I don't get around to posting much, but I have to put my 2 cents
worth in here. First, to Billie and all of you who work to find homes
for other dogs throughout the country, I respect what you are doing.
I can't even read the posts of "urgent" cases anymore because I can't
save them all and I would absolutely go crazy if I dwelled on all the
defensiveless animals who die every day never knowing love on this
earth.
But that said, we do need to remember that this group was initially
set up as a CK group, and it really doesnt seem like the animals
there are the focus anymore. We have plenty of adoptable animals in
Tylertown, not only dogs, but cats. It is true that some of our
animals are not adoptable, but most of them are. And even those few
that may never be adoptable deserve the attention every day of people
who truly love them as they are. Anyone who knows Elizabeth knows she
is a saint, just like Julianne said. I am in Tylertown usually every
other week. I have seen for all these months just how deep her
dedication is. No matter tired Elizabeth is, she never calls it a day
until all the dogs have had both their physical and their emotional
needs taken care of. But no matter how hard we try, we can't be a
real substitute for the loving family that each animal deserves. And
no matter how hard we try, we can't change the physical discomfort
and real danger that goes along with living in an outdoor situation
in the summer heat here. Not only the heat, but the rats, the holes
in the ground big enough to cripple a cow, the storms that come out
of nowhere and leave panicked dogs knee deep in water,(Elizabeth and
I have spent nights out in severe thunderstorms trying to calm Ray
the unsocialized storm phobic chow as he tore his mouth and paws up
and lost bowel control trying to escape), snakes that have even come
up in the dog runs, mounds of fireants that we can't get rid of,
swarms of flies--just to name a few. To keep the dogs water at least
lukewarm (cool is too much to ask!) we spend much of our time hauling
water in jugs because as soon as one water run is done, the water
bowls are getting hot again. To keep the grass low enough to see the
snakes and the holes, Elizabeth mows 3 acres with a push mower!
Many times when I would leave, Elizabeth would be totally by herself,
just like Julianne said. I worried that she would get snakebit or
fall in a hole and break a leg, or have something even worse happen.
Not to be dramatic, but these are the conditions the dogs live under,
and the conditions Elizabeth has lived under for most of the time
since the huricane. When I am in Tylertown, I work from daylight til
after dark, and frequently go to my tent without even thinking about
a shower. But then after a few days I go home to my family, hot
meals,showers, clean beds--and worry about the animals (two and four
footed!) left behind in Tylertown.
Elizabeth won't be there forever. As Julianne said, Elizabeth is
going home next week and Shelli will be coming down for several
weeks. After that, we don't know whats going to happen. I will
continue to be there for my usual time every other week,(although
after having kidney stones removed from my right kidney last week, I
now have to have them removed from the left one, so I may be out for
another few weeks--don't know yet.) I know Johnna will be there as
much as she can, but she does a lot of transports and has other
responsibilities.
So the bottom line is, we DO need to find homes for our CK dogs--and
most of them are adoptable if they are given the right situation. It
makes me so sad to see our older rotties--Ginger, Duchess, and
Julius. They want a home. They need to be sleeping in someones bed
and being pampered in their remaining years. When I sit with Ginger
she keeps her head on me and tries to keep me from leaving. Some of
these dogs are not cat safe or don't like other dogs, but whats to
keep them from being a cherished member of a one pet home? We have
already lost some of them. Does anyone remember Leo the black chow?
My last memory of him is when I was giving him CPR on the floor of
the front room after he was found unresponsive in his house. We will
never know what happened--snake bite, heat stroke, spider or bee
sting, heartworm (he was positive)--all we know is he's dead and
after all he had gone through he should have had a home of his own.
We all did so much in the days after Katrina when we worked together.
There arent THAT many dogs left, but the ones that are there need
homes NOW. And Elizabeth needs to know that we all appreciate the
sacrafices she has made-- that we appreciate it enough to make sure
the animals she has given so much for find the homes they so deserve.
This group has such wide coverage and such dedicated people on it, if
a few people would each make one dog their responsibility to research
the dogs story and temperment and needs (Elizabeth can give you all
that info) and really try to find a home or even a longterm foster
for these remaining dogs--what a difference it would make.
One last example, and I'll shut up. Anyone remember Diamond? She is
the cattle dog who gave birth in a live trap and refused all contact
with humans ever since the hurricane. She lives with me now. The
totally unreachable dog who was said to be hopeless now eats all her
meals out of my hand, lets me stroke and groom her, sneaks treats out
of my pocket,and gives me big (toothless)grins. She has not been a
real easy dog to work with, but she has re-paid everything I did for
her tenfold. Even our really difficult dogs have the potential for
adoption, if someone loves them enough for who they really are.
And once again, thanks to everyone who helps with our mission. Those
of us who are here realize that most people can't get back to MS
often, or at all, but don't forget the animals of Camp Katrina. We
all worked together to rescue them from the hurricane--please don't
forget that some of them are still waiting for a forever home.
Leila
.