Ive wrestled all day with whether to post this or not, but I owe it to this beautiful girl who died today. We as rescuers walk a tightrope with our non-rescue friends, our supporters, the people who donate to fund our rescues...and we know that people like to hear the Happy Tails, and really dont want to see or hear about this part. Let me tell you what it feels like to answer the phone, and have one of our Krewe volunteers on the other end, crying while she tells you about the condition of the dog she just found. Instantly your mind starts racing---oh my God, shes got to get to the vet right NOW---does she have an owner? To hell with that....can we strap on this vet bill? To hell with THAT---get to the vet right now! This emaciated girl is Stormie, who Michelle Gardner Hartley found in a ditch, covered in maggots from eating road kill to stay alive. Michelle has a heart of gold, and God is using her to find these poor creatures in their last days. She had to carry her to her car, and raced her to the vet. Too late. AGAIN. Irrecoverable Renal failure, from months or years of neglect. Ill spare you the details, but it was bad, according to our wonderful vet. Then you go through this little wrestling match in your mind with God, who created these wonderful dogs. WHY did you let us find her, but too late? How many tears can one person cry? Whats with the extremely high ups, and bottomless lows all in one day? How can I get up and do this again tomorrow? Im sure that our sweet, loving Michelle was thinking something along these lines, as she put this dying dog in her car. And this dog had an owner, living in a nice house, with a fine car. We truly try to shield most people from this ugly side, because we desperately need your emotional and financial help. But this is the reality, and a snippet of a day in the life of a rescuer. We have a LOT of victories and happy adoption stories we share with YOU, but when we lose one like this we suffer in our own little group, venting and crying together, secretly. It just SUCKS. If you know anyone in rescue, like Michelle Hartley or Sandi Lemieux, who tried to desperately to save our girl Stormie, or anyone in the Krewe de Rescue, who all agreed immediately to do whatever we had to do to help, or any rescue group, anywhere, give them a HUGE hug next time you see them, and try to lift their spirits. They need it. And yes, well all be getting up tomorrow, willing to do it again, because thats what we do.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 23:26:10 +0000
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