I've been in the rescue world for almost one full year now. I would like to say it gets better, but I can't. Rescue is a revolving door of dogs. Two get adopted and one comes in - that’s the way it's been going as of late.
Today started like any other: 4 a.m. feeding and walks around the block for everyone. It was cold, and all 15 dogs were on the porch with a heater running. We walked out of the back door through the pouch of barking dogs to the outdoor runs, we placed down food bowls and began letting dogs out to their runs for breakfast.
As always, Ava, our big 66lb pitbull, is the last to be let out and into the big runs. Ava began barking uncontrollably and pawing at the crate door. This was a little odd, but I let her out, and off she ran to her outdoor space to eat. After eating she started barking again.
As always, she and Tater were the first two to go out on their walks. After her walk, she went back into her warm crate until the day warmed and all of the dogs could be turned out to the big pens. Only this time, Ava wouldn’t stop barking!
I took her to the play yard where we played ball for over an hour and had her potty break during this time. Finally, Ava went back into the warmth of her crate and fell fast asleep. That was weird, I thought to myself.
Ava did this every morning after that. Barking and pawing - barking and pawing - barking and pawing - barking and pawing- barking and pawing - barking and pawing - barking and pawing!!!
On the third day of this routine, I became very worried about our sweet big girl. I called the vet and got her in the next day. I told them how she had been acting the last few days. The vet thought it could be anxiety. He gave us some meds to help her be calmer, but still let her be her loving goofy self! Ava seems better these days; she still barks and paws at her crate door every so often, but not as much as before.
Now we cut to a warm sunny Saturday morning: All the dogs went out one at a time to the play yard for an hour each. When it was Ava’s turn, she ran around the yard, tackling each of the five soccer balls one at a time - her favorite thing besides swimming. After she had some time to play, she came over and laid down on my lap as I sat on the ground. Ava LOVES physical affection and being touched. As she lay on my lap and looked up at me, I started to cry. I held her tight in my arms and whispered: "I know you hate it here, but you're safe and we love you! We are going to do our best to make you happy I promise."
Pure joy and happy trails are all we want for all our dogs, but Ava holds a special place in our hearts. Ava is doing much better now and it helps her and all the dogs to get as much play time and love as possible.
Realities:
There are over 9,136 animal caregivers currently employed in the United States. 76.5% of all animal caregivers are women, while 23.5% are men.
Approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.
Each year, approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized (390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats).
With so many animals in the shelters, rescues and rescue workers are popping up everywhere and are more and more needed. However, the number of animals in need is growing by the day! Trying to balance the number of intakes and maintaining a proper level of care can feel impossible. We cap our number of dogs at 12 and are currently caring for 15 dogs! VRC gets 10 - 12 calls a week from people asking us to take in a dog. Sadly we must turn them away and/or offer online help with advertising their furry friend.
It takes VRC staff one hour and 30 minutes from start to finish to feed and walk all 15 dogs, this takes place every morning and every afternoon. Then VRC staff have an hour walk with all 15 dogs around 8 pm before their bedtime. This is on top of the 9 – 5 day jobs many of our staff also have. On the weekends, each dog gets one-on-one playtime for 30 – 40 minutes. We do our best to make each dog feel special and loved and give them the best care possible.
When a dog like Ava acts the way she does, this adds to our already worried and busy minds. Kennel Syndrome, as we have come to understand, is the behavior that a dog assumes in survival mode. I lay in bed many nights thinking of Ava, trying to come up with more ways to make her happier and help her remain calm. I go through a range of emotions: I’m mad and pissed off that she and the others ended up with us, angry that some human somewhere failed them and treated them so poorly when it is clear that all each of them wants is LOVE!
I’m sad and feel broken knowing there are so many more out there that I haven’t met yet and or can't help. I understand Ava and her frustration, I feel like I could bark and paw too. I think that Kennel Syndrome can take hold of the caretakers too! We do a lot and deal with a lot, all while holding things together for the dogs we love.
Dear Ava, Tater, Shorty, Boss, Logan, Pipp, Freya, Artemis, Cleo, Mickey, Brody, Susie, Spike, Rhea, and Jolene,
I promise to push down my pain, to make room to take in yours so that your heart can heal and feel more fully!
I promise to hold you close and keep you safe from harm!
I promise to take in all your pain so you can be at peace!
I promise there will always be time for playtime and belly rubs!
I promise there is a loving forever home out there for you!
I promise to keep all my promises till you find your loving forever home.
I Promise to love you and show you love and happiness till you can find your forever home.
Love your best buddy,
Curtis
Thank you for supporting Valhalla Rescue Center. If you want to donate to VRC or find other ways to help our cause, please email us at valhallarescuecenter@gmail.com.
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