Thursday, June 30, 2011

YARD SALE THIS WEEKEND!

Our fundraisers are life-savers!  Thank you for your support!  
It's time for a YARD SALE!!!   This weekend, we will be set up at the Pizza Place in Clay City.  Come on out, check out our bargains!   All proceeds will benefit the homeless animals in our community, which includes funding transports, food, medicine, vetting, and everything else incurred while rescuing these cuties.

A big thanks goes out to Mary Coffey for letting us set up on her property!  And thanks to EVERYONE who has donated to FOPCP!  You are all awesome!!!  

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

On the Road to a Better Life

Vince and Emily embark on an Adoption Adventure!
At 3:45 a.m. on a Sunday morning, my alarm sounds.  Usually on a Saturday night, I'm in bed sleeping by this hour.  However, today is a Transport Day!  See, states in the northeast have enacted and enforced very effective spay and neuter laws.  The laws are so effective that if you go to a shelter in Connecticut, for example, you will be placed on a waiting list.  In Kentucky, we euthanize abandoned animals from shelters frequently.  Fortunately, some good folks up north put Connecticut and Kentucky together and realized that they could save animals while filling a need.  As it turns out, it is even cheaper for them to get the critters vetted (vaccinated and altered) in Kentucky and reimburse us than in their area.  So, it's a win/win for everyone -- mostly our sweet shelter dogs!

Sweet shelter dogs like this one!  He was on transport!
Here's how it works:  the rescues in the north see the photos of our dogs online.  They contact us, and a member of our group will pull the selected dogs from the pound for vetting and quarantine.  They get vaccines, wormers, alterations, and heartworm tests.  When Transport Day rolls around, off we go with a vehicle full of dogs! Usually we drive to Hagerstown, Maryland, and meet up with a whole network of people who are coming from and going to different places.  Sometimes, though, we just meet up with one or two people.  That's what this transport is going to be in Hershey, Pennsylvania.   

On Saturday, my husband, Vince, and I picked up a rental cargo van, and one of our group members and her partner brought us a truckload of crates, which we assembled and loaded into the van that is now waiting.  We have double-checked that our transport kit is loaded with paper towels, bottles of bleach and water, paper towels, garbage bags, slip leads, and other supplies.  Vince's phone is loaded with podcasts.  The coffee pot timer is set, and the coffee brews while we shower and dress.
This guy is ready to start his new life!
We gather up the GPS and FM transmitter.  I have the address of the meeting place in Pennsylvania and phone numbers of the people we will be meeting.  I text the folks with the dogs that we are running a few minutes behind, and we get on the interstate.  At 5:30, we arrive at the truck stop in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.  Foster parents with 21 dogs await us!

You HAVE to be good at Tetris to do this.
We jump out of the van and start loading up dogs.  Our founding member Shannon has provided a floor plan of how the crates will fit and which dogs go in the crates.  We got them all loaded without much difficulty. Some of the dogs have been in foster care for several months, and their foster parents are sad to see them go.  However, we all know that with this group of dogs going to rescue, that means we will be able to help more dogs who are in the pound. The dogs who are traveling today have no idea that they have hit pay dirt.  I always wish that I could explain it to them because the travel is stressful.  Transport day is one of the best days of their lives, though they don't comprehend it!

We're already ready already.  Let's go!
Vince and I get on the road with the dogs.  We started off with some episodes of This American Life.  The dogs are quiet.  They are like colicky babies -- once the vehicle is moving, they are fine!  Vince and I miss the window for fast food breakfast and decide to just keep going.  We don't want to taunt the dogs with the smell of food, and we don't feel comfortable leaving them unattended while we go into a place to eat.

