Helping the black and tan where we can

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

whats been going on.

I have no way of knowing how many people got an angry email from a former supporter about my "conduct" and so I really have no other way to perhaps put a different perspective on the happenings around this expect to post it here. I am a difficult person to deal with. I make no apologies for that. I am what I am. I'm in my late 50's and I'm not likely to change a whole lot now. I let every single person that gets close to me know that I am blunt, I speak my mind and I often offend. But those that know me, know that each and every one of them also has a voice and can also be blunt right back at me. WCRR is not perfect. I am not perfect. We don't run this perfectly. I make mistakes. I am human. I really do try my best but I do know that I fail sometimes. People Lie; People change their minds, they are not always honest when you ask questions. And sometimes they go to great lengths to hide the truth. I am not always able to ensure everything is perfect because I don't always get the truth. One example is Louie. Louie is a dog we adopted out that has come back to us. "I" placed Louie. Other people were involved but ultimately it is my responsibility. And so when we found Louie on a farm being tethered, we took him right back. The people that adopted Louie did not tell us they were giving him away. It clearly stated on the contract that he needed to come back to us. But...................... that didn't happen. Within a year of hearing how much Louie loved being on the boat, he was given away to someone else. And I accept responsibility for failing to provide Louie with the perfect home. Jake is another example. We (I) placed Jake in what we thought was a great home. We provided training support, we were in contact alot, I got regular updates saying he was settling in alright. But, then I got the email asking if they could return him as he was just too much dog for them. Jake had to come back to WCRR. He had only been in that home 4 months. And again, I will take responsibility for not finding the right home. Jake soon went to the Island to what should have been his first home because they are Perfect. Jake's new owners have done absolutely everything they needed to do and he has settled in and is now a part of a family. I have never been one to run away from my part in failing. Never. But because I do own my part, I somehow expect others to own theirs. And that doesn't always happen. WCRR is growing. And we go thru growing pains just like any organization. I don't do everything right. I am awful at paperwork. Small details drive me crazy. There are many things I have to learn to do better. Many ways that we could run this better. But it won't happen overnight. Change (or at least good change) takes time. I went to see one of our adopters the other day. As Sasha the dog was coming out of the house to greet me, her owner said something that stuck with me. He said "Here is the lady that saved you". LOL That is not true. There are many involved in saving dogs. In Sasha's case, the shelter cared enough not to euth her before we could find her a place to go. People in the rescue community worked together to find her a foster home. Her foster home held her long enough for her new owners to find her. And the new owners cared enough to take her on regardless of her issues. All I really did was pay a couple of bills for her. That is how running a rescue is. There are many many many people involved in saving an animal. But the reality is, while everyone gets to share the glory, when there is a problem it is MY RESPONSIBILITY

Friday, February 4, 2011

The Good, The Bad, The Good again

First and foremost is Clyde. He is doing great and has been doing great for a while. (over a week). He went thru a period that actually made me quite nervous. He snapped a couple of time and then actually bit me, but he seems to be doing way better now. He is not the first rottie to bite me and most likely won't be the last. But he does owe me a pair of jeans.
The bad.................. I need more foster homes. We have a very sweet boy waiting patiently to come down here from Lytton. We just need a place for him to go. He is staying at Gladwin Boarding Kennels and is doing fine, but how can "I" find him that special home if I don't know all there is to know about him. And last but not least, he NEEDS to be neutered at our vets. I am so looking forward to getting my hands on this sweet looking boy.
and the good again, the puppies are all doing so well. (and they are not at my house). I am just waiting for the last bunch of pictures and I can get them all on petfinder and start the adoption process. I will be thrilled when it is done and they are settled in their home.
Ohhhh and more good. Lexi, the pups mom is in her own foster to adopt home. She can't be adopted until she is spayed and our vet wants to wait for at least 2 months after she finished weaning the babies. But Lexi has landed with some amazing people that really seem to like her. And even the resident dog Tonko seems ok with her being there. for those of you waiting for pictures, etc of the puppies, 5 of the 8 are there.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Incoming

Well if you have looked on the website you will see we have puppies. Lots and lots of puppies. And before you go and say....................... yeahhhhhhhhhhh puppies, you should know they are nothing more then screaming, pooing, peeing, chewing machines. And as of today they are less then 4 weeks old and are no where near ready for adoption. You need to know we will have to assess the pups to see what kind of homes THEY need, not what kinds of homes YOU want to give them. I had only put 1 picture on the website and already I have people applying. That's good but you have to know just because you apply does not mean you will get one. They will go according to their needs.

