Old friends, new dogs

If you've been following my blog for a very long time you may recall the woman I've referred to as my "doggie dealer." She lives in the far southwest corner of the state and would often take in dogs from women who left their home with their dogs to escape an abusive domestic situation. She got dogs from all sorts of sources because once people find out you will take dogs, they find you. I was getting a lot of really nice small boxers from her for a while, but there's been shepherds, my first and only actual collie, all kinds of dogs. She has mostly "retired" from rescue work, because of some health issues of her own a while back, but as we discussed the other day, it's a hard habit to kick, mostly because the supply of dogs and the demand for rescue just never lets up.

She recently took in a dog and two or three cats from someone who was moving to Texas. I know many people who have moved with dogs, including some who have moved to Texas, but apparently these folks thought this was a good occasion to dump their 11 year old female shepherd mix, along with their cats. Her name is Mercedes, and she's good with cats, kids, and other dogs. She's coming here probably next Thursday.

I had another call this week from someone I knew back from my very early days in rescue. These two women have volunteered for years at the Louisa shelter as dog walkers. They just go to the shelter and take dogs out for a walk to give them a break, some exercise, stimulation, and a bit of normalcy. They called trying to help the shelter move these two black german shepherds to a rescue. I contacted VGSR but that's about all the help I could offer right now.



















And then there's this girl, also a senior, who needs a new home. I met the dog a few weeks ago but haven't heard from the owner in a while. I need to check back and see if she's still looking.

The point is that it never ends and there's no real way out of rescue. People do burn out and quit and that's a big hazard, especially if they take on too much, too fast. As hard as it is, you've got to have limits, and you have to say "no" much more often than you are able to say "yes." 












And finally, apropos of nothing and completely off topic are a couple pictures of dogs in the hallway at home, barred by the kitchen gate because I had been mopping the floor. 

Obviously the gate will not keep Maya out.

That's Theo on the left, Maya in the middle,
Rugger on the right, and Max in the rear.

I mowed a path outside our property line today and
made this map and satellite image of our property.
It was exactly a half mile around the perimeter.