Dearest Santa, We are writing on behalf of a dear friend of ours, Ned. Who are we may you ask? We are Team Ned. Team Ned is a group of shelter volunteers who dedicate their time to helping the homeless animals in Walworth County. We pour our hearts and souls into what we do. Some of us have full time jobs, some have small children, some have too many pets to admit in writing. All of us have a passion for what we are doing and for raising money and awareness to help these animals who so desperately need not only our help, but quality medical care and some good old fashioned luck. Lakeland Animal Shelter is one of the most emotional places on Earth for people like us. We absolutely love and cherish the hard work and compassion that we witness every time we walk through those doors. We also loathe the fact that such a place has to exist and that there are still people (many people) in this world who have no regard for animals and their emotions and needs. We strive to help the shelter in whatever ways we can, whenever we can because this is our passion. If you’re still reading, you must be wondering, “who the heck is Ned?” The answer to that is so simple yet so complex. Ned is a dog, a homeless dog. A four year old male pitbull mix, a “stray”. Ned was sold on Craigslist and then abandoned by the family who purchased him. Ned is one of the gentlest creatures we’ve met, one of the neediest, sweetest dogs and also quite possibly the longest current resident at Lakeland Animal Shelter. He has special needs: Ned’s skin is quite obviously not normal. His skin condition has been treated by multiple veterinarians over the year and half that he has been living at Lakeland Animal Shelter. It comes and goes but has yet to show any long term improvement. His diet is very restricted, in order to isolate the problems contributing to his skin condition. His immune system is weak, his body, and more importantly, his eyes, shows that he needs love. He needs a home. He needs a family. Ned’s medical conditions could be greatly caused, or at least, exacerbated by the stress of prolonged shelter life. Ned is picky about other dogs and needs slow and proper introductions if there is to be any chance of success with him and doggy siblings. He loves people and even children. Ned has lived at Lakeland Animal Shelter since March of 2013. He’s had one brief stint in a foster home and at least two previous homes before coming to the shelter. Now, more than ever, Ned needs stability. So we, as Ned’s groupies, have formed a sort of “club” where we go above and beyond for Ned. We bring him sugar-free peanut butter frozen in neat little cubes that will fit perfectly in his Kong chew toy. We hard boil eggs for him because on his strict diet, normal treats are not allowed. We take him on outings that others don’t think he should go on because of his appearance. We bring him expensive and all natural healing ointments for his skin. We walk him, and walk him, and walk him. We bring him to Nine Lives Boutique to get him out of his kennel for a while and to give exposure to him and his story. Despite these niceties, we are not Ned’s family (although a few of us would like to be… see above statement about too many animals to mention). The reality is that Ned still lives in a kennel for most of his day, all day, every day. We advocate for him and for dogs like him, dogs with special medical or behavior al needs. We route for the underdog. We are a group of women, from our 20s to our 60s, who have united for this common cause. We are Ned’s girlfriends, Ned’s cheerleaders, we tell his story any chance we get, to anyone who will listen. We are TEAM NED. So dearest Santa, we write you this Holiday season asking for the smallest of favors, to help find Ned a home. We, his best friends are doing the best we can, and the next best thing we can do is ask you for help. So please Santa, see what you can do and we’d be forever grateful! Love Team Ned
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 19:00:11 +0000
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