speechless & heartbroken

Normally I do the wants/ needs, but I will do that tomorrow as for today my wants & needs revolve around wishing people would be responsible pet owners so rescues didn't even need to exist in the first place...

I don't even know where to start, but .... animal rescue is very important to me, and I had my heart broken yesterday. Due to a very unfortunate incident, two dogs have crossed over the rainbow bridge, and one is waiting in the wings....

One of my project dogs who just wasn't dealt a good hand, now has limited time. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must say goodbye to three dogs. Two of which were aloof little dogs, mauled by a dog that has never, ever shown such determination to escape his crate due to his very high prey drive. But yesterday he did. This unfortunate incident means that we could never feel comfortable adopting out this dog, knowing what we know, and a life confined to a loud rescue, where he is forever taunted by other small creatures, is not fair either. 

The two small dogs - one was a guest, a good, mild tempered dog named Ollie (friends dog of the director of the rescue), used to help our shy and timid puppy mill rescue, Indy, come out of her shell.... and after months, it was working. Sweet little shy girl Indy was playing with her toys, and just had started going on walks....  Well, it seems they escaped their little indoor enclosure and had gotten loose inside the rescue, when my project dog, Reece, managed to get overly excited and busted out of his crate - something that has never happened, or even been a thought that could happen, as he is normally pretty calm in his crate, but was too much for him, and he broke free, and those poor pups were cornered. 

I spent yesterday evening sitting with the other rescues that witnessed this very scary event, as well as walking Reece, playing a little fetch with him and saying my goodbyes. It is such a shame the overwhelming feeling of guilt by all staff and volunteers, but that is the nature of rescue. We all feel a different sense of fault in some way... Mine is, maybe if I started working with him sooner, and really dedicated more time to him, maybe, just maybe, I could have worked out some of this prey drive/ curiosity with structure, routine, specialized training... but it is too late. At this point, we know it can happen again, even with the most careful attention to keeping everyone secure, accidents do happen. 

I feel bad for the staff member that walked in to find this, the volunteers that worked so tirelessly with both Indy and Reece, the helper dog, Ollie, and the other dogs that witnessed this horrid and very scary thing...

I end this post with s few pics from last night.... there were many tears, and lots of attempts at healing the ones who were spared....

 xo

-s