Weekly rundown for 4/23/2012 to 4/29/2012

Adoptions

It was New York week and for the 3rd year in a row, Laura Karas and I made our way to just outside the Big Apple in a suburb called White Plains NY. It is an event we hope changes lives, both 2 and 4 leggeds. The magic was everywhere and we had a highly successful event with 17 dogs finding homes.

Laura and I rolled out of the parking lot at the farm Thursday about 9:30 am. We had a check in at a local vet to get the last 4 health certificates finished and then it was headed for Moosic PA, a long 10 hours away. Thanks to a lot of road delays, and two multiple dog potty breaks, we did not get to our host's house until 1 am. You know you have a dedicated volunteer when you arrive in the middle of the night with 17 little dogs and 1 big one and then have to walk and potty everybody. This is the second year that Carol and John McCullough have opened their big hearts to CPR (our first year we went through DC and Kitty Kovarik kindly hosted us. These are all brave people!). We finally settled into bed about 3 am knowing we could sleep late the next day as it's an easy two hour drive to New York from the McCullouch's.

You can't sleep late when you have 17 little dogs (and one big one) depending on you. We got up at 9 and let the kids all play in the McCullouch's big back yard for a bit to get the energy out from being cooped up the day before. Carol had referred her gardening friend Donna to CPR and Donna had spied Henry the bichon on our webpage. She came over to do her meet and greet and she loved everything she saw so our first adopter became official and little Henry had a home. After the adoption, we brought everyone in from their fun time and then it was time to put everybody back up and head out to White Plains.

Best Friends Animal Society hosts the adoptathon and they do it right. The rules are strenuous. Each animal has to be checked by a veterinarian before departing their respective states. Upon arrival, each animal is checked in and several veterinarians are on site and available to examine a dog that may be stressed from the journey or answer questions and they review our paperwork to make sure we've crossed our t's and dotted our i's. It's very thorough and I appreciate that. It means better safety for all the pets. We checked in and everything checked out. Volunteers Lynn Benden and Maribeth McCauley met us and we got everything out of the van and set up. Our larger dogs (over 10 lbs) were settled in their pens and as late as it was at that point, Maribeth offered to do last walk duty so Laura and I could get to our hotel. Thank you Maribeth!

We headed to our hotel and to meet George and Tina McNee, volunteers and adopters who were here to meet Jake the Milkshake, a very special brown standard poodle that the McNee's were considering making their own.

It was dark by now with temperatures down in the 40's and the wind blowing like crazy. Laura and I had all the tiny dogs with us - all 10 of them so we had our two exercise pens set up outside the hotel and had all these little southern sweethearts out there shivering in this crazy wind that kept threatening to pick up a few of our tiny ones and whisk them away! Tina has 7 little special needs little dogs of her own and she was having the same trouble plus trying to walk all of them on leash and so we got our guys up and got hers into the exercise pens and finally, everybody had finished business and was back into warm areas. Tina and George each came in separately with their standard Max and slowly Max and Jake warmed up to each other. Adoption number two of the weekend became a reality.

The next morning bright and early, Laura and I loaded up the tiny dogs and off we went to the Westchester County Center. Refreshed with a good night sleep, an extra-large cup of coffee and one of those hotel breakfast's we were on a mission. Our goal was to place every dog we had brought.

We had a fabulous team this year. For the first year I had an experienced adoption counselor on site and I was overjoyed. Lynn Benden is from New York and has been on board with CPR for almost a year screening applications. Barbara Ann Rankin from Philadelphia was assisting in her third year at the super adoption event. Maribeth McCauley, an adopter from last year had planned to volunteer just on Friday. When she saw that only Laura and I had come up from the sanctuary she cleared her schedule and stayed the entire day on Saturday. This may have been Maribeth's first year as a volunteer but she took to it like a natural and I hope we see her in the years to come.

Laura Karas is also in her third year at this event and has been volunteering with CPR for many many years. Rounding out our team was new volunteer George McNee. George was everywhere on Saturday, assisting in every way you could imagine from carrying dogs to walking dogs to carrying crates to on the spot temp testing of both people and dogs, making sure the best people possible made it to Lynn and then to me. We also had the assistance of many of the Best Friends volunteers that we have come to know and love including Joann Mangiaracina, and the Sena's, both who adopted from CPR our first year. It's always wonderful to see our New York friends and hear how well their CPR dogs are doing. Sending out a big thank you to our team.

