In 2003 two Hamilton (Texas) High School seniors set out to change the "catch and kill" mindset of their community. Their "facility" was a back yard and baking and selling cookies to fellow students funded their venture. Their first rescue was Joseph, a Great Pyrenees who was so large his (euthanized) body wouldn't fit in animal control's freezer so they had yet to put him down. After the girls groomed, neutered and vaccinated Joseph the owner of the Hamilton Herald News provided front page coverage of the story.
Being an animal over I offered the girls a couple of fenced acres with a shelter and water in order for them to rescue more than one dog at a time. Always the consummate bargain hunter I also offered advice on low cost spay/neuter and scouted for discounted quality dog food. I expected to remain on the peripheral edge of their venture (just giving advice) but it wasn't long before others volunteered and together we were all sucked into the mission of NO MORE HOMELESS PETS IN HAMILTON.
In three years we lowered the euthanasia rate at the local pound 87% (from 320 annual average to 42 in 2008). Since then we have reached a stalemate of an average 50 kills a year. The remaining 13% represent those suffering from a grossly inadequate formal education (whether of their own doing or the education system of their era), a local drug culture on the rise, and a rural sub-culture that discounts the value of an animal's life.
That remaining 13% will not get the better us.
Marion Stanford - Surrounded by my own dogs in our back yard.
Hi, my name is Marion Hewko and I am from Chilliwack, Bc Canada. I became involved with Dogs Deserve Better in 2006.
I was always appalled when I saw dogs travelling in the back of pick up trucks and I wrote several letters to the newspaper with the concerns I had. At the local dogwalk, I met someone who introduced me to Dogs Deserve Better..thinking we would maybe get projects going that only had to do with dogs travelling in the back of a pick up truck. But it was not the only thing rescue was about..
Meet Nate, I was asked to help with sending food the a first nations reserve and help de-worm all the dogs and pups, and I met Nate, who was a ferrel dog, beautiful, white dog, we did not know the sex of the dog..as we could not get close to it.
The dog was named Nayla as it appeared to be female. She was live trapped and brought into foster where we then realized that Nayla was a male thus we changed the name to Nate. Nate had terrible mange and spent weeks at the vets for treatment. He was also neutered. In October, 2008 Nate found himself an awesome home and he has come out of his shell, gained weight, is loyal, loves the bed and the couch..
He is such a love bug..He is an inspiration to me..and he will always have a special place in my heart.
I am a BF Network Writer and the International Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean. I just finished my 4th article for Best Friends. I am also the event coordinator for Woofstock, A Day of Peace, Paws & Music. This day long event on March 6, 2010 in the beautiful Florida Keys will unite all local rescues and shelters with music, adoption village, food & fun! I adopted my fur baby, Hooper in November and foster for Marrvelous Pet Rescues. My most exciting news is the launch of my first book: The Animal Angels Save St. Francis. The first in a tween-age adventure series teaching self-empowerment and compassion through real world animal issues.
Michele Beach - Key Largo, FL
Dogs have taught me more about life, love, forgiveness, faith, courage and most of all trust, than anyone in my life. I became a certified dog trainer to make a difference. I wanted to help these precious angels have the best chance possible of finding a loving home. If people were more like dogs, this world would be a better place.
Michelle Wilson
Volunteer Trainer at Jefferson County Animal Welfare Society WV
Roxy, Jewel of the Mountain
Yesterday we decided to climb Mt. Bierstadt, one of many Colorado 14-ers. The hike started on Guanella Pass where we parked our truck and adored the view, with the peak ahead of us... surrounded by an endless beauty of majestic mountains and meadows. As we started the ascend with our three younger dogs, many others did the same... and we encountered tons of outdoor enthusiasts with dogs along the trail, as it was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning.
Just below the summit, we decided to stop and eat our lunch. It was then when I noticed a gorgeous pitbull strolling down the mountain, off leash, in a steady stride... along the trail yet alone, not in a group or with anyone. It surprised me as there were many other Fidos around, and I thought how curious... my gaze followed this dog until he was out of sight. Our lunch tasted great in this serene setting and we took a well deserved break. My thoughts wandered away from the dog and I took in the beauty of the surrounding. Just then, I noticed the same dog strutting back up the mountain... curiously and swiftly, only stopping to sniff an occasional hiker with his dog, to greet them and wag it's tail, then to continue on the journey up the steep mountainside. I watched this dog and stood up and climbed up to go check it out. I called out to her and she turned and shyly approached me. It was the same gorgeous pitbull, turned out to be a female, with a pink harness strapped on her back, and two tags on her collar. Yes, she was extremely friendly, came right up to me and wagged her tail to greet me. I was relieved she was not afraid of me, as I realized she was lost or abandoned.
