Shaw Pitbull Rescue
Posted by Suzanne Thomas on Jun 11th 2018
This heart wrenching post was made by a dear friend of mine that has a Pitbull rescue. She and her husband together with many friends and volunteers have worked so hard for these beautiful dogs. They have taken in many from dog fighting rings. These dogs don't want anything but to be loved and give love. They are not vicious, they are precious and loving animals. I felt the need to share this as it comes from the heart. The many hours of work, the frustrations, the sadness, the joy of watching one go to a loving home and so many more emotions. I honestly don't see how they do what they do.
I will include a link at the bottom to their rescue, please take a minute to check them out. They love these dogs like family. When one is rescued and he/she is sick, that dog stays in the home with them until they are well enough to be outside. The bills continue to mount, thieves stealing their hard earned equipment, makes it hard to go on.
It is my belief that these kind of people will reap many rewards for all of their good deeds for these beautiful animals. If you are unable to help them, please say a prayer for them to be able to continue their mission.
The Roller Coaster Life that is Rescue...
This is more or less just for me to get this out of my system - relieve some pressure, if you will - and I'm sure will bore everyone that isn't in rescue to death. But - it helps.
Our sweet little Leland is back at the vet, today. He was dumped last Sunday near Dana's (our right hand woman - and left hand, and both feet, our lifeline, etc) house. He was covered in millions of fleas, emaciated, covered with ringworm, full of worms, the list goes on. We took him to our amazing vet, got lots of meds and he showed improvement. Until yesterday.
His red blood cells are dying just as fast as he can make them. We don't know exactly which tick-borne disease it is - but most likely it is Ehrlichia. We had never even heard of this horrible disease - in the entire 30+ years we have been dealing with dogs - until recently. We don't know if it is because the ticks are stronger, or because the dog immune systems are weaker - most likely a combination of the two. But it doesn't really matter.
What matters is that Leland's life - and countless others lives - could have been saved by a simple monthly preventive pill or treatment. We use Bravecto on our dogs - a chew that lasts 90 days - and is extremely effective. The Bravecto is fairly expensive, at around $30 or so per dose, but divide that by 3 months and $10 is much easier to swallow... no pun intended.
But - for something as simple as flea/tick prevention, most people can't be bothered. Throw in monthly heart worm preventive - nope, can't do that, either. You know what our monthly heart worm prevention costs at the rescue for 36 dogs? About $18... for all 36 dogs. Granted, for most single dog owners, a monthly heart worm preventive could cost up to $20 or so - but compared to a costly (and potentially lethal) heart worm treatment of upwards of $500... what is $20 / month for an animal that you 'love'?
We don't know Leland's heart worm status - if he survives, he will be tested at a later date. The prognosis doesn't look good, however. Even if the blood transfusion goes well, it doesn't fix the underlying issue.
I could get on my soap box and preach further about spaying and neutering - the untold lives that, alone, could save. Spay, neuter, prevent, treat... these are simple things. Forego that latte or wait a month to get your hair 'did'.... care about those that love you in spite of you...
Now - the rescue. Boy, we can't catch a break. Work at our new site is nearly at a stand still. Any new projects are HUGE projects as far as monetary - septic (thankfully we raised enough - but plumbing comes first; then insulation, walls, flooring, tiling, CHA, fencing, fencing, and more fencing. But - we don't NEED to be in the new location just yet, so we can work on that as we have time, and extra hands.
The balls of someone to come onto our property, across the field, and steal our trailer a few months ago - wth is up with that?! So now everything is double and tripled locked down.
We lost Pearl last month to a tumor, which caused her vestibular disease. ( Mr. Ed's allergies get worse and worse every season, and he has been bunking with Aunt D for the past several weeks. He can't enjoy the outdoors because of whatever is in the air or the grass. His only hope is to find a home up north - but he's been patiently waiting for a home for 4 years and 7.5 months, already.
We've had only two adoptions this year - Minnie and Bessie. TWO. Bessie's adoption was Saturday - and we were elated!! Then Sunday rolls around and Leland takes a turn for the worse :O(
We've had almost 600 calls to take in dogs; 233 of those being transfer requests. A transfer request is from another rescue or shelter, asking us to take a dog.
Cici, for example, was transferred in from another shelter 5 years and 3 months ago. She is still at Shaw PBR, searching for her perfect forever family...
Maggie, transferred in from another shelter 5 years and 4 months ago... Ruby, 10 months ago.
Then we have the dog fighting bust dogs: Loki & Nemo, 2 years and 3 months; Anya, Capone, Gucci, Nico & Scarlet - 13 months; Akira, Harper, Luigi, Peyton, Quinn & Reese, 7 months. All still waiting and searching.
Tre, our oldest resident has been looking for a family for 5 years and 7 months...and Booger T, 4 years and 5 months. Evie and Oliver have been waiting 2.5 years.
Tre, Cici, Maggie, Mr. Ed - the rescue is their HOME. Cici and Maggie don't want to leave. Both have been previously adopted and returned to the rescue through no fault of their own. You can see it in their eyes - "Nope. We've been there, done that. We are perfectly happy, here." But that's sad in a way... pretty cool that they love it here so much, but sad just the same.
We don't like saying NO to every intake request - but we can't take them all, either. We have to know our limitations - and stick with them. What if we had no room for Leland? Even if he doesn't make it - he at least knew love for the last week or so of his life. What if we said YES to all the intakes? Hoarding - at the very least - and death, sickness, rage... Nope, we'll stick with saying NO and taking all the grief that comes with that.
But, you know what? I'm pretty damn proud of Shaw PBR - and our small PitCrew (and our volunteers, fans, and supporters). Me and Kenneth work at the rescue when we aren't at our regular 8-5 jobs M-F; Dana (and Ally during the summer months) are physically at the rescue a minimum 3.5 days a week; the Bertha's are physically at the rescue nearly every Saturday from 9-12. This doesn't count the hours in excess of these times... vet visits, baking treats, social media, telephone calls, paperwork, etc.
Of course, we may have volunteers during those times, as well - but the PitCrew is there, regardless. Rain, shine, snow, freezing cold, sweltering heat.
The best we can do when we get down in the dumps about all the heartbreak and ups and downs is keep pushing forward... just lean our heads down and plow right through. Come flying out the door like Evie on play day - and take the world by storm.
Yep - we could all learn a few things from our adopt-a-bulls. It doesn't matter where we have been, or where we are going - just where we are, right now. If something doesn't smell right, kick some dirt over that shit and move on along.
Whew, I feel better now. If you made it this far - OMG, you rock.
http://www.shawpitbullrescue.com/