chester

"Chester" is a Poodle-like terrier mystery mix. We found him today across the street from High Tail. He was roaming in and out of the church and peeing on everything. His owners clearly didn't neuter him and he lacked what would have came in handy today, a microchip. Chester was a real sweet heart! I sat on the ground to try and get him before he got hurt by someone or something. He came up and licked me right in the face! mrawh!

Sadly, Chester had to be taken to Animal Care and Control because he had nowhere to stay. With experience in taking pups out of shelters and placing them in happy homes.. it was heartbreaking to have to put him in one. It was hard but at least this way he still has a chance at finding his family..where ever they are.

violet.

My mom passed last month. She was definitely the leader of the pack. Only 47 and had so much more to live for. She held everything about my family together. She continued to teach, build and create. The only thing left for me to do is learn from that, take what I can and implement it in my own life. After arguing non stop with my landlady I lost my status as a foster parent. God damn language barriers.. I now have a greater need to nurture, which makes my inabilities more straining. These dogs are basically my life.

Anyways, sad story time. Violet was an old foster of mine. She was a beautiful Lilac Pit who was adopted by this awesome family. They live in Crockett, near the Carquinas bridge. Husband, wife and three kids I think. The daughter loved art. The mom and dad both seemed happy. They each had dogs of their own before they met and got married. One had passed away..so they came to see Violet. They came, they saw, they adopted. I packed them a goody bag full of treats, toys and extra food. I even gave them a plastic bag because Violet always got car sick. Four months later I receive an email saying that Violet has to be returned. She's not getting the attention she needs and they're struggling.. they had a major loss in their family and couldn't bare to let Violet suffer. I really wish I could take her back. I felt like it was my sole responsibility to nurture this puppy. She's about 6 months now and she is mourning for the loss of her mother just as I am. She's being relocated and thrown into a new environment again and is now in the foster circle waiting for a new home. She'll go fast because she's a beautiful dog but she deserves more.

The mother committed suicide around the time my mother passed away. My good friend and fellow dog hoarder, Reed tried to ping me on G chat before I could read the email but it was alright. I accepted it. These things happen unexpectedly and you just keep going. So I thought about what my mom would have done.. being an animal lover and at times a hoarder herself. She would have saved Violet five times over if she had to. She would have felt responsible for the happiness of that puppy and that's how I feel.

I just hope she finds a happy home and doesn't feel the pain of loss anymore. Some say "she's a dog..she'll get over it" but that's not true. Dogs know love. Dogs know death. And they understand sadness. My heart goes out to that family. Those children don't fully understand. Dog bless them.

The girls just woke up.. guess it's time to start the dayyy.

LUTHER

When I moved to SF in 2008, I couldn't wait to get a dog. As a kid I grew up with many animals (dogs, cats, hamsters, snakes, birds, iguana, turtle) and have always found myself admiring them. I would stop mid sentence to say hi to strangers' dogs. Owners thought I was crazy... whatever.

After moving three times I found a home that welcomed my potential canine friend. Craigslisting one day, (I did this a lot) I found an ad posted by Muttville.


www.muttville.org
Muttville is an amazing dog rescue located in the bay area that specializes in senior mutts. I attended their mobile adoption at 18th and Castro (where I now attempt to spend most of my Saturday afternoons). They didn't seem to have any dogs that screamed "I'm yours Liv!". Marie, a wonderful woman from Muttville, told me about this Rottie / Bernese Mt. dog mix named Luther..I had to have him. Filled out the application, got approved and in month I had my big boy. I'd walk down the street and not have to drool over any dog walking by because I had my own boy to take care of.

Luther was 9 years old and as larger breeds go, that's fairly old. He had arthritis in his back legs, hips and possibly his spine. He had a severe case of separation anxiety from me and only me. I couldn't leave the room without him pouting, barking and crying. Speaking with trainers, taking time off work and away from class, I worked with him whenever possible. The more he was left alone the more he destroyed and it was unhealthy for him to be so stressed out. It was a lose - lose situation but I did what I could.



A month later Luther had more trouble walking. Within two days he lost the use of his back legs entirely. I carried him to class with me (he was 90lbs) and around the house. If I hadn't, he would have chosen to drag himself just to be close to me. I felt horrible but I couldn't handle it and my house was no longer suitable for his conditions. Too many stairs.. too much chaos. I contacted his previous foster mom, Stephanie, and told her everything. Those who knew my situation reassured me that I did everything I could. Putting him in Stephanie's car, he stared at me and was trying to find a way out. That moment was more heartbreaking than anything I had ever felt. I hugged Stephanie and apologized again. It was the hardest I'd cried in a long time.

Luther passed away two days later. I still think about whether or not there was more I could've done for him.

Having had that experience, I decided to get involved. A brand new organization, Family Dog Rescue was founded by Angela Padilla, Reed Morgan and Nicole Roth. Since then I have been fostering for them and doing what I can to help. My passion is to help rescue dogs find their forever homes as well as thrive with their new families. Being involved is such a rewarding experience for me and I hope to continue this for a very long time.

Family Dog Rescue is a collaboration of many wonderful folks that have experience working with other rescues, humane societies and animal control agencies. Family Dog is constantly looking for more volunteers! If you're interested in helping, please see the contacts below!



to volunteer: maury.argento@gmail.com
to adopt: hoochmolliesparkle@yahoo.com / reedymorgan@gmail.com

"Bringing families together four paws at a time."