You Can't Change the World For Every Dog, But For the Dogs You Rescue, Their Whole World Changes!

These are my dogs:  HoneyDew (Great Dane), Yogi (tan/white shaggy dog in middle), and Gizmo (black furball), with a new rescue Chihuahua that we renamed, Tinkerbell.

A few weeks ago I stumbled on Facebook a saying that has resonated through me and I just can't shake it :  You can't change the whole world for every dog, but for the dogs you rescue, their whole world changes.  Just think about that for a minute!  Let it settle into your soul.  Everyday in the United States there are 10,000 unwanted cats and dogs that are euthanized each day!!! (http://answers.ask.com/Science/Nature/how_many_dogs_are_euthanized_each_year)
That's 10,000 today, tomorrow, the day after, the day after, etc.  My family and I live in North Dakota and there is an online classified website called www.bismanonline.com where you can find almost anything you want around the state of North Dakota.  A few years ago, I was online looking at the Dog Section and I was appalled that there were over 450+ dogs looking for a home!  To say I was shocked was an understatement!  Some were puppies for sale (on the front page were the cute puppies for hundreds or thousands of dollars from breeders) then as you started to scroll through the pages, there were puppies to elderly dogs, dogs of every shape, size, and breed, and for every dollar amount you could think of, there were even a lot of GIVEAWAY!  Some people even had the guts to write on their ads "Someone come get this dog or we are going to take them to the pound/or be put down"!!!  So that day, a new found hobby in my life was formed.  I am a rescuer! My husband is a rescuer!  My kids are rescuers!  We all work together to rehabilitate one of our rescue dogs, and not just dogs- cats, kitties, and even ponies!

Belle with Lily, and Dawson with Feather-2 Chihuahuas rescued from a Chihuahua Breeder

I have always been a rescuer.  I sincerely believe that animals were put on this earth and our purpose is to 'care for those animals', just look in Genesis!  As a young girl, I was always bringing animals home or begging my parents for another one (I got really good at that one).  Animals have always been a part of my life and they will always be.  I have learned that EVERYONE has an amazing animal story of some sort that has touched their lives and formed who they are today due to an animal.  What is your amazing animal story?  I have many animal stories- some are the most amazing, miracle stories, some are gut-wrenching, agonizing stories where I actually cried so hard that I almost felt my heart break.  Which one do you want to hear? 

Meet Tucker, my brother Josh's Toy Poodle.  He was living with an elderly lady that had to go into a nursing home so her family was rehoming him.  He was one of the meanest dogs we had when we got him, and now he is one of the biggest babies!

Here is Tinkerbell, a 2 lb Chihuahua Puppy that we got a few months ago and family friends have since adopted her!

This is Wylie Coyote (a Red, Purebred Husky) that we rescued 2 years ago that went to a great family.

The first two dogs we ever rescued were two teeny, tiny toy poodles that were tossed aside so we opened our home to them, retrained them, socialized them, got them all the appropriate medical care, then started the process of trying to find new homes for them.  As of today, we have rescued and rehomed over 70 dogs in the last few years.  We have had everything from 2 lb. Chihuahuas to 150 lb. Great Danes and everything in between from mutts to purebreds.  But, it seems the most common rescues that we get are 8 months-1.5 years old puppy that someone got for a 'present' or they wanted one, then discovered that dogs do actually take some effort!  They need to be included in your family, they need exercise, they need love, they need training, they need dog food, and they can be expensive!!!  Here is a Purebred Yorkie from a breeder that is learning how to be a dog again with the help of our shaggy fluff-ball, Yogi.

Last week we got a Great Pyrenees that is a 9 month old Baby that has NO manners, NO socializing, NO nothing, and when you want him to do something he whines and cries and falls over (he has been really fun to train to walk on a leash).  I mean just think of a 100 pound toddler throwing a temper tantrum, sounds like a great time, huh? He has been our new project and when we finally get him all the way trained, he will be an amazing farm dog because we can already see what type of personality he has.  For some dogs, people just have a hard time training them!  The best advice I can give is to train them using dog language.  The best trainer in my opinion, is Cesar Milan 'The Dog Whisperer'.  Go to his website if you need help or advice on your dog. (http://www.cesarsway.com/)

I believe that almost every one is an animal lover.  I think we all really want to do what's best for animals, but what can we do?  Not everyone has the wide-open space of a farm to rescue dogs.  But I do urge everyone, please do your research!  Before you go buy that next puppy or dog, where does it come from (a neighbor, a breeder, a pet store, or a puppy mill)?  Before you donate money to that online infomercial from some large, National 'Supposed' Animal Organization go online and check to see how much of the money ACTUALLY goes to animals and their needs (http://www.humanewatch.org/).  SIDENOTE- the Humane Society of the United States gives less than 1% of its earnings to animals and their care...are you a donator to them???  I think it's best to support your Local Humane Societies and Shelters, that's just my opinion.  But, most importantly, think before you get a dog or cat.  Realize it is a live animal and once you decide to buy or adopt it, it is COUNTING on you to provide for it!  Can you handle that responsibility?  Are you ready?  If not and you give your dog away, do you know the chance of it ending up in a shelter? 

Meet Zoey, my parents Jack Russell.  We rescued her from a farm where she was 'untrainable'.  She has been my Dad's running partner for the last  4 years or so.

Purebred Maltese Puppy that we rescued from a breeder.

I love rescuing dogs, and most of my family and friends that have adopted dogs from me over the years are so special because I get to see those dogs grow into the happy, joyful, amazing dogs that they were meant to be.  So someday when I go to heaven, I hope that what I see is tens or hundreds or thousands (we will see how long I live) of dogs/cats/animals running for me at full-bore with ears flapping, tongues wagging, fur flying to greet me because in their lives I made a difference, and for them their whole world changed...isn't that why were put here on this earth, to make a difference?!?