All Animals Matter

As I sit here at my computer and stare out the window at my horse grazing, I am amazed at how my life has changed since I got involved in horse rescue. My long time friend, Linda Lambert and I started this adventure in February 2005, when we realized that the horses in this county were falling through the cracks and not receiving any help when they were abused or neglected. Since then, PER has rescued 68 horses and helped hundreds of others by educating the owners or sometimes unfortunately even having them prosecuted.

For the most part, we rescue all kinds of equines including donkeys and mules, but we have also rescued pigs, goats and dogs. The system is still not perfect and we find in some situations that animals will suffer if we leave them behind because the help simply is not there on that particular day for different reasons. So since we are a rescue, our instincts kick in to help other species when necessary.

Very recently, we were involved with a case where seven dogs and four horses were seized by the county. We were glad to see them "step up", since we didn't have space for any horses at that time. It was good to see them trying to do the right thing. While the horses are still safe in the county impound, it is really sad for the dogs because the owner surrendered them to avoid paying fines and three of the dogs were euthanized by the animal shelter. We are not happy about this and we don't understand why they were destroyed. But we are thankful that the director of the animal shelter called us one morning to see if we would take the other four dogs; a mother and her three puppies out of the shelter. We knew what their fate would be if we did not "rescue" them and we were given until 6 PM that day to pick them up. Linda and I got busy calling all the dog rescues that we knew of, but either they were full or we didn't get a response back. It was during the holidays, so that may have been part of the problem. By the afternoon, we realized that we would have to pick up the dogs in order to save their lives. We had no where to house them, but were able to find a special person that was willing to keep them at his family boarding kennel. When we picked up the puppies from the animal shelter, we were told that one of the puppies had a runny nose.

A few days later, that puppy took a turn for the worst and after spending days at the vet clinic, she had to be humanely euthanized. The other two puppies began to get runny noses, so we rushed them to the clinic and got them started on antibiotics right away. They pulled through and today they were adopted by Jimmy and Melissa Brown of Pensacola, pictured on the left. They took both pups so they could be raised together. We are very grateful to the Browns for giving them both a wonderful life.

The mother dog is still at the boarding kennel, so we are desperately trying to find her a foster home. I took photos of her today and I was brought to tears when I saw how timid and shy she was. She was emaciated when she was rescued from a puppy mill, where she was being kept in a tiny cage and used for breeding. She is still thin, but gaining weight slowly. The puppies are weaned, so that should help her get to her normal weight. Animals can be so forgiving and she is no exception. As she crouched and shivered, she looked up at me and halfway gave me a kiss. Her eyes were empty; she has never learned what love is or gotten any kindness from humans.

I wish I had space for her at my home. I hated leaving her at the kennel. They do a good job caring for her physical needs, but they don't have the time to socialize her to people. Dog rescue is new to me and while horses are my passion, my heart breaks for this special dog. I understand the ins and outs of why people can't foster or adopt horses; there are so many reasons, but I am not sure of the many reasons why people can't foster or adopt a dog. I know my reasons, I have too many responsibilities already, with four dogs, four cats and six horses to care for, my time is limited. Maybe someone will care enough to give this dog the love that she deserves. Maybe I will find that the world of dog rescue has it's rewards also. So, as I stare out my window watching my horse graze, I wait. I wait for that phone call or email from someone to open up their heart and home to help this dog, who deserves a chance. I know that certain someone will respond.