Shelter Dog Smiles

To see a smile on a dog's face -- a dog who's never had a reason to smile in his whole life -- and to know that his smile is now there, because of you... there's no better feeling on Earth. That's animal rescue.

Today, a dog waits in an animal shelter. He is waiting... for you. Maybe you can't adopt a dog today. But can you love a dog today? Can you give an hour of your time to walk a dog today? Can you give just a few minutes to make a dog smile today? 

What if YOU are his only chance to matter today? Are you too busy to give that to him? Today could be his last... and love is his final request. You are all he wants... a smile is all he needs. 

But sadly... he doesn't expect you-- or anyone --to come for him today. He doesn't expect to smile today... smiles live only in his heart. He doesn't expect to get walked today... walks exist only in his dreams. 

He doesn't expect to be noticed today... he's never been noticed before. He doesn't expect to feel special today... he's never been special before. He doesn't expect to matter today... he's never mattered before.

He doesn't expect you to give him love... but he loves you anyway. He doesn't expect you to give a kiss... but he'd kiss you either way. He doesn't expect you to take him home... but he still hopes it's his day.

A dog waits in an animal shelter today. He doesn't know it's his last day to live. He knows only the dreams in his heart... dreams that have never come true. Today... on his last day... a walk would make the difference for him. Today, your love would make it okay... your smile would heal his pain. And on his last day... for just a little while... maybe he could smile, too.

If you've never experienced that feeling, of making a smileless dog smile, I challenge you to get involved TODAY. I challenge you to take an hour of your time and volunteer for your local animal shelter or dog rescue group. Walk a rescue dog... a dog who may not get walked today... if not for you. Give love to a shelter dog... a dog who may not have love today... if not for you. 

Today, I challenge you to make a shelter dog smile. 

If you can't volunteer, I challenge you to foster a dog. I challenge you to open your home and your heart to a dog who will die without you. I challenge you to give me one good reason why your life is more important than their's.

If nothing else, I challenge you to donate to animals in need. If you need to find a charity, I've got one for ya right here. I challenge you to give something... anything... that will provide these deserving dogs with the chance to smile. 

Today, a dog waits in an animal shelter. He is waiting... for you. I challenge you to make a difference. Please, help him smile today.

*Dedicated in memory of all the shelter dogs who never got their chance to smile.

  CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO LUCKY DOG RESCUE! 

Strength In Animal Rescue

"Anyone can give up. It's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together, when everyone else would understand if you fell apart... that's true strength." ~Author Unknown

This is one of my favorite quotes about strength... and life. As I've said, life is hard... animal rescue is even harder. And when it comes to running an animal shelter, strength can be a daily struggle. 

I won't lie... there have been so many times in my own life when I've wanted to just give up. Haven't we all? When the pain is too much... when the fear is too great... when the obstacles are too large... it'd be easy to say, "I quit." 

When the world is too cruel... when the sadness is too overwhelming... when the suffering is never-ending... it'd be easy to just give up. 

When donations are too few... when the help just isn't there... when the "adopt a dog" pleas go unheard... I sometimes wonder just how much I can take.

I don't always feel strong. Often, I feel very much the opposite. Weak. Fragile. Inadequate. I feel sadness, uncertainty, and despair. Some days, I cry. Other days, I pray for mercy. Every day, I'm forced to say, "I just can't do it all." 

But here's the difference: I still do what I can.

In admitting our limitations, we shouldn't deny our own opportunities. In confessing our helplessness, we shouldn't deny our own power. In accepting our weaknesses, we shouldn't deny our own strengths. 

Inner strength is strengthened when we face our truths... when we acknowledge our circumstances... and despite our grim reality, we choose to keep going. 

Because within each of us... lies strength. Within strength... lies hope. Within hope... lies the power to go on.

Strength isn't born, or given, or taught. Strength is earned... through facing adversity, time-and-time-again, and never giving up. Strength is a choice... made daily... by those who have everything to lose... and everything to gain. 

