From Life on a Chain to a Wedding on the Beach

Hagrid with his human sisters and new wife. 

He was the most unlikely of candidates for a bridegroom. Big, hairy and in need of some manners, Hagrid (aka Angelo) didn't seem like he was going to be going anywhere near the high life and nuptials ("puptials") on the beach were certainly not in the cards.

In fact, the only life Hagrid knew until last year, was life on the end of a chain.

Hagrid would be there still, but for the kindness of a young woman named Angel.

Angel lived in Hagrid's neighborhood in West Virginia and her heart broke at the sight of him on the end of that chain, wagging his tail at the sight of any human, constantly filthy, painfully matted and always lonely. Angel moved away, but she didn't forget Hagrid, not at all.

Last year, on her birthday, Angel decided to give herself a birthday present. She drove to Hagrid's home where he was still chained up in the yard, and she knocked on the door. She told the people who answered that it was her birthday and what she really, really wanted as a present was their dog. Could she please have him? They said yes.

So the big, smelly boy was loaded in Angel's car and she drove her birthday present directly to the vet. He got his vaccines, a much-needed and super painstaking shave-down, and the all-important neuter surgery. She called him "puppy" because the previous owners had never given him a name.

"Puppy" now needed a place to go. Angel did not live in a home where he could stay for long, and so she needed some help. She came to Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation and her story so touched my heart that I had to say yes. I mean, who could say no to the woman who freed a dog from a chain as a birthday present to herself? He was big and I was worried about the personality traits of a dog who had never been unchained, but I thought it was worth the risk. And it was.

When "Puppy" came to Lost Dog we named him Angelo in tribute to his rescuer, but as it turns out, he wasn't Angelo for long.

Puppy aka Angelo got scooped up within a couple of weeks of coming to Lost Dog and began a brand new life with a loving family as Hagrid.

And part of his brand new life included a trip to the beach where he was officially married to the resident canine of his new household, Sasha, in a lovely ceremony on the beach. That's right, Hagrid, formerly chained up 24 hours a day, seven days a week with no vet care or human attention, was married this summer on the beach. His human Mom officiated and his human sisters were in attendance complete with beautiful dresses and Leis.

And there was cake.

People Power

If you have anything to do with animal rescue, chances are better than good that you have said it at least once along the way and it is a certainty that you have heard it more than once.

"I hate people."

It's a common phrase and one that hardly raises an eyebrow.  It's an understandable sentiment. When your email inbox is full of variations on the theme, "We don't want our old/sick/ inconvenient/ expensive pet anymore," it's hard to maintain a positive outlook on the human race. When you see animals suffering because humans neglected or abused them or were simply irresponsible, hate for the human race wells up easily.

But there's a problem with that attitude, a big one. If we want to help animals we NEED the people. We need volunteers, fosters, adopters,  and donors. We need to welcome the people with open arms and sometimes issue a second chance or two. And guess what? There are some AMAZING people out there.

This weekend, Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation adopted out 59 dogs and cats, placed 24 puppies into foster homes and staffed 8 adoption events with  100 + eager volunteers. That's people power!

Colin, Nancy and Sassafras.

On Saturday at our Fairlakes event, a little dog named Sassafras slipped her collar. An army of volunteers and bystanders took off to catch her and she was finally rescued by Colin, a high school senior who has volunteered with us every weekend since he was 12. Nancy, who gives every Friday night and Saturday afternoon to the dogs, injured her ankle and her knee in the chase, yet continued to conduct adoption interviews with an icepack on her ankle. Two strangers offered rides to volunteers who were chasing Sassafras and the manager of Jason's Deli went the extra mile to make sure Nancy was okay. People Power.

At the Alexandria event on Sunday, there was a bomb scare in the parking lot complete with bomb sniffing dogs and heavy machinery. The volunteers kept on working and adopted out 8 dogs. People Power.


Perhaps most importantly, 59 families made the choice to adopt this weekend rather than purchase their new companion animal. That's 59 dogs and cats who were just recently on death row now on their way to becoming beloved family members because people made the right choice. People Power.


So, I'm starting this week filled with gratitude for the amazing efforts of some amazing people, and I'm gonna end it that way too. This people power is a repeat performance and next weekend, although I hope it's free of runaway dogs and bomb scares, I am sure I will be wowed again by what an army of volunteers can and will do.

A happy adopter who took a chance on an older dog.

A Big Gulp of Puppies

Their combined weight is just over 32 ounces. That's the size of a big Gulp and not even one of the new "super sized" ones, just a plain old-fashioned Big Gulp. All seven of them could probably fit easily into one of those waxy Big Gulp cups as well, with their tiny little feet tucked into their bodies and miniature tails wrapped around their back ends like a ribbon on a present.

