You Make A Difference
From the beginning of our rescue work people in the community at large have donated their time and money, bought material goods for our day to day operations, and they have given us the emotional support that is dearly needed. Thank you from the bottom of all of our doggies hearts.
Most adopters will pick one dog to care for and love for the rest of the dogs life. But some find it in their hearts to adopt multiple dogs, bonded pairs or just two or three to fill their lives with the warmth of a dogs nuzzle or kiss.
Adopters
Veterinarians
Some of the most caring people that help us are the many Veterinarians and health workers at the clinics and hospitals we have used to safe guard our beloved dogs. They assure that all of our dogs are healthy and when events unfold and the life of the dog is in jeopardy they do everything possible to save the dog. It is not always successful and when it happens they are there to console our hurting hearts.
Wellness
Every dog that comes into our rescue is vetted. Screened for illnesses like parvo, heart murmurs, and parasitical infestations like heartworm and intestinal parasites. Each dog receives the full spectrum of vaccinations including Rabies. Neutered or Spayed and Microchipped. Every microchip is registered on "24 Pet Watch" under HHSR and when adopted the adopter can go to the website and add their information to the register. HHSR will always remain as a secondary contact on the microchip to assure that any dog abandoned or found that was at our rescue previously will be safe.
Fosters
Fosters are important to rescues because they give the dog the opportunity to live in a home environment. They also help with training the dog to walk on a leash, potty training and social behavior.
Volunteers
The hardest challenge for any rescue is the amount of work needed daily to care for the dogs. From simple choirs like cleaning to large projects such as "Meet and Greet" area development volunteers relieve the work load and allow full time staff to focus on the more important issues such as records keeping and adopter interviews.
At the end of the day
After all the chores are finished, after everyone has had their meal, when most have settled in for the night, we take a break gather our thoughts of the day that came and went, and ready ourselves for a shower and a clean bed to rest.
Our day begins early, usually driven by the dogs waking up before we do. It begins with howling parties. Starting in the most distant kennel rooms of our place the chorus starts out subtlety but as each room adds their voice to the tumult we wake up and listen to their song. This process culminates with the two dogs we have lying with us. They urge us to get up, get dressed and get going. And so, it begins.
One rotation of the different groups takes about 5 hours depending on the cleanup. Most days it isn’t bad but there are days when problems abound. This is determined by the health of the entire group. One sick dog leads to others until the illness has run its course. But on most occasions, it is only due to ingesting grass. Every dog is immunized to the more dangerous illnesses, but a bug can come along either by the introduction of a new dog or just on the wind. This is why cleaning is such an important task that is done throughout the day.
Typically, we rotate our groups twice a day, 3 times in the summer months when the daylight stays longer and of course the young pups go out whenever the signs of potty time appear. This is the heart of potty training. In between rotations we spend our time doing maintenance on the property, gathering supplies, working on the computer doing records, website work and Facebook posts. Midday begins the second rotation.
During the second rotation we like to spend time with individuals trying to give everyone a little one on one. Then as each group is finished, they are fed and bedded down for the evening. Everyone who needs medication for whatever condition they have is given once in the morning and then in the evening after feeding. After the second rotation is completed, we get to the kitchen for our one meal of the day. We alternate who cooks and try to be creative but sometimes a bowl of cereal is the best we can muster.
As we walk through the house and turn off the lights, we say goodnight to our precious family and settle back into our space getting cleaned up and watch some news or a movie as we lay in bed waiting for sleep to take the helm.
For a time it is quiet and then we hear the distant howling and it begins again.