"Another Angel Gone"

 Angel
Dog, Australian Kelpie Mix

Thinking perhaps I could rescue a dog in Dee Dee's honor,  I fired off an email. Late the next night I heard back from a volunteer who explained that the shelter was under-staffed, and  she would check the next day to see if Angel was still available. 

The next day, the volunteer wrote back to me and told me that Angel was "gone".  I had to know, so I wrote and asked had Angel been adopted or put down. 

Without naming names, here is the reply I received from that wonderful volunteer who was answering shelter emails late at night:

Hi Corri:

I'm afraid Angel was put down. It's heartbreaking; so many good, adoptable dogs are put down in this shelter each week. 

 Unfortunately, in our rather rural community, people still don't seem to be getting the message about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets, and that they need to take responsibility for a pet once they decide to get one.  Too often pets are seen as disposable, like so many other things in the world these days....

... I wish the shelter staff would give these dogs more time so they would have a better chance of being adopted.

Take care,
[Name Withheld]

I am really glad that this volunteer told me what happened, but my heart ached for Angel and for  others like her. I couldn't help but think if I had called instead of emailed....would the outcome have been different. Then I thought of all the other dogs in similar situations.

I'm not going to point out which shelter Angel came from...this shelter or its volunteers at least post picture ads to try to place their animals! 

I know this story repeats itself all over the country. I don't know the circumstances under which Angel's owner turned her in at the shelter. In my local shelter, the staff jumps hoops trying to save dogs that can be placed. 

The task is overwhelming sometimes. 

How can you help? Encourage people to spay and neuter pets. Encourage people to research a breed before adopting a pet that does not match their lifestyle. Encourage people to be responsible if they need to give up a pet...

Definitely if you know someone who is going to relinquish a dog, urge him or her to try to find a home first. If that doesn't work, give  the dog to a rescue instead of to a kill shelter. In any search engine, type the name of the dog's predominant breed and the word rescue...you'll find a long list. (I say dogs, but the same applies to cats, horses, rabbits, goats and all kinds of God's creatures.)

The rescue site I made in Dee Dee's memory lists some rescues: Finders Keepers--Forever Homes for All Kinds of Pets.

I am sad for Angel. I told this story to my friend Annie, and she warned me, "You can't save them all!"  Admittedly, I haven't even tried to save them all. The little I've done to help seems so insignificant compared to the vastness of the problem. 

I have a dear friend who has been doing dog rescue night and day for about a year in memory of a dog that was essentially stolen from her. She poured her heart, soul, energy and finances into rescue. She has rescued many, many dogs successfully to happy forever homes...and the ones that didn't make it took a large toll on her heart.  She's quitting rescue, and I hope someone will step in to take a turn.

No one can do it all...but if everyone does just a little, we can all make a difference.