Why we say no

There has been much discussion lately about who deserves to be rescued and where we should be doing it. WCRR has a mandate. That mandate says we work with dogs in the shelter system in British Columbia. That is “OUR” mandate. This doesn’t mean that we don’t care about all animals everywhere. We do care, and very deeply. But because of resources our focus has to be our local dogs.
I recently received an email about a young rottie girl in California. She had been starved and neglected and was in desperate need of help. She would die if someone didn’t step forward to help. And this was an extreme case. We (along with many others) were asked if we could take her. I looked at that picture a long time and my heart broke for her. But WCRR could not help. There is several rottweilers’ right here in British Columba that need our help. How can I tell those dogs, sorry, this one’s need is greater, this one’s need has touched me more, this story is sadder. I couldn’t. Does that mean I don’t care what happened to her? Of course it doesn’t. It means that I have to take care of the problems here first. If I hadn’t stayed the course then dogs like Rhonda, Bolt, Louie, and Bella would have died. Those dogs deserved to be saved.
Do I agree with bringing dogs in from other countries to find them homes here? No. Not at all. Yes there are extreme cases. Yes there are exceptions to every rule. But for the most part, Canada or British Columbia for that matter has thousands of dogs in need. And hundreds will lose their life if homes aren’t found for them. How can I possibly agree that dogs from other countries should come here until the dogs in our own country have homes? Its not that I don’t care about the dogs in California, Maryland or Mexico. I do care. But I also care about the dogs that I am asked to help. The ones that I put my hands on. The ones whose faces I hold and promise I will do what I can to get them out of the shelter. And my heart breaks every single time I get that email that says that dog has died because no one here could or would help. So when I hear about people importing dogs from other countries on a regular basis, yes I get angry and lash out. And yes I step on toes. Am I sorry I do that. Maybe. Am I sorry I take a stand. Not in your life.
If there is a breed that you can’t find in the shelter system in BC or Canada, then perhaps go look at shelters elsewhere. If there is a dog that steals your heart, then yes, adopt that dog. But let’s not bring in truck loads of animals with no place to go and no one to take care of them and then cry because they are in desperate need.
That sweet rottie girl that needed a home. Well, she found one. She will be loved back to health. And in the country that failed her in the first place. Meanwhile I still search for the foster homes that will help WCRR pull a deserving dog from a shelter here before it loses its life.
We can't save them all, but WCRR will continue to work to save rottweilers and rottweiler crosses in British Columbia.

Success

WCRR was at the petfair in Cloverdale this past weekend and our booth was wonderful. There were a ton of people coming by, buying stuff, asking questions, giving us feedback and expressing their pleasure at finding a rescue dedicated to Rottweilers and Rottweiler crosses. Some of them expressed surprise at the range of kinds that we have helped but sometimes it’s not so much about the breed, but about who is in need.
I will confess to not doing well at organizing this fair. Actually I did very little but rather handed over the work to our wonderful board of directors. They all stepped up to the plate and made sure that this was a great success. I am proud of them and humbled by their actions. While I may be the only one of us that can handle the fur portion of the rescue, without them doing everything else, we wouldn’t be able to do anything. Thank you so very very much.
We had wonderful donations from many different areas.
Sue from Tandy Leather on King George Hwy again sent in some spectacular items for sale. This time she included belts with matching collars, collars and leashes and the most wonderful key fobs.
There were homemade Xmas decorations made by Sandy up in Smithers, B.C., a beautiful wreath by a great young lady named Bailey, bag holders and bottle covers made by a woman in Cloverdale . All great stuff donated to help the dogs in need.
There were tons of gift bags, stockings and baskets filled to the brim with dog items that were donated. Lots of times we hear about rescues not working together. And yes, sometimes there is bickering among us but most times we work together. When a local rescue received a large donation from Anipet they shared with others. We were so blessed to be part of that. Thank you so much German Shepherd Rescue for sharing.