This past weekend was my four year anniversary in Arkansas. Time has certainly flown by and I really find it hard to believe. I feel like it was only weeks ago that I struggled to pack up my things and say my goodbyes. After four years, I can say quite confidently that this place I currently call "home" will never really be that. I am definitely a nature lover and Arkansas is a scenic state to be sure, but one I'd be happy only visiting, taking in the beauty of the Mountains and waterfalls, and moving on. Although I now get teased by family and friends for thinking that 40 degrees is cold and some claim to detect a slight "twang" in my voice, I am a northerner at heart and always will be. If given the opportunity, I would be out of this place in the blink of an eye.
I am, however, truly thankful for my experience living here. It has opened my eyes about animal welfare. Although this is something that I have always been extremely passionate about (up until here, my work had revolved around animals for years), I never knew how awful things were in this part of the country (the mid-south). I have seen acts of cruelty that I will never be able to forget. I see heart-breaking neglect almost every day. Literally thousands of dogs and cats roam the streets. With shelters full and little, if any, animal control, they have nowhere to go and no one to help them. They will live short lives and most will die painfully. They will get hit by cars, get sick with disease, or simply starve to death. And they will die alone, never having known what it's like to have a home of their own, or have someone love them.
Although I don't call Arkansas home, I will forever be tied to it, and to the surrounding area. I can't move away and put these forgotten animals and overwhelmed rescuers out of my mind. I plan to continue to give back to the animals from the area long after we are gone, as they have given so much to me.
In the grand scheme of things, my role here has been small. Looking at the statistics, I have made very little difference. But, as anyone in the rescue world will tell you, you can't look at the big picture. It will only conjure up feelings of hopelessness and doubt. You have to look at each animal as an individual. Here are some of the individuals that have come into my life in the last four years. (in order, as best as I can remember)
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| Phoebe! |
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| Dixie |
Having known then what we know now, there probably wouldn't be a Phoebe or a Dixie in our lives. We were new to Arkansas, having only been here six months, when we came across these two strays while we were mini golfing. We were told that they had been hanging around the course, eating garbage and drinking out of the waterfalls for days. It was extremely hot and they were very thin, not to mention we were on the side of a busy 6 lane interstate! I couldn't leave them. I figured we would simply take them to the humane society and either the owners would come for them, or they would be able to find new homes. Looking back, it's no wonder that the attendant seemed to think we were crazy for taking the dogs. He knew what we didn't, and had probably seen dozens of strays come and go from there. It only took a couple of days before we realized that these young dogs had become our responsibility. They needed homes, and were getting no help. As you know, Dixie stayed with us. Asia really took to her and they bonded very quickly. There was no plan in our future for another dog, but Dixie was chosen by Asia to stay. Phoebe went to live in MN! Emily and Patrick, my sister and brother in law, adopted her. They didn't even meet her in person before agreeing to rescue her. She now lives happily with them and her "brother" Jersey, their first rescue dog.
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| Cattle dog mixes, Jonny, Willie, and Patsy |
These three pups came to me from a local humane society. They were in the midst of a distemper outbreak at the location and needed short-term homes for healthy puppies. Their litter had originally been found after someone tossed them into a dumpster. All three were adopted locally.
This litter of five came to me when they were only two days old. They had been left outside of a vet's office all night in a box with instructions to "get rid of them." In other words, they wanted them euthanized, but didn't want to pay for it. The pups were nearly frozen to death. Middle of the night feedings for five pups was a daunting task, but they were so adorable! These pups ended up going to participate in a dog/inmate training program at the state prison. That was the last I heard, but I am a big fan of those programs and their adoption rates are high.