Paws down, at an average of just 4.5 ounces each, these are the tiniest puppies I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of puppies. I just can't stop staring at them and watching their itty bitty chests rise and fall with each breath and their tiny little mouths go about the business of nursing. I can't quite fathom the perfect functionality of such miniscule creatures, but despite my incredulity, all seems to be as it should, only smaller.

Frankly, I'm also still reeling from the surprise. Based on x-rays of their Mom and information passed along by the owners who surrendered her, we were not expecting puppies until about 10 days from now. We were not, in fact, expecting puppies until after our vacation, which begins tomorrow.

It's a SNAFU alright, and having a Big Gulp's worth of puppies born in my bathroom today definitely did not aid in trip preparations. I didn't get my pedicure and I'm not sure what all I actually packed, but, of course that stuff doesn't matter much when you take a look at a healthy momma dog and 7 tiny fighters.

I'm looking forward to my vacation, but I also can't wait to get home in a week and see if the puppies got "SuperSized" while I was gone. If all goes well, they just might each be the equivalent of a grande cappucino by then!

Running with Dogs??

Whitney and her foster dog did a great job!

Okay, now that last night is over, I'll admit it. I was worried sick about Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation's first ever race series. I mean, it seemed like a great idea this winter when I met with the fine folks at Pacers about co-hosting a 5k race series at a park in Arlington. What a great idea! 250 people, half of them with dogs running alongside? Great! Providing shelter dogs for strangers to borrow for the run? Why not? Pulling this off with a team of volunteers at the same time as a weekly adoption event for which I am the primary support? No problem!

But, then, suddenly, it was August and the details began to weigh heavily on my mind. What if we don't get enough volunteers? How am I going to get dogs to both the event and the races?  Who is going to make sure the adoption event runs smoothly? What if our "Rent-a-Mutt" dogs misbehave, trip their runners or attack somebody's dog? What if, what if, what if!

I needn't have worried and I should have known. The Pacers crew is AMAZING and could probably organize a takeover of a foreign country without much trouble, and the Lost Dog volunteers? Equally amazing, of course. The runners themselves were an incredibly friendly group and very supportive of our rescue efforts. Even the dogs (chosen with so much angst for this special duty) outdid themselves. Although one flat out refused the opportunity to run, and one chose to meander down the trail, they were all super well-behaved and were perfect rescue ambassadors.

Nathan was the first "Rent a Mutt" to cross the finish line.

Our "Rent-a-Mutt" program was so popular that the line for them formed the minute they appeared and they were all assigned to runners within 15 minutes.  I felt like instead of 9 homeless and formerly hopeless dogs needing homes, I was handing out tickets to the hottest concert of the summer! It was a wonderful experience to see these dogs be superstars for a night.

Pullman and his runner friend.

I think the moment I finally relaxed was when I saw Pullman, formerly a stray living by a railroad track in WV, trotting so proudly down the trail, head and tail high, absorbing the crowd's adoration as if he were a Westminster champion.

One race down, three to go and I am no longer worried sick. In fact, I am busy composing the list for next week's Rent-A-Mutt program and trying to figure out how to bring more dogs to be champions for a night. :-)

A Miracle and a Faceplant

Two interesting things happened to me today and they both involved a little orange pomeranian named Molly. 

Molly arrived with a group of dogs from a rural shelter a couple of weeks ago. She's a tiny orange thing with perfect fluffy triangles for ears and great big expressive eyes that are hard to ignore. Molly also has congestive heart failure (big deal) and a thryoid condition (not so big a deal.) Her time will be limited due to the heart failure, but her interest in living and exploring has shown no signs of flagging. 

Last week, Molly sustained a back injury that left her paralyzed in her back end. She just suddenly couldn't walk. Three times we visited the vet and three times I came close to putting her down. Three times, however, I saw in her eyes she was not ready to give up, so I decided to give her this week to get literally get back on her feet. On the advice of the vet, we have administered pain meds, done physical therapy and last night started swim therapy (more on that later.)

This afternoon I returned home and invited all of the dogs out into the yard with me. I  left the front door open so the shy, old and slow ones could meander out at their own pace and waited for everyone to conduct business. A few minutes into the action, something orange caught my eye. It was Molly. The dog who had not walked a step since Friday had walked out the front door, down the driveway and found a patch of grass upon which to relieve herself. I felt like I had seen a miracle, like the whole world should have burst into song, like balloons should be released from the heavens. I cheered, I jumped up and down and I told Molly she was one strong cookie. I truly had just about given up hope for Molly, but she hadn't given up at all. 