On the road again.  Just can't wait to get on the road again.
We drive through West Virginia without much incident.  One of the dogs near the back door throws up, but it isn't a bad mess.  We clean it up and get back on the road.  Then, right after we get on Interstate 81 in Maryland, we hear a couple of yips.  Vince shushes the puppy, and then the smell hits.  We have a pooper!  We take the first possible exit and have to go several miles before there is a spot to turn off.  Of course, the mess is in a crate that is not accessible, so we have to move four crates outside the van.  Two puppies are in the crate with the mess, so I put them on slip leads. Vince holds them while I clean the crate.  We get the mess handled, put all the pups back, and continue down the road.
The Poopers.  Don't they look guilty?
I am excited to cross the Mason-Dixon line.  I have been in places north of it but never actually crossed it in a car.  We drive through miles of Pennsylvania farmland.  The area is beautiful.  There are barns built of stone.  The farms and yards are very tidy.   We are still listening to podcasts, and by this time, we are starving!  We arrive at the truck stop just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (the capital!).  It is 2:30 in the afternoon, and we are excited to see that the people from Vermont are already there.

We jump out of the van and start unloading dogs.  We walk them and give them water.  Eighteen of them still have six more hours to travel to their destination in Vermont.  They are happy to stretch their legs and get some petting. Anna and Dawn, the ladies from Vermont, are excited to meet our dogs.  They pet the dogs and load them into their waiting crates.

Laura from Safe Haven Rescue
Then Laura, the lady from another rescue in the Poconos, arrives.  She is taking the other three of our dogs.  They are all Australian Shepherd mixes.   Laura puts all three on slip leads and walks them at once. They will only have to ride about two more hours to their destination.

Emily says goodbye to Flirt.   
As the dogs are walked and loaded, we begin breaking down and cleaning the crates.  As I get them cleaned, Vince loads them in the van.  Soon, Anna and Laura drive away with the dogs, and we are at a truck stop in a windowless van full of dismantled crates.  We get back on the road, deciding to see how far we can get before we have to stop for the night.  We end up deciding to just push through since we theoretically can do it. Besides, if we turn in the van on Monday, then we will save a day's rental.

Several diet Dr. Peppers, podcasts, and hours later, I pull the van into our condo parking lot.  It is 12:45 on Monday morning.  It is 20 hours since we left.  We are exhausted but full of adrenaline.  Our mission is complete; twenty-one dogs are saved.

Some of us are already adopted!
In the week since the transport, we know that one puppy has been spoken for.  A senior beagle and one of the Australian Shepherds have home visits scheduled.  This is the best part of the process -- when the dogs make it to their forever homes.

We want to emphasize that we are very very fortunate to be networked with the people in the northeast who rescue our abandoned animals.  However, we still have many left behind.  We are grateful to run transports, but they are not the solution to our over-crowded pound.  The answer is responsible ownership -- spay, neuter, and adopt!

PS  If you would like to assist with transports financially, we can always use donations toward the cost of a rental van and fuel.  You can do so without parting with any of your own money by using our Kroger cards.  Spend money that you spend anyway, and let Kroger's dough roll in!


Sunday, June 19, 2011

Unity

This is Unity.  She is in foster care.
This weekend our members met Unity at the pound.  She was a puppy on the brink of starvation.  It seems that she may have just overcome the Parvo virus, and is in the beginning stages of recuperation.  She was so sick.  And so skinny.   It was absolutely devastating.  She really needed special attention.  Even though our foster families were full, we decided to take her in.   She is already eating, and wagging her tail.   We think she will make a full recovery.  Later that evening, Jerri Lucas (our president and one of our foster mommas) sent the group a very inspiring email.   It touched a lot of us, and we decided to share it on the blog.  From Jerri, as she decided on the pup's name:


Hey folks, I've been thinking about today's pull and just had some thoughts I wanted to share. I immediately came up with Unity.  For it's our unity as a group that makes these pulls and rescues possible.  Without the rest of you, without all of us working together, I would never have the courage or the means to keep bringing these poor dogs home.  I would just have to go home and cry and have nightmares of skeletal dogs with pleading eyes or ignore them all together knowing there was nothing I could do about their plight.  We do not all do the same things, but with everyone combining talents and abilities, time and just plain hard work, together we make up a fantastic team that has done and is still doing a good work, truly friends of Powell County's pets.  So, on behalf of myself and Unity, I thank each of you for being a part of this group, for your compassion, diligence and sacrifices you make for these pets, and encourage all of you to keep up the great work!


