EMMY

On Saturday, August 15, my husband Mike and I helped transport this precious little girl to her foster home in Ann Arbor, MI. Emmy had been found as a stray down South, was rescued and taken into boarding by National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue Network. After being spayed and checked out by a vet, received all her shots, she is now going to her foster home until she finds a forever family.



I have driven dogs for them several times this year and the Anatolians continue to be one of my favorite dog breeds. I had never even heard of this breed until this year. They seem to be a great mixture of mellow and affectionate. The NASRN carefully screens the new adopters because they have special needs.

If you think you might be the perfect family for one of these LARGE dogs, please check out their website. They have so many needing homes right now.

Although Emmy is adorable she is not a typical example of this breed. She is a mixture of Anatolian and Great Pyrenees, and she is only 4 months old. I think Emmy is going to be QUITE a large dog when she grows up. Right now she is in foster care in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has a sibling named Annie who is now a therapy dog but once was rescued by NASRN.

This was a nice easy transport and I met two drivers that I have transported with before, so it is like meeting up with old friends from different cities.

If you would like to spend YOUR weekends helping homeless animals find their way to new lives, just go to Yahoo Groups and check into "dog transports".

You will sleep better that night than you have in a long time with a most contented feeling that you did SOMETHING to end the staggering rate of euthanasia in this country of adoptable dogs and cats.

EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS.

DOG LOVERS CHAIN THEMSELVES TO DOGHOUSES

On Saturday June 27th, to show support for chained and penned dogs, members and supporters of Dogs Deserve Better.org in the Cincinnati, Ohio area chained themselves to doghouses for a day in the hot blazing summer sun.

http://http//nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20090628/NEWS0103/906280377

I did this as a long time supporter of chained dogs and found it to be just as boring and lonely as it is for dogs. We suffered in the heat, were bitten by insects, were thirsty and hungry, but at least we were not as lonely as the real victims are. We were joined by visitors and supporters all day long and tried to educate the public as to how inhumane this practice is.

We continue to try to get laws passed in all 50 states to make this illegal.

Please help us.

Go to Dogs Deserve Better.org and see how you can help CHANGE this!

http://http//www.dogsdeservebetter.org/home.html

SAVING SNOOPY

This is Snoopy, not yet a year old and on death row in a Georgia dog pound.

He has done nothing wrong, and neither did his owners who had to surrender him. They had both lost their jobs and had no choice but to take him to a local shelter. Snoopy was loved and well taken care of. He was all up to date with his shots, neutered and well-behaved. Another victim of the poor economy, Snoopy was set to be put up for adoption. But shortly after being put in a cold dark kennel, his personality changed for the worse.


After being used to a family environment, he quickly became frightened and snapped at the shelter workers. So instead of being given 3 days to be adopted, they moved up his euthanasia date to the next day!

Then, dog rescuers from every part of the country saw his story on FACEBOOK, posted by Terrie Scott of M.A.R.S. Safe Haven Rescue in Ohio, and quickly went into action. Terrie was determined not to let this little life be snuffed out. Because she was an 8 hour drive away and could not get there in time to adopt him, she begged on the internet for others who were closer to PLEASE go to the shelter, or CALL the shelter and ask them to put a hold on Snoopy because someone was coming for him. The shelter said they could not hold him. Terrie was up all night with Snoopy's last hours drawing to a close. Everyone who got her urgent emails, including me, forwarding them to anyone we might know who could physically get to the shelter in time to save Snoopy. Just under the wire someone was found to claim him and get him out of there. RuffusRescue of Cobb County went to the shelter to get Snoopy. Terrie's husband, just returning from a business trip overseas, got in his car in Ohio and drove 8 hours each way to bring him to safety at Terrie's rescue. No longer scared, Snoopy was all wiggles and licks in the car with the 81 year old woman who dog sat for him until his ride to Ohio arrived. SNOOPY IS SAFE.

That is the good news.

30 other dogs died that morning in the Clayton County Georgia dog pound by heartstick. It is just what it sounds like. No last minute rescue came for them. They were just as scared at the end as Snoopy was in that cold dark place, but no one spoke for them.

We try. Every single person I know in dog rescue goes to bed close to tears every night thinking of the ones we could NOT save, their pictures haunt us, their sad eyes, and the thought of a life that will never be. Sometimes it is just too much and we do not look at our emails for a while. We think "what good are we doing?" There are always MORE that are being dumped everyday, maybe for financial reasons, maybe for stupid reasons...it doesn't matter. Are we even making a difference?

The heroes of this story include Terrie Scott and her husband for above and beyond caring for this dog, Capt. Mark Thompson and Officer Terry Bartlett of the Clayton County Police Department for helping save Snoopy, as well as a HUGE thank you for RUFFUSRESCUE.ORG for going to the shelter for Snoopy. And the HUNDREDS of responses I saw on FACEBOOK desperately trying to find a solution. That is social networking at it's BEST!

The villains in this story are all those people who consider their pets as "disposable" or "just a dog", and all those pet owners who do not spay and neuter their pets. In the city of Atlanta, Georgia, more than 200 dogs are put to death EVERY SINGLE DAY. They are just as cute as Snoopy and their lives matter just as much as his does.

There are just not enough homes or last minutes rescues for them all.



PLEASE SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!!

OBAMA GOES BACK ON PROMISE TO ADOPT SHELTER DOG!

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY PRESS RELEASE ABOUT "EVERY RESCUED DOG HAS A TALE"

I am very disheartened by the news that the Obamas did not follow through on their promise to adopt a "shelter dog" and get a "mutt like me". They too have adopted a pure bred dog from a breeder, just like Joe Biden did. I was so hoping that this administration would not continue the lies to the public. We were led on, time and time again by President Obama when he was a candidate and even since the election that he would NOT go to a breeder.