So, tonight, it was back into the jacuzzi tub for Molly's swim therapy. I bundled her into her life jacket, placed her in the tub and pulled her around by the handle on the vest encouraging her to move those back legs. She hated it just as much as she did the night before and paddled away from me. I reached to guide her back and that's when it happened. Both of my feet simultaneously slid out from under me on the wet floor. In rapid succession, my knees hit the tile, my ribcage crashed into the side of the tub and I executed a perfect faceplant into the tub full of water.  

It took me a moment to right myself and cough up the water I inhaled on the way down and figure out I was all in one piece. Then I did the only sensible thing a person can do in situations such as this-  lay on the bathroom floor and laugh. 

Luckily, Pam was right there to rescue poor Molly and to join me in hysterical laughter, but we are both really sorry there was no video camera involved to record my shining moment for posterity or at least for YouTube and some exposure for the rescue... 

All in all, it was a big day for me and Molly and even though my back is already telling me I will be paying for my little spill, I am still grinning from ear to ear at the sight of a little orange dog on four feet. 

Eight Lives to Live

They had about 15 hours left to live. Fat, fuzzy, smoosh-faced and adorable though they were, the fact remained that if they didn't have a rescue commitment by morning,  they would be euthanized along with their mother. 

We were in no position to help. Our foster homes are full, the Lost Dog Ranch is near capacity and we have previously-arranged transports coming in the next few days. We held our breath and hoped someone else would answer the plea. 

Of course they didn't.  Everyone is in the same position- too many dogs in need, too few resources. And of course we said yes. We wondered where in the world we were going to put them, how we would manage it, and whether anyone would help, but we said yes. We crossed our fingers and toes really hard and hoped against all hope that someone in the Lost Dog Volunteer family would come through and offer the family a place to stay.

Of course they did. At the 11th hour, with the transport van nearly at its destination and backup plans in formulation, someone came through. Thanks to the amazing power of volunteers who care, those 7 puppies and their mother are being off-loaded from a transport van as I type into the waiting arms of an experienced, loving foster family and a neighborhood of eager supporters. What's more, that happy scene is the culmination of efforts on the part of a rural shelter volunteer who didn't give up, another local rescue group (HART) who runs a weekly, lifesaving transport from this shelter, and the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation. So many links in the chain to save such tiny lives. 

The story of these puppies is, sadly, not so unusual. They were surrendered by an owner to a shelter in a rural area. The un-spayed mother had an unwanted pregnancy and when the puppies started becoming mobile, the whole family was evicted. Being owner surrenders, they were first on the list for euthanasia for the vet's weekly rounds this morning.  

Because of the power of volunteers, however, this story has a different ending and this little family has a chance at life.  Although this dramatic need was created totally at the hands of negligent humans, it is hard not to feel a little bit better about the human race when you think of the big-hearted efforts of selfless humans combining to make a happy ending. 

This lucky momma dog will sleep well tonight. 

Both Sides of the Tracks

Is there anything more mysterious, romantic or soulful than a train track fading into the distance? Full of promise and possibility and a 1940's movie kind of sadness, railroads pique our curiosity, stir our emotions and take hold of our imaginations. Think sleeper car, rhythmic chugging noises and breathtaking views.

Or think broken down and abandoned trailers, miles of empty fields and dirty, desperate puppies looking for their next meal.

The abandoned trailer where the 7 dogs were living by the tracks. 

Unfortunately, it was a series of the latter images that butted their way into my life this week- nothing mysterious or romantic, just sadly desperate. 

The email went out to many rescue groups begging for help. A kindhearted animal lover in Boone County had discovered a group of dogs and puppies living as strays on the side of a local railroad track. She had begun feeding them, keeping them from starving while trying to figure out a permanent solution for their plight. The only shelter within miles would euthanize the dogs via gas chamber upon their arrival, so that was no option at all.

One of the meals that kept them alive. 

One day when she arrived to feed the group, one was missing. A person who lived nearby told the woman that this particular dog had been shot by a local preacher because she wandered into his yard. He told her none of the dogs were safe and that they needed to be removed as soon as possible. Fortunately, the girl with the bullet wound wandered out of the woods at that time and, while injured, appeared to be making it.

That's when LDCRF got the email and a desperate plea from a fellow rescuer whose group wasn't able to help. She would do anything to get them to safety, she said, including drive them herself.

So, that's how we all ended up in the parking lot of Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates on a hot Sunday afternoon. The dogs (seven in total) arrived in a crowded Honda Element, tired and wary and really confused by their eventful day.

