More On Fostering and Saving A Life

Leroy, this sweet boy was left to die by a hit-and-run driver.

Thanks to a foster family, Leroy is alive.  

You may have heard of Leroy, a young pit bull, was hit by a car and left to die in Harrisburg, PA. Horrible but it happens every day all over America.

A hit-and-run driver got to him before Animal Control did. 

No one knows about Leroy's life before he was hit. He was considered a "stray," though this writer finds it hard to believe he was a stray considering he had a chain and lock around his neck that had to be cut off with a bolt-cutter.

Call me crazy, but I don't see how he could have escaped from a backyard and taken the chain and lock with him, still wrapped around his neck.

Looking at the photo, I can almost feel the weight of the chain and lock weighing me down around my neck, putting pressure on my spine.

Leroy could tell stories of what he's been through by acting out aggressively against humans, but he doesn't.  He's sweet and gentle, despite the intense pain he's in and the trauma of being hit by the car, being lifted and moved and taken to vet, where he was poked and prodded and touched...

As you can see, the car did a number on Leroy.

He sustained some very serious injuries. He has a soft tissue injury to his front left leg, a separated pelvis, and a broken femur that will need orthopedic surgery to repair.

We forget as we drive with a little bit of a heavy foot, just how much damage we can do to flesh and bones with a piece of heavy machinery.

A kind nurse advocated for Leroy, who would have surely been PTS...However, The Lucerne County Pit Bull Owners Group was contacted and they have taken him under their wings.

 

Leroy is adjusting well to his foster family- as you can see by the sweet and happy smile on his face.

Many thanks to his foster mom, Casey Elizabeth Heyem, who has this to say about Sweet Leroy:

"Leroy has shown nothing but love and appreciation since the first moment I saw him. He has taught me about forgiveness. Because despite his past, he is completely trusting and willing to please. My friends and family have all fallen in love with him as soon as they receive a facefull of kisses. Two days after surgery, he tried to jump up to kiss my face- his way of thanking me for feeding him. Through fostering, I am learning how to care for another life that depends on me. I'm so glad I was able to open my home for him. He makes it all worth it. "

Where would Leroy be without a foster home right now?

And how about Mickey, whom I introduced you to in my last post? Remember him? His "human" of six years passed away and Micky was taken to a high-kill shelter.  He was saved at the last minute. Here's his latest photo and link to its thread- Just click on the caption.  

True, Genuine Love.

 Now, to tug on your heartstrings even more, here's Roly Poly Little Matt.  He's around 8-10 months and was in the same high-kill shelter Mickey was in. Sadly dogs were PTS there today...and eleven yesterday.  Matt has been on the "kill" list for 2 weeks! A puppy no one wanted and is only alive right now as you read this because there was a foster available for Jennifer Kosanovich to take him to. He made it out " just in the nick of time" and here he is this evening in his new foster home:

Matt, wiped out after playing, in his temp. foster home tonight. He is a 8-10 month old mix breed, fully vetted boy in need of a forever home. Check out the FB page Hanna Marie's Rescue Angels for more on Matt and the other animals we have available for adoption!

I don't want to bore you with "this doggie tale" and "that doggie tale."  I DO want to keep the idea of fostering a shelter animal in the forefront of your minds...because YOU CAN SAVE DOGS AND CATS right now, just like the fosters of these beautiful creatures have. Scroll down to my last post and read the comments of people who are fostering for the first time in their lives and the joy they feel at being able to save an innocent life and feel love, undying devotion and gratitude from these beautiful animals.


Again, remember that there is an" URGENT PLEA For Temporary Foster Homes For Dogs In A High-Kill Shelter. ***Greenville-Columbia, SC *** Raleigh-Durham, NC & ***Nashville, TN areas- These Dogs Need You NOW! Rescues Are Willing to Pull The Dogs But W/out Fosters, We Can't SAVE Them! Plz Contact Jennifer Kosanovich On Facebook. "Friend" Her and Send Message About Fostering. Thank You. 

