A Saturday afternoon with Karin

Belle and Sunny and I met Karin for an Animal Connections adoption event at Harris Teeter (a local grocery store) in Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon.  I didn't find homes for Belle or Sunny, but both girls were well behaved and Sunny was just extraordinary. She was friendly, slightly shy but not nervous. When a passing truck or something scared her, she looked to me for guidance and security. That's not only an endearing quality, it's also a wonderful canine trait--looking to her human for guidance instead of immediately taking control of the situation by herself. She's a got shepherd smarts and devotion, but none of the neurosis that we see all too often in the breed.

Belle was sweet and content to be crated when I was busy with Sunny. Sunny wasn't so crazy about the crate and she didn't seem to know anything about dog treats, but she was very focused on any human food that she saw. I wouldn't put it past her to pull something off a counter if she got the chance. Still, I think she's an awesome dog. While I had no takers for either dog out there today, I came home to what sounds like a promising application for Belle in my email.

It was just Karin and me today, plus the two dogs I brought, no other volunteers, and it was probably the first time in many years that Karin and I have done an adoption event alone together. It was actually kind of nice. It was a slow day at Barracks Road Shopping Center and we had a chance to just sit and talk, which we rarely get to do anymore if there is a crowd of people around.

Karin is the founder and guiding force behind Animal Connections.  I've been involved with the group since its inception as well, I guess, but it's really Karin's group.  Some people will say that Karin isn't always the easiest person to deal with.  I think she will admit that, and I will certainly admit it about myself as well.  However, for some reason we have always managed to get along and to work together.  Karin is a small dog person, but I've learned to overlook that. Small, yappy, obnoxious dogs need love too, I guess, and they certainly have a bigger pool of potential adopters and therefore a higher turn over rate than large breed dogs.  Karin and I have butted heads in the past, but we've never doubted the other's commitment to the cause of rescue.  Mostly we have just agreed to give each other the space to do our own thing and we've proceeded along parallel paths.  Our paths have been separated enough that many of the new Animal Connections people don't even know that I'm part of that organization; many of them just think I'm with VGSR.  But I've always maintained my connection with Animal Connections because I foster many dogs other than shepherds and I will continue to do so.

There is a multitude of rescue groups all over the country and I have a theory as to the origin of many of them.  It goes like this:  A number of people get together and form a group.  They are dog people and the only thing they have in common is the fact that they like most dogs better than most people.  (Their people skills are not high always the best.)  Disagreements develop, factions form, tempers flare, and eventually a splinter group forms and starts their own organization. 

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with this, however.  As long as like-minded people get together and do good work, it doesn't really matter if it's an organization of 2, 20, or 200.  Larger groups have an advantage when it comes to fund raising, for sure, but smaller groups have advantages as well, more flexibility, less bureaurcracy, and fewer "personalities" to deal with.  

Anyone who just gets pissed off and quits probably didn't have much commitment to the cause in the first place. People who don't get along with one particular group, for whatever reason, can find another, start another, or just find a way to help on their own.   Some of the most active rescuers I know, my "doggie dealer" for example, aren't really affiliated with any organization.  They just do their own thing.  Reduced to its bare essentials, rescue is about one person taking in one dog and finding it a home.