets.

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Monablair, it is Humane Society of Tampa Bay. A few years ago they moved to No Kill, and right now have a wonderful shelter for cats and dogs, a low cost Spay-Neuter clinic and a weekend shot clinic, and an awesome feral (TNR) program.

    http://www.humanesocietytampa.org/

  • yborgal
    13 years ago

    Olyagrove, I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that although The HS of Tampa Bay is classified as a No Kill facility, animals that are not adopted and stay the maximum days allowed are sent to other facilities that are not No Kill shelters. And then they are euthanized if not adopted.

    So HSUS is a No Kill facility in every sense of the description?

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Olyagrove, I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that although The HS of Tampa Bay is classified as a No Kill facility, animals that are not adopted and stay the maximum days allowed are sent to other facilities that are not No Kill shelters. And then they are euthanized if not adopted.

    Once accepted into the program, the animal stays at the shelter until adopted. We have some cats and dogs that have been there for a few months, but generally they go rather fast.

    You can browse adoptable animals here:
    http://www.humanesocietytampa.org/adoptable-pets/view/

    - and see the intake dates. I monitor my fosters - to see who got adopted and when.

    You can read here more about the history of HSTB.
    http://www.humanesocietytampa.org/about/

    In 2004, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay began the "No Kill for Space" program which means that no adoptable animal is enthanized to make room for another coming through the door.

    Unfortunately, something has to give and the rescue cannot accept ALL animals - any no kill rescue is going to limit itself to adoptable (non-aggressive and not severely injured animals):
    The Humane Society of Tampa Bay is a limited admission shelter. We only accept animals that we feel we can adopt.

    There is a great deal of confusion in Tampbay area about HSTB and HCAS (Animal Services) They are an open intake shelter funded by taxes/local government, and they unfortunately are a high kill shelter.
    Since HSTB understands that a lot of the burden falls on HCAS, since HSTB cannot do open intake, HSTB does transfer a certain number of cats and dogs weekly, to either the shelter or their foster program, to help the animals who landed in HCAS...

    I do not know much about HSUS.

    Hope that helps :)

  • yborgal
    13 years ago

    olyagrove, I meant HSTB, not HSUS.

    Thank you for the information. It's good to know I was wrong about their definition of No Kill.

    The facility (shelter) you're speaking of is on Armenia Ave?

    PS. How is your husband doing?

  • olyagrove
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hubby doing well, thank you!

    Yup, HSTB is on Armenia, and HCAS (kill shelter) on Falkenburg.

    Recently , was it Pinellas county ASPCA that got into trouble - for some reason the public perception was that they were No Kill - yet, they were open intake and had to euthanize animals. Not their fault for having to put animals to sleep - but No Kill certainly did not apply to them, and in end, just added more to the confusion to the whole "kill-no kill" in our extended area ...

  • debbiep_gw
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow,I'm glad that was all cleared up in the last few post.I almost started to worry did I do the right thing.My rescue lady recently let me know that most likely they will go to your facility Olyagrove in the next week or so.Possibly mom to being I'm having female dog troubles.If she can't go I'll have to look around for a home here for her.

  • Georgysmom
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Betsy, I'm still crying.

  • betsyhac
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Debbie,
    I don't you think should feel like a failure one bit. I feel bad now for posting that story, bc I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's just going to be someone else in that story with Sweetpea's grey muzzle on their lap, not you. You wanted to make a difference, and look what you've done...you've positively impacted Sweetpea, her puppies, and all the lucky new owners that they will be matched up to. Let me tell you another story -- about me. I love animals so much and I vowed never to be one of those people that got rid of their pets for any one of the vast number of stupid excuses people use. I felt strongly that it was a lifelong commitment. But, I had to get rid of my very first animal, a dog I adopted in my early 20s. I was in an apartment and had to move back home, and my mean Mom (probably why I have such a large pet family; but I digress) made me get rid of my dog. He was a miniature Samoyed that I got at the Humane Society. He was so dirty when I got him and had clearly been abused. He flourished while I had him, and it broke my heart to get rid of him. I put an ad in the little suburban paper and got about 15 replies. I was terrified. A cute little retired couple showed up an hour early. They had a beautiful hobby farm in the country and another little dog about Nanook's size. They let me visit him whenever I wanted. Even though I'd had Nanook for less than a year, he always remembered me when I came to visit him and was so happy to see me. I couldn't have dreamed up a better place for him to go to. I missed him so much, but I was so relieved that he had such a happy life after God knows what he'd been through. We can't always plan things as perfectly as we'd like, and we can't always have the outcome we'd like, but we can certainly try to the best of our ability. You've certainly done that, and you are to be commended.