When you feel like giving up... just remember that someone, somewhere, needs you to keep going. Even if that someone... the only someone... is you. 

You're stronger than you think you are. I am, too. Because this is what I've found: within my weakest moments... I find my greatest strengths. 
And no matter what, I keep on going... 

I focus on the positive. I do everything I can. I push my own limits. I challenge my own heart. I leverage my strengths, and I acknowledge my weaknesses... but I never let them win. 

I can't ever do everything, but I can always do something. I face many obstacles, but I always overcome them. I take some hard hits, but I always fight back. I fall down often, but I always get up.

That's true strength.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO LUCKY DOG RESCUE!

Adopt A Dog

Penny, available for adoption

So... you want to adopt a dog? Well, you came to the right place.

Maybe you're looking for an animal rescue group to support? You're in luck again.

Maybe you'd like to volunteer for an animal shelter? Jackpot! I need you!

Or maybe you want to find a charity and donate to animals in need? Look at that... you found one!

I write this blog for many reasons. I write to share my personal experiences in animal rescue... the highs, the lows, and the in-betweens. I share the joys of pet adoptions, the sadness of the losses, and the realities behind the daily grind of running a dog rescue shelter. 

Heidi, available for adoption

I write to connect with other animal rescues, to encourage others to get involved, and hopefully, to inspire change.

But of course, I'm also writing in an attempt to find amazing homes for my own rescue dogs, as well as to drive support toward my cause. The need for this help is always behind my words... because, honestly, I can't go on without it...

I have so many incredible rescue dogs for adoption, and they deserve amazing homes. I want nothing more than to give them the families they deserve, but I need your help!

If your family is ready to adopt a pet, please consider adopting one of my deserving dogs! If you can't adopt right now, but you'd still like to help, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SHARE MY ADOPTABLE DOGS, so that their families can find them and take them home. It may not seem like much, but this small act has the potential to make a world of difference for my babies.

Also, as always, animal rescue efforts can't continue without donations. If you're able to give anything at all, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE to Lucky Dog Rescue! Every little bit is truly life-changing, and life-saving, for these dogs!!! Also, PLEASE SHARE my donate link with your friends as well!

Thank you for caring enough to make a difference for my dogs! They deserve the world... thanks for helping me give that to them!

Imagine

What if you lived your entire life... without ever being special? What if you lived for years, with just one wish -- to be loved -- and it never came true? What if you waited... every single day... for a lifetime... just to matter, to someone, anyone... and you never got that chance?

Imagine how you'd feel... if you were simply waiting to die in an animal shelter... before you ever even lived... 

This is the story of each of the dogs I save. This is their reality... their truth: Abuse. Neglect. Cruelty. Torture. Hatred.

Welcome to the only world they've ever known. 

Imagine what it's like to slowly starve to death... to have no one care about your suffering. Imagine your life on a 3-foot chain, never free to roam... never able to escape the abuse. Imagine the fear of knowing... that you'll be beaten each and every day... just because you exist.

Imagine your life as "live bait." Imagine the unbelievable pain and fear... as dogs rip into your flesh... while your mouth is bound shut. Imagine the knowledge that this will happen to you, over-and-over again, for as long as you can survive it. Imagine how your heart would break... to have your life matter so little... to have your death be the goal. 

Imagine your life in a tiny animal shelter cage. Imagine the confusion, sadness, and shame you'd feel... knowing that you've been dumped there to die. Imagine that you see a glimmer of hope... a chance for love... as families come through to adopt a dog. Imagine how that hope would crumble... as the other dogs leave without you... on their way to your dream. 

Imagine that no one ever comes to that animal shelter to save you... and today is your last day to live.  

These are my rescue dogs. These are their stories. This is what they've endured. This is all they'd known...

Until I saved them. 

That's when their stories changed... forever... 

Imagine what it's like to be loved for the very first time in your life. Imagine smiling, for the very first time... running and playing... being free... for the very first time. Imagine hope, comfort, and compassion, for the very first time. Imagine the relief... as every trace of pain in your heart is wiped away... and finally, you're whole. Finally, you're alive.

