8 State Hurricane Kate

Today I’m thankful to have time outside with the dogs in the daylight. These days it’s dark by the time I get home from work. Sometimes I delay my morning departure to have a sliver of daylight to play ball with them in the yard before I leave. But today we have the whole day! This morning a long V of geese flew over. Chase and Cay ran across the field after them, all the way to the fenceline. It seems like they’re getting a late start on heading south.

Tinkerbelle is free of her chain in Wyoming and was safely delivered to Rocky Mountain Cattle Dog Rescue in Denver last weekend. On Saturday, Bunny of RMCDR wrote:

Well Miss Tinkerbelle is in my lap as I try to type this and she is an absolute doll. Not a lot of issues, has no social skills but we will fix that and also no manners and that we will definitely fix but other than that she is totally adoptable and real love. My friend Billie has a 13 year old that does agility and obedience with his golden so he knows how be around strange dogs and Tinkerbellle ran up to him and within minutes after he sat down on the ground was all over him giving him kisses!!! GREAT DOG!!! So we are going to work on her social skills and then find her a great home.

Thanks to Lynn who rescued her from the guy who kicked her and kept her on a short chain with no shelter from the elements or the wildlife, and to Bunny who took her into rescue.

The breeder of the handsome blue boy Boomer (fka Maverick) who has been in the impound in Minnesota for a month has identified him and is driving down to pick him up next weekend. They are a very reputable breeder and I think they were not very happy that he ended up in the impound and nobody came to find him. The breeder said that Boomer will go to live with their 37 year old son who is single and lives in the country. He lost his dog to cancer and has not gotten another dog yet. Boomer will have an excellent home…no cats and 8 miles to the closest neighbor. Maybe this match was meant to be.

Scooter, the cattle dog border collie mix in the Georgia kill facility, was rescued and is en route to Homeward Bound Rescue in Minnesota.

Foxie, the red baby cattle dog was saved from the impound before her time was up. She arrived at Homeward Bound in Minnesota yesterday. Linda, who picked Foxie up from boarding in Kentucky and delivered her to the transport, gave her a couple of hours to be outside and to run and play with people. Linda said:

What a sweetie! She was shy at first about getting out of her cage, but warmed up to my 21 year old daughter and I quickly. She is already retrieving a tug I bought for her. She has lots of energy and intelligence. She will be an easy one to train. My daughter tried to talk me into just calling Margie to tell her Foxie was lost, so we could just keep her. LOL!… We only have one ACD, 2 ACD/lab crosses, 10 horses and assorted barn cats. I need another animal like I need a hole in my head! I sure was tempted today, though… 

On Wednesday evening, Katie of Homeward Bound reported: She’s here! Adorable does not even begin to describe her, either. She is so tiny! Has the ACD spunk already, is absolutely hilarious to watch play.

Speck the border collie puppy and Sassy the lab-beagle mix were unlucky enough to end up at the impound in Kentucky, but lucky to be there with Foxie. Our attention was drawn to the impound list because Foxie the baby ACD was there, and Homeward Bound in Minnesota offered to also take Speck and Sassy if we could get them here. Melissa pulled them at the last minute on Tuesday. It was euthanasia day and when she got there, they were already shaving dogs for the injections. There wasn’t room for Speck and Sassy on the transport, so now they’re being boarded in Kentucky and we’re working on a plan to get them to Minnesota.

Dotty, the catahoula-ACD mix in Iowa had been there for a long time and they had not been able to find her a home. Her situation had become urgent. Homeward Bound offered to take her in too, and a volunteer will drive her to the Minneapolis area on December 6th.

Soon these dogs will be listed on the Homeward Bound website at http://www.HomewardBoundRescue.com.

I’m very thankful for all of the people who come together to rescue these dogs who otherwise would not have another chance. Each one of us plays a role, as we are willing and able, to help by donating $, driving them partway to a new beginning, donating travel kennels, giving them a place to stay for a night along their journey, and more. None of us could do this without the rest of us and this network seems magical at times. This week was one of those times!

Still, I will not forget the dogs who were in the impound with Foxie, Speck, and Sassy who didn’t survive that day. There is always more to be done. Next week, Melissa will be trying to save more animals from the same fate there in Kentucky.

I’m thankful for my friends, for my human and animal families, for my health and home, and for this wonderful network of people who mostly have never met, but have made a big difference in this world. We are able to make change that most of us didn’t know was possible before Hurricane Katrina…perhaps that is one positive outcome to a very tragic event. Remember, no act of kindness is wasted.