A Day in the Life of a Rescuer

Saving one animal at a time (and sometimes nine)

Editors Note - this story is not unusual in the rescue world, nor is it unique to one foster home at Buffalo Humane. All the foster homes in the organization have similar stories and similar days where they work tirelessly to help animals. You might often hear about shelters that take in dogs or cats from hoarding or puppy mill situations, but you rarely hear about what the rescue groups face on a daily basis. Hopefully this will give you a little more insight in the world of rescue. Please consider donating, volunteering or fostering for one of the many rescue groups in your area. If you would like to know more, please click on one of the "Getting Involved" links on the left.

For the last couple of months, we've been working on a case in Erie County where a family found themselves in dire straits with five adult Am Staff mixes, all unaltered. The family once had a nice comfortable home, a steady income and great love for dogs. What started as two adult dogs quickly turned into more as the economy forced cutbacks to their living situation. It would be easy to point the finger and call them irresponsible, but I can't help but think that it could happen to anyone. Their intention was to get both dogs altered as they got old enough, but found themselves unable to afford the surgery when one member of the family was laid off and basic necessities took priority.

The two eventually mated and produced a litter of pups - some of whom were adopted out, but they found themselves unable to find homes for three of them. All grew into adulthood and the cycle began again as they found themselves with three pregnant females and two unaltered males.

Buffalo Humane was contacted in late November and our end of the story began. We quickly determined that two of the females were early term, so spay/terminate surgeries were quickly scheduled and preformed, but one female was too far along and gave birth to nine puppies in December. The family continued to care for Mom and puppies, but once old enough they moved to a Buffalo Humane foster home. This is their story:

* Day One, Saturday. February 6th, 2010 *

I finally adopted out five of the litter of beagle pups that were in my isolation room, so I spent the last couple of days cleaning, sanitizing and setting up addtional crates. The puppies were being picked up from their current home this morning, given another distemper/parvo vaccination and will be arriving around noon.

Gingersnap When they arrived, they were a mess as the stress and car ride made them all get car sick. As I helped Carol move them from her car up to my room, I noticed that the food they had been vomiting was people food - not something you want with growing puppies, but obviously all the family could afford to feed them. I wish they had told us - we would have happily given them food for the puppies. At least now we know that they will get the proper nutrition to help them grow. As we brought them in, they just snuggled into our arms - sweet as can be, giving puppy kisses and complete trust. Although they were a little stressed from the ride, you could tell the family had done a good job keeping them socialized and friendly.

Maddie's Comes to Erie County

And Buffalo Humane is a Partner

Read the official press release.

It has been a long journey, but area animal shelters and rescue groups have come together to make a BIG difference in our community. First, we worked to help open the area's first low-income low-cost high-quality spay neuter clinic, Operation PETS.

But that wasn't enough. Area groups came together again and worked cooperatively to become only the ninth county in the United States to receive a collaborative community Maddie's Grant, with the goal of ending the euthanasia of all healthy and treatable animals in Erie County by 2014.

Partners to the grant are: Buffalo Humane, City of Buffalo Animal Shelter, HEART Inc., Ten Lives Club, Second Chance Sheltering Network, and most importantly the SPCA Serving Erie County, which will be serving as the lead agency for the grant. An additional partner, Operation PETS, will be coordinating the spay/neuter component of the grant, along with several area veterinary clinics who have agreed to participate.

To make the goal of a no-kill county become a reality, we need you in the community to step forward. Please contact us to see how you can help with this important project. Simply email us at mailto:info@BuffaloHumane.org?subject=Maddies or leave a message regarding your desire to help: (716) 862-9183.

Out of Control

Cats & Kittens

Go to any newspaper, Craigslist and even Freecycle and you will see litters upon litters of kittens and adult cats being given away for free or a small adoption fee. It has gotten so bad that many local shelters and rescues have stopped taking cats in for fear they will have to put them down because there just isn't enough room.

People can blame the shelters and rescue groups all they want for not taking in a cat that they no longer want, but the blame should rest solely on a public perception that sees cats as disposable. The same organizations that take in unwanted cats get no government funding and exist entirely on donations and fundraising, begging and pleading with people to take responsibility for their own companion animals. In the meantime, people continue to allow unaltered cats to roam the neighborhoods to get pregnant, give away the unaltered kittens to keep the cycle going or even worse, move and leave their cat behind to fend for themselves.

If you think it is easy to relinquish a cat, think again. Most cats do not deal well with change and many can become so depressed in shelters that they will stop eating and eventually die. Shelters and rescues have dedicated volunteers that try everything they can to help them, but many cats just doesn't understand why it went from a warm lap and a comfy bed into a cage. Even skittish and scared cats will adjust faster to change if they have familiar faces, familar smells and familar items to remind them of their home.

There are resources available to help get your cat spayed. Low income families that meet HEAP guidelines can get use Operation PETS in Blasdell. Many vets will offer low cost options for their regular clients. Rescue groups routinely hold clinics for privately owned cats. Feral Cat Focus holds clinics for feral cats that will ensure a colony remains healthy and managable.

If you don't qualify for low cost clinics, make a plan. If you just got a new kitten, put $10 a week in a jar for a spay/neuter fund. In four months, you will have accumulated $160 - enough to pay for spaying a cat at most veterinary clinics. Forego your normal evening out and have game night at home instead - use the difference to pay for your cat's spay/neuter surgery. Have a garage sale and get rid of those unwanted things taking up space and use the proceeds to pay for your cat's spay/neuter surgery. Will you really regret missing a dinner out more than you will regret causing a cat to be put down?

It is up to all of us to make a dent in the cat over-population problem and it is up to us to make a difference in the lives of our companion animals.