Also, there is an URGENT PLEA IN * SOUTH CAROLINA, *NORTH CAROLINA, *GEORGIA, *PENNSYLVANIA AND *NEW YORK STATES...Temporary Fosters Needed For Dogs In High-Kill Shelter. They Need You ASAP! Rescues Are Willing to Pull THe Dogs But Without The Fosters, We Can't SAVE Them!  PLZ Add Rene Rubenacker Crossposter  as a Friend on Facebook and Include Message About Fostering. Thank You!

And needed in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC areas and Greenville-Columbia ,SC areas add Stephanie Pico de Wilsky as a Friend and message her you'd like to be a foster.

* * If you live in PA and would like to foster for  The Lucerne County Pit Bull Owners Group please add Bullybreed Nina as a friend on Facebook and again, include a message about fostering. 

These folks are doing an incredible service and acts of kindness. Please open your hearts, spread the word around to your friends and families and foster- foster- foster!

On a lighter note, Scully and Dovi have been enjoying some walks in the fresh air, cr rides with the windows down, donut holes from their favorite coffee shop, Sip and Dip, and Animal Crackers from their Auntie Kori...not to mention sitting in the sun for Scully...sitting in the shade with Mama for Dovi, tummy rubs and back massages and lots of love for both of them...and as always, Scully has been vigilant in barking at the airplanes til they are out of sight to keep them from landing in the backyard. No flies on him! ;)

 

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You Can Save A Life By Fostering A Shelter Animal

"Daddy, can I have him..PLEASE?"

"Awww...she's so cute..let's take her home- I've always wanted a puppy."

or a kitten...

Every animal that ends up in an animal shelter has a story..a birth, a mother's love and nurture, siblings... a history...experiences that they can never tell us about. People they've loved, people who've chased them or beaten them...fights they've been in, parks they've played in, toys they've chewed and Sunday morning pancakes from McDonald's they've enjoyed with their families...

The handsome dog in the upper-right corner of this post is Mickey. He was "red-listed" on May 16, 2011. "Red-listed" means he was on the list to die at the shelter..to make room for a new dog.  He was scared...terrified actually. He's a six year-old pomeranian mix. His owner died and Mickey ended up at the Greenville Animal Control shelter in Greenville, SC. This sweet boy had been with his "human" for years...I'm uncertain but I believe he was found alone with his "deceased human"- I don't know how long he was there- mourning his dead owner. He was traumatized after that, still mourning and taken to the shelter with so much noise, strange smells, whimpering and barking of 200 dogs...some dogs who didn't make it out.

Mickey was blessed...he was about to be "euthed"...and someone who runs a rescue group saw him and pulled him. Here he is now...happy in his temporary foster home.

A joyful snooze...enjoying Life!

He looks pretty happy to me...and just think..this photo would have never been taken if someone hadn't stepped up and offered Mickey a temporary home.





This is Mickey and Troy...another dog who would be dead if it weren't for a foster family...:

Dear Reader, the "Dog Pound" is now known as the 'Animal Shelter" and the "Dog Catcher" is now known as the "Animal Control Officer."  Things have come a long way since then...There are many "no-kill" shelters now, thank God...

..but there are STILL "high-kill" shelters...municipal shelters that have little money to keep dogs and cats alive simply because too many come in every day. There's little space when you've got 150 "owner drop-offs" in a day! IN A DAY! Yes, there is a shelter in South Carolina that sometimes gets up to 150 owner drop-offs a day. That number doesn't include the animals that are picked up by animal control officers.

This is heart-breaking but I MUST share it with you. When an animal is brought in by "the dog catcher," it's considered a lost pet and usually has a day or two, sometimes three days to live for the owner to claim it before it is PTS ( Put To Sleep) a.k. a..."euthed" (euthanized...which is the humane way of saying gassed or stuck with a needle).  These dogs and cats have a slightly better chance of getting out of there alive.

The owner drop-offs aren't so lucky. If it's a "high-kill" shelter and there is no space for that animal, no free kennel or cage...that pet that was just taken out of it's home, taken away from it's bed and toys...Fluffy, Fido, Chance or Buddy can be PTS immediately- no questions asked...That's right...as the former "pet guardian" or owner is turning the key in the ignition, Sweet Caroline or Happy Little Sheba is terrified by strangers handling her and probably already crossing what's known as The Rainbow Bridge.