What message did this send to all the shelters around the country? I feel so bad for them. And regardless of what you will hear on the morning news show, there ARE indeed Portuguese Water Spaniels in shelters, even puppies, available. There is no excuse for lying to the public to get the votes of the dog lovers in this country and I will not forget it. In the whole scheme of things I know it is a LITTLE thing, but not really. It speaks to his character and we have had enough leaders with no character in the past 20 years to last a lifetime. He had a chance to make a difference in the way people view shelters dogs as valuable or "damaged" and he blew it. If this matters to you as much as it does to me, do not hesitate to let the President know about it at the whitehouse.gov website.



SO if YOU are looking for a BEST FRIEND, don't do what the Obamas and the Bidens did. Go to a local shelter and save TWO lives...the one you take home with you and the one who will take his place at the shelter and get off the street.



DO THE RIGHT THING.

FOR HIM....

MyPetStreet.com - A GREAT Website for Animal Lovers

http://mypetstreet.com/news/my-pet-street-animal-hero-debbie-eades

I would like to thank Barbara Kohn for the very complimentary story she wrote about my book and my efforts to help shelter dogs. We met on Twitter, which I have been trying to get the hang of and she is really helpful in that area. I WAS addicted to Facebook but now I have a Twitter problem. It is a good thing it is blocked at work or I would be fired.

I have been transporting a lot since the weather has improved. I have driven Ms. Gotti, a sweet little pit bull, a couple of Anatolian Shepherds - Ivy and Ramzi, and a blind albino doberman named Tuck. Tuck was a sad, sad case of breeding gone very wrong plus he was starving to death. He was so thin that the previous driver stopped to buy him a TShirt to keep him warm on the transport. He is safe now in a loving foster home with a lady experienced in caring for blind dogs.

Most of these dogs have photos uploaded to my Amazon site under "customer images" if you would like to see them.

My book is also featured this month in the wonderful American Dog magazine...it has Denis Leary and his family on the cover. There are many stories in this issue devoted to Animal Heroes such as Dogs Deserve Better.org and Best Friends Animal Society and many others. Please pick it up at the newstand.

A Pit Bull Saturday

On March 14  my husband and I  had the pleasure of driving Ms. Gotti, a sweet 1 year old pit bull who found herself in the Toledo Ohio dog pound.

She has been rescued by the Bark Ark Bully Rescue in Cincinnati. 

Such a beautiful, happy little dog. She was a little underweight at 45 pounds and rode very well in the car. She did insist however that she sit in the passenger seat and not the backseat with me, so I let her.When we arrived at the meeting spot for

 Elisabeth to meet us and take her home to the rescue, we played in the grass for awhile. She was very strong and we really had to hold on to her. But we got lots of pit bull kisses. No one kisses better than a pit bull...don't believe the media hype.

After being at the rescue for a few days, Ms. Gotti was found to have a unique ability to catch a Frisbee in mid-air and is now training to be an agility dog! 

We are so thankful to Bark Ark Bully Rescue in Cincinnati for their continuing devotion to rescuing and rehoming this wonderful loving breed of dog. They find RESPONSIBLE pet owners who understand their special needs and traits so they can stay in their new homes forever.

Please check out their rescue website and help them if you are able.

http://www.barkark.org/

Ms. Gotti says THANKS!!!!

IVY and TUCK...Safely Delivered to Rescues

This is Tuck, a blind albino 2 year old  doberman who was saved from a kill shelter in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. A wonderful woman in Pennsylvania is taking him in because she has experience with blind dogs and will train him and love him until he finds his perfect forever home.  I was so surprised at  how thin Tuck was. 

Since it was such a COLD day, another driver had stopped and bought him a T Shirt to keep  him warm along the way. He came with his own sleeping bag for the car and cuddled up in it for most of our time together. My husband drove so I got to sit in the back  and snuggle with him.  

Tuck is well on his way now to a happy future.

Thanks to all the people involved in Tuck's rescue and transport.

Also, this past weekend I went along with my friend Belinda to transport a beautiful Anatolian Shepherd named Ivy.

 She found herself on death row in a dog pound in Mississippi and was so lucky to have been rescued by the National Anatolian Rescue Network based in Queen Creek, AZ. We met with her previous driver in LaGrange, Ky and she just climbed into the back seat and went to sleep. It could not have been an easier transport. She was very relaxed. That always surprises me about how well these dogs adjust to new people, new cars, with usually very few problems. They seem to know we are there to save them.

Ivy was thin at 80 pounds and reminded me a little of a Great Dane. I do not remember ever driving another Anatolian Shepherd over the past seven years of transporting dogs. They are wonderful dogs, and right now there is one at the Pike County Ohio dog pound in VERY rural Waverly, Ohio  in need of a rescuer or a foster home. They do their best to keep the dogs as long as possible but it is a kill shelter. Last December the biggest champion for these dogs passed away suddenly and they need a lot of help to get their dogs to rescues and on a transport. Please check out their website on Petfinder.com and also Adams County Ohio's dog pound. These rural shelters are trying so hard to keep from euthanizing homeless dogs but there is very little they can do. There just are not enough homes, especially in this economy. Spay and neuter programs are the hope for their futures.

 We also need to address the issue of puppy mills out there in that part of Ohio often run by the Amish community, and it goes unseen. They sell their puppies by the side of the road. Please help pass legislation to abolish this practice.

So, Tuck and Ivy say thanks to EVERYONE who helped them along the road to safety and love this winter weekend.

                           "WOOF!"