Very inspiring words!  One of the hardest things about being an animal lover is seeing an animal in need, but not having the means of providing for it.   Luckily, everyone in our group works together so that we can help even the sickest of animals.  Thank you everyone for everything you do!  And thank you, Jerri, for the words of encouragement!  

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Relaxing on Caturday!

Ah, it's Caturday.   I'm taking the day off.   Can you bring me a saucer of milk? And put one of those tiny umbrellas in it, too.    


Khristie Everman sent us a pic of one of the kitties she adopted from us.   She's enjoying life on the farm.   Khristie said she gets up in the hammock all by herself, and naps the day away.   She's so comfortable with in the hammock, she even lets Khristie rock her to sleep.  So cute!  Thank you, Khristie, for giving this sweetheart a home (and a hammock)!  

We have two super-sweet kitties at Dr. Brammel's office for adoption right now.   Crystal and Indio.   Both are fully-vetted and spayed.  We aren't sure if they like hammocks, though.  Contact us if you would like to meet them!    

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Riley's Family Sends an Update!

Riley at his new home!

We just got an email from Riley's forever family!  Sounds like he was a perfect fit! Here's what his new owners said about him....    
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Best buds!
We picked Riley from Petfinder.com because his description said he was good with cats. This was important to us because we had an 18-year-old cat at home. Riley lived up to his description and was very nice to our cat Eddie, who soon learned that he could trust Riley. Eddie could sit on my lap and jump down, landing right in front of Riley's nose; Riley wouldn't chase him. Sadly, Eddie died in January of kidney failure, so he and Riley didn't have very much time for their friendship to blossom. Recently, a feral cat has been making friends with us and Riley. She even rubs her head against Riley! 


Riley doing his ferret impression.


Riley is also gentle towards our ferrets and likes to play with them.  Riley is such an affectionate dog.  A neighbor who hadn't met Riley said she heard he was "the sweetest, friendliest dog in the whole world." Sometimes Riley wants to cross the street to greet total strangers.  It is amazing to me that there was someone who didn't want Riley. 

---Clare










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That's why we do what we do! There's always people willing to open their hearts and their homes to these wonderful animals. We're so happy that Riley found that forever home! Thank you SO MUCH for adopting!!!

RECENT ADOPTIONS!!!

Whew!  We have been BUSY!   But we have a quite a few adoptions to report!!!
ADOPTED!
Little snugglebug Ross was adopted yesterday!   You might remember that Ross was the dog that was abandoned in the Gorge, and waited for 3 days in the same spot for his owners to come get him.   We are so glad he found a home!

ADOPTED!


Both Tripp and Milo were adopted this week!   Tripp is deaf, and he is one of our Calendar Dogs.   He found a wonderful home, and we couldn't be happier.   His buddy, Milo, also got a new home.   Milo is a sweeeeeet little guy that we have been fostering since he was a pup (as you can see in the pic), so we are thrilled that he's finally with a forever family.



Greta, Poncho, Biggs, and Sundae all found new homes!   They are super sweeties, and you might remember seeing them in their video a few weeks back.
ADOPTED!
ADOPTED!
ADOPTED!
ADOPTED!













              



ADOPTED!
Dottie also got adopted.  And so did Emma!

ADOPTED!
But the most exciting news is coming this weekend...

WE ARE TRANSPORTING 23 DOGS 
TO OUT OF STATE RESCUES!!!  