We also have their mother for adoption. And she is a lovely lovely girl. Lexi is pretty much a baby herself. At only a yr old she found herself pregnant and homeless. She certainly does not want to be tied down to these pups. What Lexi wants and should have is time to play and run and swim and just be a dog. But she is sticking by the pups much longer then we had thought she would. And everyday that she gives them is a good day.

Rufus the goofus is going to meet a family tomorrow. Chanone and I are beyond thrilled for this boy. He deserves a place to grow old and a family that will love him. so keep your fingers crossed for him. If all goes well, he is going to stay on a foster to adopt contract for alittle while.

There is a young male rottie in the Lytton area that was found lost or abandoned on a dirt road 18 miles from town. The wonderful people that he found were understandably nervous to find a rottweiler in their yard. If your not familiar with the breed, they can be reason to take a deep breath. And that is just what the woman that called me about him did. LOL

And because she took that chance she got to see how sweet a rottie can be. He went right to her, leaned in like they love to do and gave her a chance to touch her first Rottweiler. I will be forever grateful to this woman. She put aside everything that she thought she knew about this breed and took a chance. And because she did, this dog is safe. We are trying to find his owners, but if they don't show up he can come into our care.

Jake has done amazingly well. All the things that he did that drove others to distraction are things that Leasa and Brandon can work on. He plays hard and is having the time of his life with his girl. The two of them have similar play styles and are a good match. Because of this I have said, enough fostering, we will make the adoption final. So Jake has left our care and we wish him luck and love with the new family.

I really don't know what to say about Clyde. Today I got home and he was funny and goofey. This morning he was growly and cranky and threw up all his breakfast. He is happy some time. He is spending lots of time sleeping or resting away from us. The only thing he really is interested in is food. But he is becoming harder to handle on walks. If he sees another dog now, he becomes almost crazed and I worry about what could happen. His frustration at not getting to the other animals is getting worse. Is this his way of showing pain? Or are the meds too strong and he is anxious? We will have to make hard decisions soon.

These are very busy days in rescue but for some reason I have a lighter load then ever before. Lexi and her pups are with a new foster family, Rufus has been hanging out at Canine Harmony http://www.canineharmony.com/ and the new boy is safe where he is for now. Molly at Saints may have a family of her own. All is good at West Coast Rottweiler Rescue

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Incoming and outgoing

I think today WCRR has more dogs available for adoption or at least in care then we have ever had before.

Clyde is still hanging in there, driving me crazy, being a bonehead. He had a wonderful time at the lake. We gave him his own blanket so he wasn't on the snow and a big bully stick that lasted him all of 1/2 hr. He is a rottweiler and he does love to chew.

The last couple of nights he has been very restless. He is either licking his legs or licking air. And he is getting more and more grumpy sometimes. But, what will be will be. I do love the old bugger.

And we have had Jake come back to us. He was the young male that was found in Lytton last summer. I thought we had a great home for him but they were not able to keep up with his energy level. He was returned just before Xmas. But................ a dear friend contacted me about him and he has gone to live with a young couple on the island. He has a sweet pittie mix girl to play with. He is getting lots of attention, and will be getting the kind of training and leadership he needs to be a good dog. We will give Jake a month to settle in before we finalize the adoption just to be on the safe side.

And then there is Rufus the Goofus. He is a 5 yr old stray found in Abbotsford. We picked him up and Canine Harmony is boarding him until I can find the perfect foster home. I think we have one and we will be meeting on the weekend. Rufus is going to learn to live inside.
When I met Rufus he was standoffish and completely uninterested in people. That has totally changed and Rufus is wanting to be with you all the time. He does not have a mean bone in his body when it comes to people but he may not be suited for little dogs or cats. Or small children for that matter, only because he is a big boy that doesn't know his own strength.

