The Story of Lily
After harassing the animal shelter all week and talking to several different employees, it became apparent that they are no longer temperament testing very many dogs at the shelter. They simply euthanize them. Their euthanasia rate was 60%. Now it's about 90%. They absolutely would not commit to sparing the sweet girl I brought in, nor would they allow me to adopt her since I was the one who brought her in (Yes, I realize that makes no sense.). They would agree to hold her if I could find a rescue that would pull her, but I could find no such rescue. Few rescues take pits, and fewer still have room for more pits. The only option left to me was to "reclaim" the dog as if I were the original owner. This means that I paid all the fines for having an unlicensed, unleashed dog and for her impound. I also had to pay the additional vaccination fees and purchase a spay voucher (I won't be surprised if it turns out she's already been spayed) along with her licensing. The total bill for rescuing this dog was $192... which came out of the funds I had allotted to pay the electric bill this month. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to work that out.
Still, it was the right choice. I could not leave her there to die. I should never have taken her there in the first place. Lesson learned.
Yesterday, during visit #2 at the shelter to argue her case, they informed me that if they returned her to me, they absolutely would not guarantee her health or temperament, and they advised me that many dogs go crazy in the gang kennels in which they are placed during their 5-day holding period. Although I knew this, realizing that the horrible environment might have already changed my sweet girl, I asked if I could see her before I committed to bringing her back into my home. They agreed as long as I didn't touch her or go into her cage. They pulled her out of the gang kennel and into a separate cage where I was allowed to look in. The sweet little girl looked very dejected until she heard my voice. She then ran immediately to the gate and started reaching toward me through it with her paws with that goofy, happy smile on her huge face. She completely recognized me, and she was as sweet as ever. I swore at that moment that I would pay to spring her from death row. They swore they wouldn't kill her if I returned the next day (the day her holding period was over).
Today, we raced over to the shelter as quickly as we could. I emptied my bank account for the shelter (Oh, please! Take my money so you can afford to kill more dogs!) and waited for them to bring back back my pibble girl. They asked if we had a name for her, and Kristine suggested Lily. Since I think all "mean-looking" female dogs that are actually sweet lap dogs should have super girlie names, Lily was perfect. We heard the commotion as the muscle-bound attendant brought Lily through the gauntlet of gang kennels toward the office where we would receive her. As he opened the door, Lily was definitely apprehensive and appeared mildly traumatized. "Hi, Baby Girl!" I said, and I watched her head whip around as she tried to find me. Once she did, she bolted out of the attendant's grasp and leaped into my arms, splashing my face and neck with tons of rapid, wet, and enthusiastic kisses all while literally hugging me with her front paws.
"That's the happiest dog I have ever seen leave this place," I heard an admin say. "You've done a good thing today."
I swapped leashes with the attendant and opened the door to exit the office. Lily dragged me to my car, and even though the car was very scary the first time I loaded her in, she climbed her low-riding self right in, one foot at a time, with all the enthusiasm of a dog knowing she is going home to her most favoritest place in the world. She rode the whole way home in the back seat with her head leaning over the center console, staring at my daughter and smiling.
Upon arrival home, we parked in our detached garage, and as I opened the door to pull Lily out, she jumped out of the car herself and dragged me all the way to the front door of my house with such determination and enthusiasm that one would have thought she were a mushing husky. She obviously knew right where she belonged.
I'll be working with a few rescues in trying to find her a forever home. If any of you know of anyone who wants a low-riding, block-headed pit bull with crazy eyes for a lap dog, I've got just the girl for them. I've never asked for money for any of my rescues before since I'm not a rescue organization or any sort of a non-profit org (though I am undeniably non-profit!), but several of you have been generous to offer financial assistance anyway. If any of you are still feeling so generous and still have the means to help out, this is the one time I feel I need to ask for a little help in order to cover her expenses and still pay my own bills. For those who have already dropped every spare coin you have into animal rescue (or Haiti or Chili or any number of other extremely important endeavors), thank you so much. For those of you who, like me, don't have a spare dime but care all too much, again, thank you. I know you'd help a girl in need if you could. It makes me so happy just to read comments of empathy and enthusiasm whenever one of these animals finds their way to my home. I just signed up for PayPal, and they say it will take a couple days to confirm the account. When I have that done, I'll post it for anyone interested.
