animal rescue

Fostering the puppy, Tig

Posted October 3, 2018 by carol.fletcher@rocketmail.com

A few weeks ago, one of the rescue groups I photograph for texted me: “Carol! We have another puppers…PALEEEEEEEEZ…”

And of course, there was a photo.

I looked at the scared little pup behind bars.

“Honey, can we keep this little one for a week or so,” I asked my husband, out of courtesy.

The next day, a skinny puppy greeted me at my front door when the doorbell rang. Tig marched in to the house, dancing around and stumbling in that awkward puppy way. We marveled at her cement and peat moss colors, her blue-green eyes, her rat tail with the dark grey tip.

She had been dropped off at the shelter a day before because she had diarrhea. Maybe she’d only been gone from her mother and siblings a week? a month? No one will ever know. That part of her story will be her secret. But she didn’t seem to have eaten a good meal in a while. We picked her up–all of 4 or 5 pounds maybe. A sack of squirming bones. We put down food immediately. And she inhaled it.

The rescuers left a bit later–and Tig stared at us with a “Now what?” look. We took her out for a tinkle. “Good puppy!” we over-the-top exclaimed and brought her back in. Five minutes later, there was a puddle in the kitchen and a pile in the living room. Teaching a puppy to do business outside is never easy. It takes time and there will be accidents. We were determined and she looked capable, so no worries. We’d work with her for the next 10 days.

And what a 10 days…everything was all about baby Tig. Feeding her little meals 4 times a day to fatten her up. Cooking rice to mix into her food and hopefully put a stop to the diarrhea. Taking her out every 2 hours during the day, and every 3-4 hours overnight. Waking her up to “Good morning Puppy!” and watching her do her yoga stretches before sashaying out of the crate like a princess.

We laughed at her puppy-ness. At the funny way she ran and lost control on the corners. At the way she couldn’t figure out things like the doorbell, dogs barking on TV, or where we went when we stepped out of the chase and stood between furniture. We laughed when she chased us around-and-around the house, growling like a little lawnmower, and suddenly stopped and dropped on her bed for a nap. She couldn’t do stairs–up or down. We carried her. She figured out “up” later in the week, but down was still a problem for her after 10 days.

puppy looking down steps — *Down is hard!*

Tig was a fiesty, sassy little being. We tried avoiding her needle teeth and the tiny claws. She chewed on table legs, chair legs, people legs, shoes, toes, fingers, beds, the couch. We got her another chew toy. She added that to the repertoire–without dropping those other favorite chews. She tugged on the back of my pants. Hearing “No!” only made her bark at us and have conniptions of nipping and barking with a ridiculous high-pitched voice that only made us laugh harder. This dog was going to be a handful and a half. Timeouts happened when we picked her up. Holding her calmed her down and turned her back into sweet baby TIg again. I didn’t mind holding her–it gave me an excuse to sniff that puppy smell.

Tig in a time-out — *Tig in my lap in a time-out.*

For 10 days, we played, and cleaned up accidents, and fed and fed and fed little Tig. We discovered she loved to lay in the sunshine wherever it fell on the floor or sidewalk. She liked tug-of-war, she preferred to chase versus being chased, she would sit-stay-come for a treat–but only in the kitchen, and trying to coax her down the stairs usually just made her mad. She liked to bite at a stalk of lavender that hung over the sidewalk. Falling leaves had to be chased down and chewed up. She was happy, confident, and crazy and sweet–all at once. Her personality was becoming more and more clear. I felt sad that whoever was adopting her wouldn’t get to see this part of her babyhood.

TIg eats a leaf that crossed her path. — *Tig eats a leaf that crossed her path.*

*Tig wonders about that squirrel on the fence.*

Tig left our house to go on a cross-country transport to her East Coast fosters in preparation for adoption. She will be adopted soon–if not already. I feel lucky to have spent a precious week of puppy-dom with this little sass. It wore me out, wore me down, and ran us out of paper towels. It convinced us that we may be past our puppy-raising prime. And I just want to tell the adopters…I have Tig’s baby pictures and videos for you when you’re ready. I hope you bring each other lots of joy.

Down the stairs is too hard. Pick. Me. Up. — *Down the stairs is scary. Pick. Me. Up.*

Good morning puppy! — *Wakey wakey puppy!*

One More Dog Rescue saved Tig, and they save many more puppy dogs every week. You can read more about the rescuers here on my project page.

Please. Adopt, don’t shop. Foster. Volunteer. Donate. And hug a pup. Even if he/she is not yours. 🙂

The old soul of Lefkes

Posted March 28, 2018 by carol.fletcher@rocketmail.com

I can’t stop thinking about the little village of Lefkes, and the old dog who found us there. Even now, I check the weather for the village two or three times a day, wondering where the old dog is and how she’s faring in the rain, the sun, the cold nights. Has she eaten? Does she have water? Is she comfortable?

Lefkes, Paros

The village is on the Greek Island of Paros. It’s a traditional place with bright whitewashed buildings, Aegean blue shutters and doors, and narrow lanes that could be public paths or private spaces. There is an organic feel to the architecture here–like the old buildings have germinated from the hillside, squeezing in next to each other, into any empty spits of land. No two are the same shape. The village is a warren of stone paths climbing up and winding down the hillside, each lane hugged tight by these cottages. Stairs and doorsteps rise off of the lanes, varying in width from top to bottom, making wise use of their space. Trees and vines rise up out of tiny bits of open ground.

An Old Soul Finds Us

We arrived by bus one morning. It was pre-tourist season, on a less-traveled-to island, in a village that doesn’t get many tourists anyway. Quiet, but for the buzzing of bees and the wind in the lanes. Fresh with the scent of orange blossoms, wisteria, and the crisp air of a cool spring morning.