Molly is staying with S.A.I.N.T.S. for now. She was signed over to Saints when her owner ended up in the hospital. We do know a few things about Molly. One is she LOVES people and will need a calm home because she gets over excited easily She will do well with another calm dog to hang out with and she is also good with cats. We think Molly is about 5 -6 yrs old

Next in line is Lexi: She and her 8 pups are coming into care tomorrow. And we will have more to tell you as we get to know her.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Pictures of the pub night

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

We had such a fun time

I wish I knew how to post a bunch of pictures here but I don't'. Our first pub night was held at Boston Pizza in Cloverdale. If your looking for a place to hold a small pub night, they were great. We could only seat about 75 people and even then it was full. We took over the patio, and had the whole length of the bar for silent auction items. We raised quite a bit of money and I need to thank everyone that came. You were all so generous and you made the night very special for me.
While I may be the person that the shelters talk to, the person that does most of the vetting and alot of the day to day stuff, I am only one person in WCRR. There are 7 board members. All of them are invaluable in their own way. We all worked so very hard in gathering stuff for the pub night. . Sharon did an amazing job and allowed us to store stuff in her garage. hell we literally took it over for almost 2 months. But one person really shined thru this. And that was Deb our treasurer. Every single basket was her handiwork. She nagged me to no end about making lists and checking them twice. She went out and bought ribbon and baskets, paper and boxes, labels and god only knows what. I kept telling her to keep track of the money but she always just shrugged her shoulders and said she loved doing this stuff. Everything was pretty and well presented. I/We could not have done it without you girl. Thank you.
So, to all those that said it was well run and organized. It had nothing to do with me. I only do the fur stuff.
Clyde has been motoring along quite well this week. He is getting very bold about counter surfing and I finally found out how he does it. He can't stand on those back legs, but he tries. As he gets his front paws up on the counter he has a few seconds to grab whatever he is after before he sinks down into almost a "sit pretty" position. and from there I think he just falls over. I'm not sure cause when I saw him stealing off the counter I yelled . So does he fall over because he can't hold the postion or because I scared him. Either way it made me laugh. For an old dying crippled dog he does pretty darn good some days.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

I'm tired

It has been a busy 8 weeks.
First and foremost, poor Clyde. He is truly going down hill. For almost 2 weeks we suffered right along side of him as he struggled with pain and loose bowels. Having the runs when you have bowel cancer can never be a good sigh. We took him to see Kevin and decided to try stronger drugs. And it has been a short term solution. But again, Clyde is showing pain, limping quite alot, refusing to sit and only seeming comfortable when he is completely down on the ground. The last couple of days he is withdrawn again, only moving to follow me from room to room. Palliative care is so freaking hard. I don't want him to suffer and I don't want to let go.
I stopped at the gas station today to just grab some milk, and while there the girls asked me how he was. Seems the dogs from WCRR are more well known then I had thought. Clyde had only been in the station once for cookies but they remembered him and his story months later. The girl behind the counter kept saying what a nice boy he was. I couldn't agree more.

We are in the mist of preparing for the pub night fundraiser. Its our first and we have sold out quickly. There have been so many donations from so many places that we had to finally say, thanks but no thanks. It is going to prove to be a fun night. Not only is there the silent auction, toonie toss and Numbers pull, but we are going to do a live auction for the wine fridge and also for what is turning out to be a headline event. In a moment of weakness I agreed to allow SOMEONE to throw a pie in my face. So, whomever can come forward with the most money, gets the privilege. Seems some of the guys (and gals) in my life are quite excited about this one.
The dogs should really know how much I love them. Cause they are the reason I am doing this.

I think the reason I am tired is because I realized that I can not always trust those close to me.
We all make mistakes. We all say and do things that we regret. But the measure of what kind of person you are is how you own what you do and say.
I have in my lifetime done some terrible things. I have hurt people, ruined relationships and destroyed trust. But I always have tried to own my own shit. When I hurt someone, I try to apologize. When I have broken trust , I try to mend it.
There are many things I can forgive. But in order for that you happen, you have to admit to it.

Deceit is rampant in rescue these days. for a long time I have managed to avoid it. And that is because I have kept WCRR small. For the longest time it was just Jim and I fostering dogs one at a time. And we did pretty darn good. But then we reached out and opened up to others. And when you do that, you sometimes run the risk of being damaged. Not only has it happened with WCRR it has happened to another rescue as well. I have decided to pull back and rethink this.

One of the problems with running a rescue is what to do when you are too tired to go any further. That is going to happen one day. I worry that there is no one on board that can take over. Our doors will always be open for our dogs. But I worry about the ones needing help in the future.