The Devine Miss M
As some of you know, we are dog rescue people. For those who do not know what that means. Its about phone calls in the middle of the night to save Great Danes that skewered themselves on fences, were left on the side of the road, or found on an abandoned house with 4 feet of water rushing in. It also means waiting in grocery parking lots for soon to be non-owners who are dropping their dog off on the commute to work or before a big vacation. It means scraping for money, expecting a vet is going to pull care for lack of funds, decided what dogs can live and which must die. Some for good reason, some for no reason at all but money and time. The rarest commodities.
Theodore Russell Cates, our first Great Dane. Rescued from Dallas. His family moved and left him with a neighbor because he dug holes. He hide toys in our yard for 5 glorious years. He was 10 when his heart gave out. We miss you Ted-Ted!
It means being witness to modern day train wrecks in people’s personal lives ( lost job, lost spouse, lost health) where a dog has no longer a place and the humans are suffering. Its easy to become jaded. Some rescue folks vilify those going through these trials because they did NOT choose to keep the dog.
And who would blame rescue folks for their judgments. The simple truth is rescuing pets and finding them forever homes is rough. If the dog gets a spot, and passes it medical, and gets the treatment it needs. Hours, buckets of money, and a ream of forms and contracts later…that same dog can be returned to rescue a week, a month, an afternoon later. Its all so random. And so many do not get a spot, or pass their medical or the treatment doesn’t take…a rescuer can feel more like an undertaker than a lifesaver.
It is said that pet rescue in the US is like emptying a bucket with a teaspoon, while its filled with a hose.
It is also said to end this problem via adoption each man, woman and child would need to adopt and keep 7 pets each. This is just madness. We have 15 pets and our lives are nearly un-manageable. A good number of pets is 4 or less. Take it from the crazy people who can’t take their own advice…stop at 4!
Phoebe, our second rescue Dane. Rescued from OKC. She was 6, at the time. Amazingly our Phebs is still with us at the ripe age of 16!
The state of pet rescue today, would turn anyone into judge and jury eventually. We call it BURN OUT, and it usually involved ripping your clothes off and dancing naked in a fountain or crashing and burning in an ugly screaming match with a very tired Animal Control Officer who also might be hanging by a thread.
Or just blipping out of sight.
Whatever happened to so-and-so?
She dropped off my radar.
Oh.
Enter the Devine Miss M. No, not the delightful songstress with the hourglass figure, the real one. She has been doing this a long time. Mountains of fall away rescue folks, myself included are piled up on either side of the road she travels, yet she keeps going. 11 years now. She might slow down now and again, but the phone calls and emails never do.
Andrew, our third saved Great Dane. He was just 11 months when he came. He will be 8 years old this month (October) He was found tied to an elder man’s porch rail by a passerby.
She takes a call from an angry man who’s wife recently vacated, its now his job to get the kids off to school, the family fed, keep that money coming in. Money is tight and everyone was late for school because “Frenchy” the Great Dane had stinky diarrhea all over the house. The dog has got to go. NOW!
She listens. She is good at listening. She lets him get it ALL out before she begins to pull his pieces back together again. She gently lays it all out for him.
Finally, she says, give me some time to find a place. I will ask my people. Her people are all busy, many do not respond to her pleas for help. Some just rattle on being no help at all. Yet, she listens to them too. Something breaks and a spot opens in rescue. Miss M meets the man at the vet to surrender the good Frenchy only to find she is not very “good” (well-behaved), but the man loves her dearly. Its hard for him now that his anger has past to let his Girl Dane go. She is healthy, but it cost money to find out. Miss M pleads with the vet office to make payments. Can I pay you Tuesday for a tick panel today?
The man is still there, not out the door like those who have already made up their minds. He stays.
Give it a night to think about it, she urges. If you want her back in the morning just call me. The bills are taken care of, I will teach you how to feed her better so her diarrhea clears. Its probably just that cheap food your feeding to make ends meet. I will be here for you if you have any questions and if it doesn’t work out, she has a place in rescue.
The man weeps.
He loves his Dane, but he doesn’t know how he is going to manage.
She listens. She comforts. She understands.
She has said goodbye to too many dogs, not to understand.
The daughter of this man has lost too much in the last month to let her Frenchy go. Echoing the wishes of her father’s heart, she demands her dog back upon returning from school that evening. I imagine with MUCH drama if I know anything about girls.
He calls The Devine, she is expecting his call. He rushes to pick up Frenchy the next morning. They go home together armed with new training techniques, new, quality food (per Miss M’s pocketbook), and a new appreciation for each other.
This is the success story. The one in a million. The elusive, Owner Retained Rescue. The “get” that all rescue folks dream about, and pay to see with strings of disappointments.
Miss M weeps.
Savors the sweet victory.
Savors,
the sweet victory.
Savors the sweet, sweet
Victory.
Then she hits send/receive there are miles to go before she sleeps. Miles to go.
Many Thanks Miss M, for sharing this story with me and for our Dearest Ted who started it all! Without you, Dear Miss M, Ted would never have had a chance to be ours.
*wiping happy tears*
___________
Bunny Cates ( no relation, but you would swear there was if you heard us talkin!) I laugh so hard with this lady my sides ache and we both wear holes in the carpet with our on the phone pacing.
Well she sent me a peek at something she is was making WORDLE-LAYS and I got a chance to play with um! NOW they are in the store and I am blabbing! These overlays are so cool!
She has these for boys, some for girls, a faith series and of course a friend series too. See what they did for my plain black and white photo??
Truth be told, not just plain black and white. I have put a slight gradient beneath the photo of my Nate acting the thug, he really just ate alot of Pizza at Cici’s and was napping. Dad eats slow, why not nap? I also added color to Bunny’s Wordle-lays to set up a pop of color since everything so far was subtle…can’t have that! LOL!
I used a color palette I have been dorking around with for a week or so. It will become my Thanksgiving Kit eventually!
Happy Friday ALL!
Edited: October 9th, 2009