LDCRF was able to help thanks to the generosity of the Pepsi Griffen & Sprite's Legacy Gift-a special fund designated for those dogs who need the most help and resources. Committing sight unseen to seven stray dogs is a risky proposition for a rescue. Who knows what medical calamaties may await and what expenses will mount? Who knows if the dogs will be ready for homes or need a long period of socializing first? Really, who knows what will happen and what it will cost? Having Pepsi, Griffen & Sprite's Legacy Gift meant that even though we had all of those questions in our minds, we could say YES in time to save these seven. So far, things are looking pretty good.  Pacifica, the victim of the gunshot is a lucky girl. There are no broken bones and antibiotics have infection under control. While she will live with some metal fragments in her leg, she is slated for a full recovery without surgery.

Though loaded with parasites and fleas, the other dogs are mostly free from any serious medical conditions. On lovely young girl, Panama, had a hard time during her spay surgery and almost didn't come back. Thanks to the quick action of the vet team, however, she was revived and continues to improve. She will need a couple of months of physical therapy which she is getting in a special foster home and then she should be able to find her forever family.

So these seven are safe and sound and extraordinarily lucky to have been the beneficiary of human kindness across two states.

But I will go to bed tonight thinking of the others out there... the ones whom humanity has abandoned and for whom no help has come. And if my life's journey places me in a railroad car, I'm pretty sure my nose will be pressed to the window in search of abandoned and helpless animals who need a miracle.

Manic Milk Monkeys

It's official. They are not puppies. They are instead Manic Milk Monkeys on a Mission. It's all about the milk and nothing but the milk. After more than two weeks of bottle feeding these orphaned pups, we have come to realize that we have created monsters. They can now see (eyes wide open!) and hear, and that means they are aware that the source of the milk has entered the room. And so they cry. And they run around on wobbly legs, and fall down and roll on the floor in the agony of anticipation. I close my eyes, and I can swear they are screaming "bottle, bottle, bottle!"

When one of us sits on the floor and pulls the first lucky puppy into a lap for his turn at the bottle, the others attack. They climb up pants legs and get stuck. They pull themselves into the human lap and try to dislodge the currently nursing puppy. They attempt to climb up the shirt of the human and push their noses into shirt sleeves.

The assault is relentless until each puppy has his or her turn at the milk bar and every belly is so full it appears dangerously close to popping. And then, finally, there is quiet. The only sound is the contented little grunts they make as  as they settle into their clean, dry blankets and sink deep into the land of milk coma.  And that's when they suck you back into believing they are adorable little helpless puppies, even though you know better. They are so cute and so sweet when sleeping that you buy into the puppy myth, even though you know for a fact that they are Manic Milk Monkeys on a Mission and the next outbreak is a mere 3 hours away.

Scrappy String Bean demonstrates the Milk Coma.

Full bellies and warm blankets equals sheer bliss.

Even in his sleep, he nurses an imaginary bottle.

Old Friends and Bottle Babies

Today began with the sad news of the passing of an LDCRF alum and really special former foster dog of ours named Ashby. She had a long life and was superbly lucky to be adopted into a tender and loving home at the age of 12. She had a beautiful soul and she will be missed.

So, my heart was heavy when I got "the call." An animal control officer in Spotsylvania County had just picked up eight puppies, so young their eyes were still closed and with no mother to feed them. My first thought was, "Oh no, not bottle babies! I don't have the time. The energy. The heart." My next thought was, "But who else can do it? What will happen to them if I don't help?"

The first bottle feeding for the puppies. 

So they are here. Of course they are here. I have the great privilege of having the flexibility, experience and support to tackle this project and to help these little ones on their journey, thus it is my responsibility to do so.

Funny thing is, as soon as I picked the first one up out of the cardboard box, it went from "should do" to "want to" in a flash. My heart lightened, my mood shifted and I felt grateful. There is so much to do to keep this rescue running- so many chores, emails, admin tasks, phone calls, vet appointments. It is easy to sometimes forget the simple joy of saving lives. Today, however, I got an awesome reminder of what's important in the form of eight little furry bodies looking for milk. I might forget a little in the sleep-deprived days to come, but I don't think so. Puppy breath awaits!

Puppies in a box at the shelter.

Godspeed to beautiful Ashby in her next life, and welcome to the world of safety little orphans! It has been quite a day.

The orphan puppies were discovered by a citizen last night in the Fredericksburg area and picked up today by animal control. Animal Control Officers continue to try and catch the mother, but they have been working on catching her for two years now with no luck. She is apparently quite smart, quite fast and quite strong.  They have known her to have several litters of puppies so far and the cycle will continue until she is caught and spayed. Fortunately, her newest babies are not out in the cold snow tonight.