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| Little Willie Nelson |
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| Little Johnny Cash |
These pups have unique and heart-breaking story. Their homeless mother (a Jack Russell) had befriended a homeless man, and they were spending their days together. He didn't know that she was pregnant. When she went into labor, he knew something wasn't right. He eventually found a way to get her to the shelter, as he had no money for any vet care. They did emergency surgery, but the labor had gone on too long. They couldn't save the mother, and only two of the pups were alive inside of her. I picked them up only hours after their "birth." Given the circumstances of the way they entered the world, I knew these pups had little chance of surviving. They lead to many sleepless nights (One night, I remember driving around for an hour at 3 a.m. looking for corn syrup) and there were times I was sure I was losing the smaller one. They stayed with me until they were 9 weeks old and then went on to the northeast part of the country, via the rescue wagon. I was so excited when I found out that they were chosen for the program. It has a 100% adoption rate!
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This funny little girl was only with us for a few days. We picked her up after watching her walk in front of a few too many cars. She was in a nice neighborhood, but after asking around, she had been wandering there for a few days. We put up signs, but when the weekend had passed, we began to have doubts that anyone was looking for her. Her owners eventually did call. They had been on vacation and were unaware that she was even gone. (She was filthy and covered in fleas when we found her...obviously a backyard dog and not a family member. She deserved better.)
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| Jax |
Then came Jax. What Joy he brings into my life. He inspires me to work with what I have been given and make the best of things. His disability doesn't phase him in the least. Multiple people have told me that he is amazing. I agree. Now that I love him so much, it saddens me even more to remember how his life was before he came to live with us.
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| Laila! |
I was drawn to "Emily" who is now Laila Beerling, immediately when I saw her picture on the website. I had agreed to hold off on another foster for a couple of weeks, but couldn't get her out of my head. I believe it was meant to be, as she quickly became part of the family too. She is now living it up in Bloomington, MN!
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| Calista! |
Little miss Calista has probably been the most difficult dog so far. She was a roller coaster ride. It was so hard investing so much effort, and so much hope, and not ever knowing if she was actually going to make it. She is a true survivor and I know that there is a perfect home waiting for her out there somewhere.
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| J.D. aka...Mr. Orange |
Oh, I almost forgot! Among all of the dogs that have come and gone, there was this little guy. A supplier of our business called me at the office begging me to come and pick up a kitten that had wondered into their warehouse during hurricane Gustav. They sounded so excited and truly worried about the little guy. They had even named him -J.D. (for John Deere, the name of their company) so I reluctantly agreed. When I first saw the pathetic animal, my heart sunk. I was pretty sure that he was beyond my help. He was clearly suffering from some head-trauma, along with malnutrition and dehydration. He couldn't stand on his own anymore and his head was so tilted that if I didn't prop him up with a towel, he just rolled over onto his side. I told them that I would do what I could, but not to get their hopes up. I took him home. I decided that if he made it through the night, and didn't get any worse, I would take him to the vet for medications. If he went downhill, I would have him put to sleep in the morning. Throughout the night, I got up to check on him, each time expecting him to have passed. Each time, I was able to force feed him a little warm water or formula and by morning I had even gotten a little canned cat food in him. By noon, he was offering to lick the food from a spoon on his own and I knew he would pull through. Once he was healthy enough, I brought him into our office (Dixie would have made a snack of him given any opportunity) and he never left. Just over 2 years old, he has grown into quite a handsome cat. He still has a remnant head tilt from time to time, but he wouldn't fit into our animal family if he were completely "normal," now would he?
I would be lying if I said that rescuing was easy for me. It's emotionally, and sometimes even physically draining. There are extreme highs and lows. There is poo and pee and slobber and vomit and blood. There are numerous trips to the vet and a pharmacy full of medications on my shelves at all times. There have been plenty of days I have felt overwhelmed and frustrated. That being said, not once have I thought about giving it up, even if I were to get back into an animal-related career. These dogs help me be a better person. They give me a reason to be here in Arkansas that is more important than any job. They keep me going. I believe that this is what I am suppose to be doing and I will continue to do it as long as there is a need for it, which I fear, in my lifetime, there always will be.
