Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue: 12/6/09

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Norman Wants His Christmas Present

Wanted to share this pic... Norman somehow knows that there is a new squeaky ball for him in the box of Christmas stuff I ordered. He left his favorite ball outside in the snow this AM, so thinks it's only fair for him to have his new one now. He keeps staring at the boxes, occassionally crying. I can't look at him too long because he's acting so pathetic, I know I'll give in... probably time for me to put on my snow boots and find the ball outside!

-- Amy Jansky

Hope all your fur-kids are enjoying the snow as much as mine. :-) We had about 4 inches here.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Happy Holidays From NEBTR

-- Card credits Amy Jansky, Victoria Carter, and Lucky

Letter to NEBTR

Dear NEBTR,

As I sit here I look into the face of the best friend I have ever known and know his little body is subcuming to an inoperable cancer. We will make his time comfortable even when our hearts are breaking. The only solace we have is the hope of his life having taught us something to bring to the next of his magnificent species. My boy is a frenchie crossed with boston. He is only five and because I cannot free my mind from the word lymphosarcoma I sometimes distract myself with thoughts of happier days. We hope our boy lives on but when the day comes that we need to put his tired body to rest we will consider your rescue. Thank you for having such a place to protect and assist true companions and wonderful souls.

-- A Friend

Dear Friend,

I want you to know that just an hour ago I sent to my list of volunteers an article entitled "I want to Quit", beautifully written by an overworked and tired and dispirited woman who works to rescue Great Pyrenees. I was feeling very much like her at that time.

I will copy it below.

And now I have tearfully read your note and know why I won't, not yet, as you have just reassured me that there truly are wonderful people "out there" who care, love and provide for their treasured friends as you do.

We are here when you need us. Please know that my heart goes out to you during this very painful time for you.

Sheryl Trent
NEBTR

"I Want to Quit"
Author: Joan C. Fremo
Published on: May 16, 2001

I want to quit!
My health is bad. There are days I feel so terrible that I can barely move. My phone bills are outrageous, and I could have replaced my van with the funds I have spent these last 3 years---on animals that were not my own.

I want to quit!
I spend hours and hours emailing about dogs. There may be 500 messages when I start---and at 4 AM, when I finally shut down the computer, there are still 500 emails to be read.

I want to quit!
Gosh, I haven't the time left to email my friends. I can't remember the last book I read, aand I gave up my subscription to my local newspaper---I used to enjoy reading it, cover to cover, but now it often ends up in the bottom of the squirrel's cage---unread.

I want to quit!
I've spent days emailing what seems like everyone---trying to find a a foster home, help for a dog languishing in a shelter---but his time has run out, and the shelter has had to euthanize to make room for the next sad soul.

I want to quit!
I swear, I walk away from my computer to stretch my legs---let the dogs out---and come back to find another dog in desperate need. There are times I really dread checking my email. How will I find the funds, the help, to save yet another dog?

I want to quit!
I save one dog, and two more take its place. Now an owner who doesn't want his dog---it won't stay in his unfenced yard. An intact male wanders..... This bitch got pregnant by a stray... This 3-month-old pup killed baby chicks...
The dog got too big....This person's moving and needs to give up his pet. I ask you, friends---what town, what
city, what state doesn't allow you to own a pet?

I want to quit!
I just received another picture, another sad soul with tormented eyes that peer out of a malnourished body. I hear whimpering in my sleep, have nightmares for days...

I want to quit!
Many of the "Breed People" don't seem to want to hear about these dogs. Breeders either don't realize, or just don't care, how many dogs of their breed are dying in shelters.

I want to quit!
I just got off the phone. "Are you Pyr Rescue? We want to adopt a male to breed to our female." How many times do I have to explain? I have tried to explain about genetics, about health and pedigrees. I explain that rescue NEUTERS! I usually end up sobbing, as I explain about the vast numbers of animals dying in shelters across the country, as I describe the condition many of these animals are found in. I wonder if they really heard me...

I want to quit!
It is not like I don't have enough rescues of my own to worry about---but others have placed dogs improperly and aren't there to advise the new owners.

I want to quit!
There ARE some unscrupulous rescues out there---hoarders, collectors, and folks who will short change the care of the animals to make a dollar. They save them all, regardless of temperament, putting fellow rescuers and adopters at risk by not being truthful.

I want to quit!
I have trusted the wrong people--- had faith and heart broken...

I want to quit!
AND THEN... My dog, Magnus, lays his head in my lap, he comforts me with his gentle presence---and the thought of his cousins suffering stirs my heart.

I want to quit!
AND THEN... One of those 500 emails is from an adopter. They are thanking me for the most wonderful dog on earth---they cannot imagine life without their friend---their life is changed, and they are so grateful.

I want to quit!
AND THEN... One of my adopted Rescues has visited a nursing home. A patient that has spent the last few years unable to communicate, not connecting---Lifts his hand to pat the huge head in his lap, softly speaks his first words in ages---to this gentle furchild.

I want to quit!
AND THEN... A Good Samaritan has found and vetted a lost baby, "I can't keep him, but I'll take care of him until you find his forever home."

I want to quit!
AND THEN... "Jamie took his first steps holding on to our Pyr." "Joan, you should see this dog nursing this hurt kitten!" "I was so sick, Joan, and he never left my side..."

I want to quit!
AND THEN... I get an email from a fellow rescuer, "Haven't heard from you in a while---you OK? You know I think of you..."