Whilst checking her tags, a few commented walking by, that they had seen her earlier... others just sent a glance our way to check us out - walking by with their dogs who either grawled, yanked on their leashes or ignored their owners' calls to go back to them. The pitbull girl sat down next to me, ignoring all this commotion with the most calmest disposition which was rather remarkable. I tried to figure out what to do next, as I knew in that moment that I will not abandon this girl on the mountain, nor look the other way as many others have done, as I saw her earlier in the day. I decided to climb back down and take her along. Just then two young men crossed our path and offered a string and help to walk her down along with our three other dogs.
Yes, my dogs were acting out when this sweet girl just walked down the mountain with us, as if she had known me for a long time. We encountered many hikers with dogs... most of them being the mutt you don't want near you, either growling, pulling on the leash or coming at you in attack mode. Not this girl. She was the most calmest and sweetest dog on the trail. I was blown away with her disposition. Wow, I just met Wonderdog. What a beauty, what a character and great nature she possessed ! I started to think I wish this was my dog. Contemplating my next steps in this "rescue".. we approached the rivercrossing, when a young man came jogging down the trail behind us. It turned out to be the owner, who just left the peak after the 6 mile hike and the 3000 feet elevation gain to jog back down in a haste to find his dog. Boy was I happy to see this guy ! Turned out his dog "Roxy", the sweet, calm, friendly and amazing beauty of a dog took off up there somewhere... as she noticed a Boxer mix boy... apparently this stunning boy distracted sweet Roxy so much that she forgot all about her hike with her owner and just followed the Boxer dog. And boy was it a goodlooking one at that... we saw him hike down just as we celebrated her little "reunion"... with her owner.
Wagging tails, heads on close to sniff each other, Roxy and her Boxer friend eagerly visited with each other again.
Well the Boxer boyfriend had to go home and out came the treat bag and waterbowl, which the owner of Roxy held out in front of her... I was so thrilled that they found each other again and told him the amazing nature of her's and how she just walked by all those dogs in a most peaceful manner. Her curious and loving character stood out, she was the ONLY dog that I noticed with such a disposition, unleashed at first, while lost, completely indifferent towards other dogs and friendly to everyone who crossed her path.
It was a very amazing experience. Roxy is one special dog, who is lucky to go on outings such as these...
with her loving owner, who was just as relieved as I was, that she was found. What was so cute about this story, is that not one other dog interested her.. just this gorgeous Boxer dude and we all got a chuckle out of it... Roxy... go on hiking, but watch out for those good looking Boxers... A happy ending of a beautiful day, when I learned again, how very special these dogs are, Pitbulls... America's Dog... Roxy truly represents what an amazing breed they are, friendly as can be, tail-wagging at everyone... humans and dogs.. curious, intelligent and calm...
Now when I go hiking, I will always remember this sweet Pitbull girl, that made my day very special.
Attached is a picture of Roxy and me, which her owner took after we got back down the mountain.
Cheers,
Monika Courtney
My name is Nancy Cox, I have worked for the Marshall County Humane Society in Plymouth Indiana for 21 years. I have seen a lot of sad and happy moments in all the years but out of all the stories that I could tell, this one touches my heart the most. This beautiful lab mix is Jamie, we first named her Miss Twiggy weighing in at 179 Lbs. you can see why. Jamie was picked up in July 2009 by our Animal Control officer as a stray, it was obvious she was no stray, Oh she belonged to someone allright, unlike most of our abuse cases,she never missed a meal or went hungry. The only problem is we couldn't find her owner nor did they ever come forward. After running a picture and a plea for help in the paper our local vet took her on as his charity case. Jamie now weighs under 130 lbs, she still has a way to go and will require surgery to remove some fatty tumors but she is one of the happiest, most playful over weight dogs I have ever seen, she loves her ball and adores people and other animals. When you see so many neglected, beaten and starved animals it's hard to believe a person almost killed this dog with kindness.
I began my work with the Oshkosh Area Humane Society when it was a city run facility and we were a small group of volunteers called "The Friends of the Shelter." The facility was a small Quonset hut, deplorable, but we did the best we could. I ran table events, raffles, spoke to service groups, gave slide presentations...took pictures...our volunteers did it all. Now we are in a newly built state of the art facility, and I am privileged in the fact the shelter director lets me continue speaking to service groups, educating kids, and assisting with fund raising events for our beautiful shelter.