Foster families SAVE lives. People still go to the shelter to adopt dogs and cats..puppies and kittens...but not enough. Rescue organizations can step in and "pull" a dog. They can contact the shelter and say "Hey, I'm pulling Bootsie and Sam- don't put them down" and the dog or cat is saved...This wonderful process is really sped up when private people or groups "sponsor" an animal..donate money in the animal's name to pay for vetting fees such as rabies shots, heart-worm testing and meds, spaying and neutering, etc...plus, these rescue groups are sometimes out-of-state, so transport fees are also taken into consideration.

This is where fostering comes in. The dog or cat has to stay somewhere after it's been rescued. If it stays in the shelter, it's taking up space so a different dog or cat gets PTS...this is horrible but true. Sometimes, private people who can't take a dog will offer to pay for boarding but that only goes so far.
A temporary foster home is needed so the dog can be taken from the shelter and be somewhere safe until it can be transported to the rescue group.

THERE IS A DESPERATE NEED FOR FOSTERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!

When you foster, you're helping to save TWO lives- the life of the dog or cat that is being rescued and the one in the shelter you're giving a chance to be seen and maybe live and be pulled or adopted. Two animals are being saved...two.

Please consider it. Find out about it. Spread the word if you can't. Everything you do will somehow save a life.

...and if you're not convinced, here are more dogs who are STILL alive because of fosters:

Mickey the morning he left the shelter and arrived at his foster family. He looks a lot different, doesn't he?

Pearl at the shelter

Neil happy to be alive!

Flower when she was brought into the shelter

Flower with her foster mom looking like she's full of energy!

All these dogs are up for adoption...


If you'd like to foster, simply contact your local shelter and tell them you'd like to become a foster...Many times all you do is provide the home and lots of love...some rescues even provide the food, etc.

You can also contact a local rescue group if you're interested in fostering a specific breed...You CAN save a life...you can save MANY lives over the course of a few years!

The following specific pleas I've put out on Facebook.  If you live in the areas mentioned, by all means, make the contact today! There are many dogs and cats who will be PTS today, tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon...you CAN save a life as soon as you make the call or send the email!

" >->URGENT PLEA--T e m p o r a r y  F o s t e r s Needed For Dogs In High-Kill Shelter. ***Greenville-Columbia, SC *** Raleigh-Durham, NC & ***Nashville, TN areas- These Dogs Need You NOW! Rescues Are Willing to Pull The Dogs But W/out Fosters, We Can't SAVE Them! Plz Contact Jennifer Kosanovich Here On FB. "Friend" Her & Send Message About Fostering. Thank You! Plz Crosspost This All Over. The NEED Is RIGHT NOW! "

This is Pearl's foster plea...which is still in place. CLICK HERE TO READ WHAT JENNIFER SAID ABOUT PEARL

" URGENT: HOME NEEDED FOR PEARL-Former Redlisted Greenville Dog.
Trying desperately to help a fantastic dog and an equally fantastic rescue friend. Can anyone adopt, foster or rescue Pearl? Transport is available almost anywhere on the East Coast. If we can find a NJ foster, there is a rescue to help Pearl. Plz read the following bio by Jen Kosanovich and let her know if you can help. TEAM PEARL! "

" ***URGENT PLEA: * SOUTH CAROLINA, *NORTH CAROLINA, *GEORGIA, *PENNSYLVANIA AND *NEW YORK STATES...Temporary Fosters Needed For Dogs In High-Kill Shelter. They Need You ASAP! Rescues Are Willing to Pull THe Dogs But Without The Fosters, We Can't SAVE Them!  PLZ Add Rene Rubenacker Crossposter here on FB as a Friend and Include Message About Fostering. Thank You! Plz Crosspost This All Over. The NEED Is NOW! "

Also needed in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC areas and Greenville-Columbia ,SC areas add Stephanie Pico de Wilsky as a Friend and message her you'd like to be a foster.