ETA: For those of you who wished to help out with Lily's expenses, my PalPal account has been set up. The address is rcarsonngi at hotmail dot com. Thank you so much for your generosity and compassion!
Still, it was the right choice. I could not leave her there to die. I should never have taken her there in the first place. Lesson learned.
Yesterday, during visit #2 at the shelter to argue her case, they informed me that if they returned her to me, they absolutely would not guarantee her health or temperament, and they advised me that many dogs go crazy in the gang kennels in which they are placed during their 5-day holding period. Although I knew this, realizing that the horrible environment might have already changed my sweet girl, I asked if I could see her before I committed to bringing her back into my home. They agreed as long as I didn't touch her or go into her cage. They pulled her out of the gang kennel and into a separate cage where I was allowed to look in. The sweet little girl looked very dejected until she heard my voice. She then ran immediately to the gate and started reaching toward me through it with her paws with that goofy, happy smile on her huge face. She completely recognized me, and she was as sweet as ever. I swore at that moment that I would pay to spring her from death row. They swore they wouldn't kill her if I returned the next day (the day her holding period was over).
Today, we raced over to the shelter as quickly as we could. I emptied my bank account for the shelter (Oh, please! Take my money so you can afford to kill more dogs!) and waited for them to bring back back my pibble girl. They asked if we had a name for her, and Kristine suggested Lily. Since I think all "mean-looking" female dogs that are actually sweet lap dogs should have super girlie names, Lily was perfect. We heard the commotion as the muscle-bound attendant brought Lily through the gauntlet of gang kennels toward the office where we would receive her. As he opened the door, Lily was definitely apprehensive and appeared mildly traumatized. "Hi, Baby Girl!" I said, and I watched her head whip around as she tried to find me. Once she did, she bolted out of the attendant's grasp and leaped into my arms, splashing my face and neck with tons of rapid, wet, and enthusiastic kisses all while literally hugging me with her front paws.
"That's the happiest dog I have ever seen leave this place," I heard an admin say. "You've done a good thing today."
I swapped leashes with the attendant and opened the door to exit the office. Lily dragged me to my car, and even though the car was very scary the first time I loaded her in, she climbed her low-riding self right in, one foot at a time, with all the enthusiasm of a dog knowing she is going home to her most favoritest place in the world. She rode the whole way home in the back seat with her head leaning over the center console, staring at my daughter and smiling.
Upon arrival home, we parked in our detached garage, and as I opened the door to pull Lily out, she jumped out of the car herself and dragged me all the way to the front door of my house with such determination and enthusiasm that one would have thought she were a mushing husky. She obviously knew right where she belonged.
I'll be working with a few rescues in trying to find her a forever home. If any of you know of anyone who wants a low-riding, block-headed pit bull with crazy eyes for a lap dog, I've got just the girl for them. I've never asked for money for any of my rescues before since I'm not a rescue organization or any sort of a non-profit org (though I am undeniably non-profit!), but several of you have been generous to offer financial assistance anyway. If any of you are still feeling so generous and still have the means to help out, this is the one time I feel I need to ask for a little help in order to cover her expenses and still pay my own bills. For those who have already dropped every spare coin you have into animal rescue (or Haiti or Chili or any number of other extremely important endeavors), thank you so much. For those of you who, like me, don't have a spare dime but care all too much, again, thank you. I know you'd help a girl in need if you could. It makes me so happy just to read comments of empathy and enthusiasm whenever one of these animals finds their way to my home. I just signed up for PayPal, and they say it will take a couple days to confirm the account. When I have that done, I'll post it for anyone interested.
ETA: For those of you who wished to help out with Lily's expenses, my PalPal account has been set up. The address is rcarsonngi at hotmail dot com. Thank you so much for your generosity and compassion!