After admiring a peaceful cemetery that carried down the hill behind the Church of Agia Triada, I returned to the front courtyard to see that a dog had found Bryan.

She appeared ancient–black and bony, with a proud, gray face and hunchbacked hips. She allowed us to pet her, and then started walking away down the lane, stopping to look back at us with an expression that asked, “aren’t you coming?”. We followed.

Lefkes dog follow me — *“Aren’t you coming?”*

old-dog-lefkes-paros — *Bryan walking with the old dog in Lefkes.*

Old dog lefkes flowers path — *The old soul walked on without us.*

Walking through Lefkes

She teetered a bit when she walked, maybe from arthritis or from some ailment that made her shaky and restless. When I stopped to take a photograph, she came back for me. We stopped at a tavern, thinking to buy her some food. The dog watched for a minute, then lurched on without us. I saw a woman make a nasty face and go out of her way in the narrow lane to avoid even brushing against the old dog. Though the tavern door was open, the shop was not serving any food. As Bryan sorted that out, I went to catch up with the dog, and to see if there were any restaurants up ahead. But the dog was gone. Not a trace.

Bells rang. Elderly people stepped out of their little houses, arm-in-arm, heading to a little church in a little lane. I returned to the tavern for Bryan. We sat there, sipping a Fanta and a Coke and talking about that old dog…her pitiful condition and the flagrant contempt we’d witnessed for the old soul. What’s wrong with people? Where’s the empathy for the old, the sick? It tainted the beauty of the place. And I felt sick that we’d given the dog nothing to eat. She was a bag of crippled bones, and we had done nothing to help.

Feeding the Soul

But within the hour, we saw the dog again, up a lane near the center of the village. Bryan ran into a shop and bought what he could find–which was a bag of pizza-flavored bagel bites. I called to the dog and she wobbled towards me. The rattle of the bagel-bites bag got her undivided attention. At first, I worried she might not have the teeth to chew them. But chew she did–crunching one after another. Two mousy cats crept a little closer on the wall where we sat, and called out to us. Of course, we fed them too. Within minutes, the bag was empty and three sets of eyes stared at us, at the bag, at our hands. The dog licked the stones for crumbs. The cats meowed and sniffed around their feet.

Bryan went down the lane to an open shop. He came back a few minutes later with a bread-plate-sized hot pepperoni pie. We tore off small, very hot bites, blew on them, and fed the old dog and the two cats, right there in the middle of Lefkes. They were gentle eaters, and patient. A few passing townspeople looked, but said nothing. We all had to flatten ourselves to the wall several times to avoid the cars on that narrow lane.

After the pie was gone, the cats retreated and the dog stared at us for a long few minutes. I offered her water. She drank from the lip of the bottle as water poured into my palm. And then she walked away, turning again to ask “aren’t you coming?”

Saying Goodbye

We walked with her to the end of town, to a place near our bus stop. I worried that she was too near the busy road, too far from where she’d found us. Could she get back to her safe place? I tried to get her to follow me down the pedestrian lanes back to the church. She turned and walked away, in the direction back to the center, where there were cars. Nothing I did got her attention, and she disappeared down the lane. I cried. Bryan said, “She knows these roads. She’s lived a long time here without you watching out for her. She’ll be ok.”

Bus stop Lefkes Paros Greece — *Bus stop at Lefkes on Paros*

Lefkes-marble-doors-lanes — *Crooked marble door frames and steps in the old lanes of Lefkes.*

Since we had a little time before our bus, I wandered again through the town looking again for her. And, somehow I found myself back at the church. And guess who was laying in the courtyard?

There she was–alone in the sun, washing her feet. She looked comfortable, content. I did not want to disturb her, to have her get up in greeting or to walk me back to the busy road. So I did not enter the courtyard. I stood staring at her for a few minutes–wishing for her to have food, water, love and comfort for all the days of her life.

old dog courtyard church lefkes paros — *There she was, alone in the courtyard.*

If you go

So, if you go to Lefkes, look for this old lady. If you find her, give her my regards and feed her a pie. I’ve thought of her a thousand times. And I’m quite certain she is an angel in disguise.

green-fields-lefkes-paros — *The fields around Lefkes on Paros*

Bird-nest-lefkes-paros-greece — *Bird returning to a nest in Lefkes, Paros, Greece.*

cat-wall-lefkes-paros-greece — *A cat gazes down from his perch in Lefkes*

earless cat lefkes paros greece — *Sadly, it looks as if this poor cat’s ears have been cut off.*

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Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary / Rescue in New Mexico

Posted April 13, 2014 by carol.fletcher@rocketmail.com

In March, I spent some time at the Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary, a rescue located on 100+ acres outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founder and Director, Natalie Owings cares for, and lives among, over 200 animals–dogs, cats, rabbits, wedding doves, horses, chickens, guinea pigs, ducks, llamas, alpacas, goats…. If any animal in the area needs a home, a meal, and some compassion, this is the place.

For the abused, neglected, sick or starving animals who have found safe haven here, this can only seem like heaven. Many of the animals are rescued from shelters in the area. And will stay here until adopted or transported to another state for adoption. Some may live out their days here.

About 30 dogs have the run of the Giant Doghouse and surrounding grounds. While they are fenced out of spaces for some of the other animals in order to keep the peace, they have ample selection of beds (inside, outside, in the sun, in the shade) and can help themselves to kibble anytime they are hungry. There are no cages, no leashes… and no fights. Every creature here is loved, respected, and safe …and they know it.

Please take a minute to visit the website: http://www.animal-sanctuary.org/