And imagine that all of this came... from someone who owed you nothing... but gave you everything.

Imagine a life, where you've never mattered... and suddenly, you do. 

What if you could change their stories? Well... you can. I'm not the only one who can save them. YOU can save them, too. YOU can adopt a dog. YOU can foster a dog. YOU can volunteer. YOU can donate. YOU can change an animal's life.
Please... give the gift of life to a dog... who's never really lived.

Give hope to the hopeless.
Give love to the unloved.
They're waiting for you... and they don't have much time...
Adopt. Foster. Volunteer. Donate. Save.

CLICK TO DONATE TO LUCKY DOG RESCUE!

A Home for Capone

 

On April 3, 2011, six special Pit Bull mixes entered my life: Capone, Bonnie, Mimi, Molly, Pinky, and Sissy.. That day, six new dogs became my children, when a county breed ban threatened their safety at the wonderful animal shelter, ARF of MS, and sent them here to Lucky Dog Rescue.

One of those dogs, Capone, would soon become my "right-hand man," as his happy-go-lucky disposition and super-friendly nature made him the perfect pup for temperament testing each new rescue dog. And for nearly 5 months, Capone has been the most popular kid in school at Lucky Dog Rescue.

But the beauty of Capone's spirit is even more amazing... when you know the horrors of his past...

Here's Capone's story:

My name is Capone. A few months ago, I was hurting real bad. I had a badly broken leg, a severe case of mange, and I was slowly starving to death. I cried all the time… because no one would help me. I would use all my strength to limp around, trying to find someone to get me to the doctor. But everyone just looked the other way… no one even cared. I learned real fast that the world isn’t always so nice to pups like me. All I've ever wanted is a family… I’ve never had one before. Please… can't someone just love me? I love you already. Please take me home. 

Saying goodbye to my baby today

I can't even imagine that level of despair... to live life in so much physical pain... to walk the streets with a broken heart.... and to have no one care about you. My heart shatters when I think about him during that time... knowing that this was Capone's reality for so much of his short life.

But looking at my Capone-y now, I see no trace of his past. He's one of the happiest, healthiest dogs I've ever met... there's no sadness or resentment whatsoever for what he's been through. And each day for 5 months, the light in his eyes and the love in his heart have given me more hope and joy than I can convey in words. He's, quite simply, amazing.

Even still... as much as I love Capone, I know that he isn't meant to live here with me. He deserves to have a family of his own. So, for nearly 5 months, I've been hoping, praying, and waiting for his chance at forever to arrive.

And this week... it did.

I was contacted by the perfect family who was looking to adopt a dog, and not just any dog-- Capone-y. As I read through their pet adoption application, I suddenly screamed: "YAY!!!" When the rest of my dog adoption screening criteria was fulfilled, I approved Capone's new family.

And today... they came to take him home.

Daniel McKay and Tara Dickson drove from Starkville, Mississippi to Lucky Dog Rescue in Meridian, Mississippi to meet their new baby... my baby, Capone. It was truly love at first sight. 

As always, it was beyond incredible for me... as I watched my special little boy meet his new mom and dad... the family that will love him for the rest of his life. He will soon meet his new pup sister as well, another rescued Pit Bull mix named Kayla.

With a huge smile on his face and a rapidly wagging tail, Capone said "Hello" to forever...

And I said "Goodbye" to Capone...

I gave him one last hug, one last kiss, and smiled through tears as I said, "It's time to go home, buddy."

Then, I looked up at his new family, and said, "Thank you. This is all he's ever wanted."

Tears streamed down my face... as they loaded my baby... their baby... into the car. 

And then... he was gone. 

But... when an incredible dog like my Capone-y is going home for the first time in his life... "gone" never felt so good...

*Capone- For nearly 5 months, your smile has kept me going. Knowing that you're finally home forever... that'll keep me going for the rest of my days. I love you, buddy.