I want to quit!
AND THEN... A dozen rescuers step up to help, to transport, to pull, and to offer encouragement. I have friends I have never seen, but we share tears, joys, and everything in between. I am not alone. I am blessed with family of the heart, my fellow Rescuers. Just days ago it was a friend who shared her wit and wisdom, whose late night email lifted my heart.
Sometimes it is friends who only have time to forward you a smile.
Often, it is my friends who forward me the notices of dogs in need..
There are Rescuers who see a failing transport and do
everything they can to find folks to pull it together for you.
Rescuers who'll overnight or foster your Dog while you seek transport.
There are Rescuers not used to or comfortable with your breed, but who put aside their discomfort to help.
There are Rescuers whose words play the music of our hearts.
Foster homes that love your Rescue, and help to make them whole again---body and spirit.
Foster homes that fit your baby in, though it may not be their breed.
Rescuers whose talents and determination give us tools to help us.
Rescuers we call on for help in a thousand ways, who answer us, who hear our pleas.
Rescuers who are our family, our strength, our comrades in battle.
I know I cannot save every Pyr in need.
I know my efforts are a mere drop in a sea. I know that if I take on just one more---those I have will not suffer.

I want to quit!
But I won't. When I feel overwhelmed, I'll stroke my Magnus's head while reading my fellow Rescuers emails. I'll cry with them, I'll laugh with them---and they will help me find the strength to go on.

I want to quit!
But not today. There's another email, another dog needing Rescue.

Happy Tails Books Features Tinker

Tinker was the featured dog this month at Happy Tails Books. Happy Tails Books collects thought-provoking stories from people who have participated in dog rescue or dog adoption, and compiles them into books that educate and entertain readers! Their "Lost Souls: FOUND!" series of books raises awareness about dog rescue efforts and provides a source of funding for dog rescue groups. Because of their support, Happy Tails Books will be providing a happier holiday for many dogs in need. After six books in seven months they are about to donate more than $3,500 to 34 dog rescue organizations. To purchase this book, go to the Happy Tails site. It would make a great Christmas gift!

Here is Tinker's story.

"Found as a stray, Tinker ended up in a high-kill shelter in the Metro Atlanta area. Luckily someone there had the sense to call The Small Dog Rescue (a no-kill shelter), which took her in. They cleaned up an ulcer on her eye and a tumor on her leg, and then crossed their fingers that her new family would materialize. They waited and waited but received no applications for a year. It looked like Tink was going to become a “forever foster."

At the time, I was finishing up my music therapy internship and exploring the idea of adding a dog to our family. I’ve always been head over heels for Bostons, as I grew up with one who was feisty, bold and a whole lot of love wrapped into a small package. Being fiercely loyal myself, other breeds just didn’t have a chance! We looked and looked until, on Christmas Eve, there, on page 15 of the Boston Terriers on Petfinder.com (yes, there were that many needing homes), we finally found her!

She was old and blind—she had been in a fight while at the shelter and lost vision in her one good eye—but she spoke to my heart. Having worked with children and adults with special needs as a music therapist, the idea of bringing a dog with a disability into our home made perfect sense. Her profile stated that, despite her past, she knew how to love and trust. Upon reading her biography I was positive that she would fit perfectly into our house and family.

I looked at my husband and with the saddest face I could muster asked, "Can we adopt her?"

My puppy dog eyes apparently worked, because in the next moment I was emailing the shelter asking if we could apply. Their policy excluded people in our area from adopting (we were too far away from their headquarters), but I thought I would try anyway.

I’m glad I wrote because we received an email on Christmas morning saying that we could apply for her! "It really IS Christmas!" I shouted as I ran down the stairs.

Being approved to apply turned out to be a double-edged sword kind of gift. Apparently two other families applied at the same time we did, so our joy quickly turned to fear and apprehension. We exchanged emails, phone calls and applications with the shelter for over a month. We walked on eggshells thinking we would lose Tinker, but after a long, difficult wait, Tink’s foster mom chose us! Upon hearing the news, my husband and I rented a car, packed a cooler full of food (we were rather broke, living on one income at the time), and made 12 hours worth of memories as we traveled to Atlanta to pick this little one up.

We made plans with Tink’s foster mom to meet at a Petco® store. I remember that waiting for them to arrive with Tink seemed like an eternity. Her foster was worried that we wouldn't like her; we were nervous that they wouldn't like us. What compounded our anxiety was that when we called to check in, someone from the rescue group told us that Tinker was going on a trip and wouldn't be at Petco®. We hoped that they were confused and that the trip she was taking was with us.

Tinker came to us as an older dog but showed us that she could still learn and grow. We taught her to beg, and when she started jumping on company, we untaught her! She eventually learned that thunder wouldn’t hurt her, and she began sleeping through the night during storms.

From the beginning, this has been an amazing journey of new discoveries every day! And while she is aging now, with her good and not so good days, she is still the most amazing dog I have ever met or owned. Her blindness doesn’t impede her, and she is not afraid to love with all she has. People do not realize this confident little lady can't see a thing as she proudly walks down the street. Tinker is my heart and I am proud to be her seeing-eye person.

By Nick and Vicki Rowe, Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue

On October 5th, 2009, Tink crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Please keep Nick and Vicki, her wonderful parents who gave her the best possible quality of life through her golden years, in your thoughts."