Joe

We were almost ready. We had a few last minute things to do but didn't finish most of them before the doors opened, the music started and the people came pouring in. It really didn't matter that our posters were not perfect. These folks had come to look at dogs and we had dogs.

Our very first adoption was our sweet cocker spaniel Joe. Found as a stray in Gaffney, this calm, unassuming gentleman had gone unnoticed in our sanctuary. A retired couple had come by our booth hoping to adopt a cock-a-poo. They took one look at Joe and that was it. He was perfect for their gentle and easy existence. One down.

I always consider it good luck when the first adoption goes so well. I found out over the next several hours that luck would hold over and over again. Once Joe went home it just got crazy. At one point I think we had six people in line and I was doing group checkouts, with groups of 3 signing their paperwork. Everyone was so patient and so kind. They held their dogs and played with them, swapped animal stories with the others waiting, and made memories I hope they can keep forever.

Fantasia

Fantasia, the little white cock-a-poo that had been seized in the winter after being found tied to a doghouse with half of her puppies dead inside snuggled happily in her new daddy's arms half asleep and obviously content. She'll never be tied outside in January again. Nutmeg the terrier abandoned at a shelter on Christmas Eve bounced along on his new leash with his new dad headed for agility classes. Checkers, who we had incorrectly listed as a Lhasa, was happy perched in the lap of a New York city entertainment attorney who knew a Tibetan terrier when she saw one and was determined that this one would be hers. One of our adopters had relocated to New York from Charleston SC. It seemed fitting to her to take home a toy poodle named Magnolia from her own home state. One by one wonderful people filled out our application, went through questioning first by those with the dogs, then more questioning by Lynn, and finally they got to me where they got even more questions and a lecture on what I would do if they ever didn't take care of their new pups. (See the video of Fantasia's adoption.)

Sapphire

Barbara Ann, one of our volunteers, could not put down little Sapphire the toy poodle. We had brought a Chihuahua for Barbara Ann to foster, a shy and timid little girl named Tanya but a couple that had come promising themselves they were just going to look saw Tanya and suddenly looking was over. They held Tanya for a long time to make sure. Tanya was always sure. She would not let go. (See Tanya's adoption video.)

I could go on because all of the adoptions had a special theme or a touching moment. However, there are two stories that stand out because of the actions of the people in them. One was Terrance the terrier mix and the other was for Zechariah the Pekingese.

Terrance: Earlier in the week I had been running through the sanctuary, a million details on my mind when I stopped in the middle run. There was Terrance looking at me. Terrance had been found as a stray a little over a year ago with his buddy Carson and had gone to New York with us last year. Carson had found a home but Terrance had come back and here he sat. I cannot tell you why on that Monday before we left on Thursday that I added Terrance to the list but I did. Joni saw that Terrance was going and called Carson's family to let them know that we would be back in town. Perhaps they knew someone looking for a friendly little dog? Instead, the family decided that a reunion was in order. "We have enough love for two," they declared. Sometimes you have to listen to that little voice that says do something. There is a reason. (See the video.)

Zechariah

Zechariah: Through the day I kept watching as Zechariah, a purebred white Pekingese I had pulled from the Union SC shelter, was overlooked time and time again. I had made a special trip to our clinic to make sure that Zechariah was ready to go. I felt strongly that his home was waiting on him.
Could I have been wrong? It was well after three o'clock and the crowds were thinning out when Laura told me that a potential adopter had gone home to get their dog to see if the two boys would get along. I hoped they would return. Sometimes people do and sometimes they don't. Then about four o'clock a lady came in. She had just gotten there and saw Zechariah. She asked for an application started filling out. 

I was still working with others so didn't think much of this development until Laura told me that the folks from earlier in the day had returned with their golden retriever and that Zechariah and Max the golden were doing a meet and greet. The two boys were having a great time chasing balls. Large dogs and small dogs don't always get along but in this case the two were doing perfectly together. Suddenly my little boy had not one home but two. Problem was I only had one Pekingese and all of the other dogs were now placed.

Lynn interviewed both families and came to me with the bad news. They were both fabulous. One of the Best Friends adoption counselors looked over the info on both homes as she had experience with Pekingese. I asked each adoption counselor which homes they would pick not knowing the dog very well. They each picked a different home and each of them had very valid arguments for why their pick would be the best for Zechariah. They weren't going to make this easy on me.

I interviewed both potential adopters. On the one hand I had a comfortable couple who lived in White Plains. Mom was a homemaker who enjoyed taking Max to training classes and for rides just for fun. Their golden was well cared for, well socialized, and a joy to be around. Brenda was on the floor tossing balls for both dogs, accepting kisses from both dogs and very much enjoying watching Max finally have a friend. It was a perfect scenario.