>->-> * * A special mention for Hannah Marie's Rescue Angels! They always manage to find room for just "one more" dog and pull it from Death Row. If you'd like to find out more and foster for them, please contact Jennifer Kosanovich or Brenda Lee on Facebook.  Also, it would be great if you could spare even a dollar or two to help them out. The chip-in in the upper right corner is for this incredible rescue.  In a little over a week, they saved 13 dogs from being killed and 11 of them have MAJOR MEDICAL concerns- we're talking thousands of dollars. Please help them out if you can...They've pulled Troy, Neil, Flower, Lady, Matt, Chelsea, Chase/Chance, Princess, Charles, MooMoo, Art, Powder Puff, Jose, Sophie, Bella (GSD), Bella (Pit Bull), Tinkerbelle, Olive and one more who will be named shortly! These dogs came from Greenville, SC aka GCACS.

There are so many wonderful rescues across the country and around the world I wish I could list them all here but if you search for them, you'll be amazed!

On a very sad note, I told you about the money being there but no fosters, rescues or adoptions came through and dogs and cats being PTS...

Honey was brought into a shelter in NYC on June 6, 2011...just six (6) days ago. Her thread states "owner sick"...She was an owner drop off... Click on her photo to read what little they knew about her. The shelter thinks she was about 13 yrs old so she wasn't given any sort of medical evaluation...she was old- "no one wanted her anymore." though people pledged $400.00 in funds for a rescue/foster to pull her or an adoption to go through. At the last minute, someone from Cape Cod was going to adopt her-an email was sent this past Friday, the 10th to the Brooklyn shelter but never answered... how many days did Honey get before she was put down? I think she went down on Friday or yesterday...Four days before she was in her home...four days later gone from this earth...

Rest In Peace, Sweet Honey. We tried to save you.

Sadly, there are more like Honey than there are of Mickey, Pearl, Flower and Neil. Please consider fostering- it's an act of kindness...an act of love.

Thank you,

~ Scully, Dovi, Whiskers, Mickey, Pearl, Flower, Troy, Chaz and Sweet Chance, Augusta and Willis, who didn't make it are asking you to please pass this on.  ^..^   ,

P.S. If you are a rescue group looking for fosters and would like me to include you in this post, please feel free to contact me with the contact info and general locations/areas in which you need fosters. Thanks! 

Also a note from Hannah Marie's Rescue Angels: 
‎"  **All of this was possible THANKS to ALL of you friends for supporting us day in and day out, and a VERY special thanks to our foster parents, we could NEVER do this with out you..Thank you all so very much:))  "Tweet

Foster Homes For Pets Of Military Personnel

Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pet

Where do the pets go when their military humans get deployed?

In the early days of the War On Terror, military personnel had to leave their homes, their non-military lives so quickly, sometimes in 48 hrs, many had to put their pets to sleep because family members couldn't take care of them or they couldn't get their dogs or cats to a shelter in time. 

It was tragic.

I remember those horror stories of grieving soldiers going off to war, mourning their beloved pets and then going to a foreign land to kill or be killed. I am not speaking out on war one way or the other.

My purpose for this blog entry is to make people aware of at least one group I know of that can help find foster care for military personnel being called to active duty.

I stumbled upon them by accident, actually.

Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pet is on Facebook. Just click on their name and you'll get there.  

I snatched some almost verbatim wording from their About Us page on Facebook- They are an all volunteer 501(c)(3) public charity that supports military service members, veterans, and their beloved pets through programs aimed at reuniting pet(s) and owner(s) following deployment or an emergency hardship. 

They work to establish a network of foster families providing a loving and healthy home environment for the pet(s) until they can be reunited with their owner throughout the United States, among so many other things.

They also established and maintain the first Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pet "Military, Veterans, and Pet" (MVP) Sanctuary in Texas to further ensure there is a caring, loving, and safe home-like environment for these pets when individual foster homes are not available.

If you are in the military or know of someone in the military who is need of assistance with petcare while they are deployed, please share this info. 

It could save more than one life- human and animal.

P.S. Scully says "Sweet dreams to one and all."  ^..^     ,

 

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