by Laurie Smith

704-604-1650
ncls@alltel.net

Early in 1998, my husband Harvey and I stopped for gas in a small old station on 521 going towards Lancaster.  The station isn’t there anymore, but the image is still vivid.  

When we pulled up to the pump, a small white puppy was running in between the pumps and the cars that were filling up.   No one seemed to give it a second thought, except for us.  I walked over to each patron of the station, asking if this was their pup.  They said it wasn’t, and didn’t seem concerned that it was alone. I went inside and asked the remaining patrons and cashier if anyone owned the dog.  Stone-faced, they shook their heads.  The cashier simply told me that ‘that dog is gonna get hit’ before turning back to her customer.  I went outside, scooped the pup up in my arms and headed for the nearest veterinarian’s office.  We had no idea that my life in rescue had unofficially begun.

Since that fateful day I have been involved in the rescue of many hundreds of dogs.  The Internet has allowed rescuers around the country to quickly communicate about a particular animal in need, to coordinate efforts to ‘pull’, vet, foster, transport and find a loving home for that animal.  Harvey and I have done all of the above, including bringing dogs into our homes, nurturing their broken spirits until the sparkle returns to their eyes, receiving endless kisses of gratitude, and only allowing them to leave when we had found a home that would love them as much as we would.

Harvey has repeatedly encouraged me to try to do more than band-aid the situation, knowing there was only so much I could ‘hands-on’ do to help. He encouraged me to build a network of rescue friends and foster homes around the state and the country.  I developed many reciprocal relationships with individuals and specific breed groups.  As a result, I can now call someone in Raleigh or Greensboro or Spartanburg and get help with a dog in their area.  The collective efforts of rescuers move dogs across the country with ease, as rescue transport groups schedule weekend driving marathons with impressive skill and precision.

Rescue has turned me into a beggar.  I will ask for anything for the dogs.

One day we were in Target and saw a ripped bag of dog food on the shelf.  Seeking out a manager, I asked him where the ripped bags of dog and cat food went, and I was told it was dumped in the garbage.  We implored him to work with us and allow us to take the food to shelters and rescue groups in need, and this wonderful man went to his managers and got approval.  Since that time we have picked up hundreds of pounds of food each week, and saved the lives of countless dogs and cats with this generosity.   When my car trunk was too full to take all the food, my husband purchased an SUV.  When other Targets offered to donate their damaged bags, other rescuers were able to distribute food in other parts of Charlotte.

When it gets cold in winter and rescuers need blankets and towels to keep sick animals warm, I go to one of the hospital linen suppliers, who has never said ‘no’.  He and his staff load my car to the brim with soft, clean towels and bags of blankets.  I usually leave with tears streaming down my face, so grateful for the outpouring of help.

Not all rescues have the resources to offer ideal conditions to their dogs.  Many people set up shop in their yards and get in over their heads.  Multiple chain link dog kennels provide safe haven for rescued dogs but when I saw some without shade, I had to find something to protect them from the summer heat.  After much research and questioning, I was led to an international distributor of shade cloth here in Charlotte; this product is used mostly in the agricultural and horticultural world.  Shade cloth has tiny holes to allow in air, sun and water, but offers enough protection from the heat.   With hat in hand I went to this company not once, but twice, to ask if they would donate products to put over the dog runs and kennels.  I didn’t just ask for a yard or two, I asked for an acre—and they complied.   It never ceases to amaze me that for every cruel person who hurts and animal, there are twice as many who will perform an act of kindness.

I have asked schools and scouts with service programs to collect toys and treats for rescue dogs. 

Once again my husband’s support in rescue efforts led me to change careers; for twenty years I was an advertising copywriter and creative director in New York. In 2003 I left him in Charlotte and lived in Lexington, Kentucky for four months so that I could train to become a professional dog groomer.  Last October I felt ready to start my own business.  I feel that each day I am making a contribution to a dog’s life by helping to take the stress and fear out of grooming.  And every day, I like to think that I help enlighten dog owners on the importance of proper training, truly nourishing food, veterinary care and training.  Sometimes I know that I get a little too passionate, but after the recent pet food recall I am glad I ‘converted’ so many dog owners to holistic food.  Over the past few years I have been talking up the attributes of good food vs. most of the commercials foods sold in supermarkets and large pet chains.

Just as it did for me, this is how it starts for most of us rescuers: stray dogs or cats in our neighborhoods, injured animals by the side of the road, neighbor’s dogs tied up on chains, pets wandering into our yards without identification tags.  Is it a passion, an addiction, a blessing, a calling or a curse not to be able to walk by an animal in need of love, food, attention or medical care?  As I’ve found out, rescuers are some of the largest-hearted people in the world, going to great lengths and sometimes into debt to save as many as they can.  Those include the rejected animals of the world who are earmarked to be put to sleep, dumped or tortured by people who do not love, appreciate or care for them.  Other people’s rejects and mistreated pets are the mission of rescuers I have met.  With millions of animals given up to overcrowded shelters each year—and millions more euthanized—the only words rescuers have to console each other with are “you can’t save them all.”

Dog rescuers call each other dog angels; we work collectively, each of us playing a role as stepping stones in collective effort to get dogs to safety. We usually race against the clock, calling on miracles and adrenaline to fuel our mission. We count on each other for cooperation and ego-less work, but like anywhere else, that isn’t always the case.  I truly believe that others have larger wings than I, that my rescue work doesn't even compare to so many tireless volunteers out there who are in the trenches even deeper than I have been.

There are many rescuers out there who take on the ‘neediest’ cases: dogs with new litters, starving pit bulls, blind or senior dogs, shooting victims--somehow miraculously finding for them what we call ‘forever homes.’  There are women who drive hundreds of miles in bad weather, who go into shelters that do not even have adoption programs (we call these “catch and kill” shelters) to take photographs of the dogs and put them on the Internet.

There are the people who started www.petfinder.com, a website that has done more for animals across the country than any other effort that I know about.  There are sanctuaries like Best Friends in Utah that inspire us.  And trainers like Cesar Milan — a best-selling author with a show on National Geographic television – whose efforts help people understand how dogs ‘think’ so that we can train our dogs more successfully with positive reinforcement.

What we really need is greater education and tougher laws in our communities. Teaching animal compassion should begin with our youth, as they learn to mistreat animals by imitating what they see at home or in their neighborhoods. 

“It’s just a dog” or “it’s just a cat” are words that grate on a rescuer’s heart since we know that shows a lack of understanding and compassion for the animals. It has been said that children who hurt animals often grow up to hurt humans; if we could help them form the connection so many of us feel with our planet’s canines and felines, perhaps we could raise more loving adults.

As I write this, I am working on picking up a shaggy Old English mix in Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal control that Tarheels Old English Sheepdog rescue (TOES) in Greensboro will be accepting from me.  It has taken a bit of coordination as all rescue efforts do, and as I look at my own patient rescue dog who is waiting at my feet, I hope that one day that shaggy mix will faithfully sit at the feet of another owner, whose life has been made richer by given her the home she always deserved.