My other adopter was a single professional, a registered nurse. For the last several years she has not only maintained her own job but also provided care for her aging parents. Her father had passed and her mother was now living in an assisted living facility. Sally was back living in her family's home, but she was alone. Her childhood pet had been a white Pekingese. I found Sally to be caring, compassionate, and already very bonded to Zechariah in just a few minutes spending time with him.

I didn't know what to do. No decision would be right. Someone was going to be disappointed. I finally went with my family with the golden retriever for no other reason than they got their first.

I told Sally my decision. I offered to find a white Pekingese for her. With our network of shelters and rescue groups I knew I could.

Sally could not stop the tears as much as she tried. Was I sure, she asked? Was I absolutely sure? He was everything she had been seeking and had waited so long to have it slip away. She confessed how lonely she was and when she saw Zechariah she felt that finally she had something to depend on and care for. At this point we were both crying. I asked her if she would wait a minute.

I went back to Brenda and told her where we were. She watched Max and Zechariah play for a bit and then she sighed. She gave Zechariah a big hug. And then she let him go. She said that she had a dog and she had a family. It was Sally's turn.

I walked back over to Sally with Zechariah bouncing along on his leash, oblivious to the drama he was creating. Her face lit up and the tears started again. We sat on the steps and she buried her face in Zechariah's fur and promised that he would always have a wonderful home. She hopes eventually to have Zechariah certified as a therapy dog.

Aiden

Sally said thank you to this family who had made such a big sacrifice for her. As I had promised Sally I now promised to them I will find a white Pekingese. I am trying to keep that promise.

P.S. - I was not quite correct in saying that everything we took with us was adopted. One poodle decided he didn't want to be adopted. Little Aiden, a 4 lb black toy poodle from Alabama, was decidedly not happy in New York. He expressed his displeasure by growling and ducking into his crate and not coming out. He had been great at the hotel and on the road so I was really surprised at his actions at the event. We took Aiden back home with us and will find him a home. (Aiden has been adopted!)

New Dogs

It's spring. That means the dogs are flowing in. Six new dogs made their way to Dreamweaver Farms, seeking a safe place to stay. Look for Parker, Wheeler, Moguai, Pandora, Cosmo and Norman on a web site near you soon.

Health Front

I am quite proud of my team this week. With me out of town, they had to make the most difficult decision that we ever make. We had to let one go. They did it in the right time and in the right way with much compassion.

Chia

The dog is Chia, our saucy, sassy, senior Chow Chow. Chia was one of those dogs who just grew on you. He was found two years ago at Christmas by one of our adopters. They took a wrong turn out of our parking lot and almost hit the horribly matted dog who was dragging a chain down Highway 18. He had obviously escaped his tether but the chain was still with him. It was well after dark and a black dog on a black road on a black night is usually a recipe for a dead dog. Instead our adopters were going slow and saw the mess and we came down and picked him up.

The funny thing about chains and poodle rescue is they don't go together. It took three of us 15 minutes to figure out how to get that thing off his neck. It did finally take bolt cutters. From there it was off to the tub for a shave down with him trying to bite us the whole time. Once shaved down and wearing a pink sweater it was very difficult to consider him a threat or menace. With his funny walk, he had some sort of injury to one of his front legs and he kept it stilted, and his attempts - and his misses - to bite with worn down teeth and aging eyes that could not see what he was trying to bite, we all learned very quickly that Chia was a big baby. He became our pet. He had one potential adopter but sadly she had cats and Chia did not like cats.

He stayed with us. We took care of him. And when his kidneys failed, we held him and we let him go gently. His head was in Amanda's lap as he passed peacefully. He may not have had a real home in the way we want all of our dogs to have a real home but we gave him the best that we could. He seemed quite happy with it. Good night Chia.

Fundraising

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for some fun things to be happening to help CPR stay afloat and help put you more in touch with the animals.

Round up

New York week is exhilarating and exhausting. It's become a tradition we enjoy and a challenge to find the right mix of dogs to take. All together, over 300 animals found permanent homes through the adoptathon. It is exciting to be part of this event. I am looking forward to next year finding great homes for great dogs.

Donna Ezzell 

Director 

Dreamweaver Farms, home of Carolina Poodle Rescue www.carolinapoodlerescue.org 864 580 0639 

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~Dr. Seuss