High points, low points.

My job is filled with high points and low points. The highs can be very high (like adopting out an animal who has been waiting a long time in our shelter) and the lows can be very low (like finding out that an animal is not adoptable because a former owner didn't do basic  needed preventative care to keep the animal healthy.) This post is about two of the highest and lowest points of the week.

[HIGH POINT] My week started off with a (short) road trip like no other. I was browsing my Facebook feed on Sunday night when this popped up on my screen. For those who want the short version, there was a female Pit Bull being driven from New Orleans (!) to a Cleveland Pittie rescue, and she needed a ride from Florence to Columbus. I was off on Monday for MLK Jr. day, so I decided to give them some help. I read up on "Mama" after I actually dropped her off near Columbus on Monday. A post from The Sula Foundation regarding the dogs can be found here. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but here are some excerpts:

"For the past month, The Sula Foundation has been working (at no fee) with authorities in Biloxi, Mississippi, in response to a recent case in which twenty-five dogs were seized after being found tethered on a rural property, covered in wounds..."

The article goes on to discuss the general condition of the dogs:

 "Several had to be euthanized due to gangrene. Others were so traumatized that they would only crawl along the ground in our presence, never rising up onto their feet."

I can't imagine dealing with a situation like this. The sad part is, it is happening all around us, every day. We have an incredible overpopulation problem with dogs in this country, and no other purebred dog bears the brunt of that more than the "Bully" breeds (Pit Bulls, Staffordshire Terriers, American Bulldogs, etc.) I was recently browsing the Facebook page of a local Pit rescue, Adore-A-Bull Rescue. They often post pictures of their dogs who are seeking new homes. A person expressed interest on the post regarding a female dog who is currently in foster care, expressing an interest to adopt her if she could "request" that she not be spayed. She wanted to breed a female with her intact male. [LOW POINT]

Wait. Really? Surely I read her post wrong. But no, she actually did go to a rescue group who pulls an unwanted, overbred, chronically euthanized breed from shelters and ask to create more puppies. This mindset, the person who thinks that one more litter of puppies can't do that much harm is the reason we are in the predicament we are in! Purchasing an animal from a pet store or a "backyard breeder" causes just as much detriment to canines as going to a puppy mill and people don't or won't try to understand that.

ASPCA.org states that "Approximately 5 million to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 3 million to 4 million are euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). Shelter intakes are about evenly divided between those animals relinquished by owners and those picked up by animal control. These are national estimates; the percentage of euthanasia may vary from state to state."

I work at Boone County Animal Shelter, and I know that these statistics are not accurate regarding our save rates vs. euthanasia rates.  This problem goes far beyond the Bully breeds, and though I do have a soft spot in my heart for them, I hope that every dog has a fair shake in the shelter system. I am so fortunate to work in a shelter who gives every adoptable animal a chance to find their forever home.

Sorry about that rant. To lighten things up, here are some pictures of Mama (now named Sweet Pea) and I.

Mama was a total sweetheart!

Scars on her nose from a hard life, but she can look forward to much
happier times now.

This is what she during the majority of our time on the road.

The eyes really say it all. I see hope and a loving, forgiving soul.