I also manage a small colony of feral cats in my yard, and try to educate my neighbors and their children about being responsible animal caretakers. I love what I do and the people it all leads me to.
Nikki Hronis - Oshkosh, WI
“I’ve been on the Board of a rural shelter for 5 years and have seen too many egos get in the way of doing the right thing for the animals. Smiley, an adorable pit mix, had been living in a cage for 2 years. No exercise, no training, no socialization. His high arousal & anxiety was erroneously labeled aggressive and he was slated for euthanasia. Against all odds, I fought the Board and the politics and finally was able to save him. He is now living quite happily and peacefully in a forever, loving adoptive home he truly deserves".
Pamela Z. Hill - Coupeville Washington USA
When we moved into our first home, the first thing we wanted to do was adopt a pet. Our former neighbor was a foster parent for a local rescue and she had a mother with one kitten. We intended to adopt the kitten, but before we even got him home, we turned around and went to get the mother! There was a lot of construction around our new house and a few weeks later, someone had 'dumped' two little kittens next door. We volunteered to foster them for the same rescue group and have been hooked for life! After spending many years living in Manhattan, I moved to southern California where one of the first things I looked for was the local shelter and fostering opportunities. It's now 100+ kittens later and I still love every minute. Pamela Vaughn
I have been volunteering with Cat Haven for 9 years. Recently, thanks to Baton Rouge Area Foundation (a large funder in my city), a movement to move our community towards being No Kill has gained tremendous momentum. I am fortunate enough to have been included as one of the key players in the movement. Last year 9,000 dogs and cats were killed at our Animal Control facility. We in Baton Rouge have declared that figure completely unacceptable and have begun taking steps toward becoming a good place for our companion animals and feral cats to live. I look forward to gaining valuable information from this conference that I can bring back home and put into action.
Thank you so much for all that you do, and for inspiring people like me to believe that we truly can make things better for the animals.
Attached is a photo from our monthly "Spay Day" which is held at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, in cooperation with Cat Haven and other area rescue organizations. During Spay Day, 100 to 120 feral and low income pet cats are sterilized. One of our goals is to expand our infrastructure for large scale feral and low income spay/neuter, but this is a good start.
Peggy Polk - Cat Haven, Friends of the Animals, and No Kill BR Steering Committee. All are based in Baton Rouge, LA
In May 2007, Best Friends took custody of nearly 900 cats, many of them starving, sick, and neglected. The monumental undertaking that followed—dubbed the Great Kitty Rescue—was an unforgettable introduction to animal rescue work for my girlfriend and me, and we now own four of these remarkable cats.
The attached photo is of a makeshift memorial located on the property in Pahrump, NV, where the Great Kitty Rescue got its start. We didn't visit the facility until December 2007, months after the real work had been done, so I don't know much about the story behind the memorial.
Peter Wolf
5 years ago, I adopted my first dog Katie from the local SPCA. I later realized that I should be volunteering at the SPCA as a way of giving back as I feel so blessed to have Katie in my life. And now I'm up to three dogs! Kitty and Gunner have been great additions to our family! It's so great to meet so many friends who share my passion for helping homeless pets!
Rekka Melby - Lost Paws Rescue of Texas - Dallas, TX
I was inspired to get involved by a story of a pit bull on a local TV station in April 2008. This pit bull had been taken to the humane society for biting his owner and was to be destroyed. I contacted BF and Patricia Prior emailed me to get more details. The last info that I received was the owner could save the dog by calling the humane society and releasing ownership. I don't know if this was a happy ending, but that is what inspired me to get involved.
Thank you for all you do and keep up the great work!!
Years ago I heard someone talking about vivisection. I did not know what it meant. After I did further research, I was sickened and angry at what our own University of Minnesota was doing to animals. Torture. After that I heard someone speak on how to become a vegan. Again, I was appalled at how farm animals were abused, transported and killed. I quit eating meat, chicken, and fish immediately. I love my blind cat, Daisy.
Robbie Zanko - Minnesota Humane Society - St. Paul, Minnesota
After seeing your facility in June, I now am moving forward with a dedicated team to make some communal living arrangements for our felines in our NO KILL facility! Thank You for All You DO!
Robin Avison Nashville Humane Association