As some of you know, we network with rescues in other states where spay and neuter laws are enforced.   These states do not have the overpopulation problems that Kentucky faces, so people are actually on waiting lists to adopt dogs!   We have some going to Vermont, and some going to Pennsylvania.   We've actually transported animals all the way to Canada in the past.   We are excited to work with these rescues, and hope to transport many, many more in the next few months.

Thank you everyone for your support and donations!   We couldn't do this without YOU!   Finding homes for these lovable guys makes all the hard work worth it!   

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Barn Kitties to the Rescue!

Barn kitties are the best!
Remember our Barn Cat post a few weeks back?  We were contacted by the city of Georgetown, TX.  They were trying to get kitties out of the pound, and into barns.  So they asked if they could use our photos for their advertising.   We agreed, and their town responded!   Here's a what they had to say:
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Good morning!  
Recently you gave us permission to use a couple of your barn cat photos to promote our barn cat program in Georgetown.  I wanted to give you an update to let you know what a difference you've made all the way down in Texas :) I received a message from Animal Services asking me to take down the barn cats promotion because we've had 20 people sign up, most of whom want more than 1 cat, and about eight cats have already left!  With help from your pictures we've saved a lot of kitty lives. Thank you!!!
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We are SO GLAD that we could help!   If you have a barn, why not adopt a kitty from the pound?   They will keep your barn free of pests, and they will be forever grateful that you gave them a new home.  Contact us for more info! 

Cat Diaries: The First Ever Movie Filmed by Cats!


Okay, this is pretty cool, so we just had to share it. This is the first film SHOT ENTIRELY BY CATS! That's right! Cats! The owners hooked up video cameras to the cats' collars, and let their little fuzzy Speilbergs direct this motion picture (or maybe a meow-tion picture?). It's really fun and interesting to see the world from a cat's perspective. You can find these video collars at pet specialty stores, and on websites like Amazon. Maybe your kitty is going to be the next Oscar contender!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Captain Jack is missing!

Help me find my way home!
Captain Jack was adopted last week.  Unfortunately, he has already disappeared from his new home.  We are so saddened to hear that Captain Jack is lost, but we are trying our best to find him.  This sometimes happens when an animal moves into a new home.  They may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with their new surroundings.  Then their anxiety gets the best of them.   When an opportunity to bolt arises, they may take it.  Captain Jack darted out the front door, and hasn't been back to his new home since.  
If you see me, call
606-663-9802 or 859-948-0371
If anyone sees this boy in the George Drake Road-Morris Creek area, please call 606-663-9802 or 859-948-0371. He needs our help.  He is very distinctive.  He has one-eye (he had recent surgery). He has a tri-colored coat (white, brown, and black).  He's very friendly and sweet.  Please help us find him and bring him home!  Thanks for your help.  

Bark at the Park

Make Adoption the Option in Kentucky!
Yesterday, FOPCP went to Garrard County for "Bark at the Park." Hosted by the Central Kentucky Regional Humane Society, Bark at the Park is an outdoor animal expo and adoption event.

Zelda's having fun!
Internationally-recognized agility trainer Melissa Heeter was there, demonstrating dog obedience training.   And the kind people at Purina donated a lot of food to our group!  Thank you so much, Purina!!! 


Plus a lot of our fosters got to meet a new faces.   Ross is a bit shy, but this event seemed to help him become comfortable with strangers.   
Ross was eager to meet new people!
In fact, Ross eventually was comfortable enough to just walk right up to people and say hello!   That is a huge step for this guy!   Zelda had a blast.  Crystal and Indio were total snugglebugs the whole day.  And everyone seemed to want to meet Adele.   She's such a sweetheart!  
Adele is a super sweetie!
It was a hot day, but our little guys got some attention and interaction with the public.  It was also great to connect with the Central Kentucky Regional Humane Society, and we hope to be a part of the future adoption events.  A big thanks goes out to everyone who donated to our group!
Crystal was super friendly with everyone she met!
SHHHH!   Hattie is trying to sleep!