My beautiful rescued lab with her ever-present tennis ball
I grew up with Labrador Retrievers- two black and one yellow. I loved them all. Some kids have blankies, I had dogs. Over the years, I’ve tossed around the idea of getting a dog, but whenever I carefully analyzed my life I just couldn’t see how I could maintain a sane life with a dog. When my husband decided to run for Congress I thought that maybe, if he won, we would get a dog. So, in the depths of the campaign when my two daughters asked for the thousandth time to get a dog, I offered them the “possibility” of getting one IF their daddy won the election.
The girls didn’t forget my “sort of” promise, even with all the excitement surrounding my husband’s election win. And, they wanted a puppy. Who can blame them? Spend any time looking at pictures of puppies of any breed and you’ll fall in love. But, I knew that caring for a puppy was more than I could handle and decided that with so many dogs in need of rescue, it would be better to adopt. Plus, I figured that if I was going to turn my life upside down, it might as well be for a really good cause.
Thankfully, there are several terrific rescue/adoption organizations in our area. I chose to work with Killingworth, CT based Labs4rescue, which deals with Labrador Retrievers. An all volunteer non-profit organization, Labs4Rrescue is dedicated to providing a new life for rescued or displaced Labs or Lab Mixes. When I looked at their website, I was shocked to see how many gorgeous dogs were up for adoption. Most of them come from the South because, according to Labs4rescue, there the spay/neuter laws are not enforced and since female labs have litters of 10-12 puppies, there are just too many labs running around. There are a also a lot of puppy mills and not enough demand so dogs that aren’t good duck hunters are “surrendered” at the end of the hunting season. Black labs are particularly at risk, perhaps because they shed black hair. What is really heartbreaking is that many dogs are sent to the high kill shelters that only keep them for three days before they are gassed.
After three weeks of working through Labs4rescue I found Bella, a beautiful, loving, fully house and crate trained 1.5 year old black lab rescued from Tennessee. She was transported, courtesy of Labs4rescue to Connecticut. She is a quintessential lab- she is patient beyond words with kids, loves food of any sort, wants and gives a ton of love, and is rarely seen without a disgusting tennis ball in her mouth. I will admit right up front that she has some health issues but nothing that can’t be handled thanks to our terrific veterinarians at VCA Davis Animal Hospital. And, I promise that the love this dog gives is more than most- I really think she feels lucky to have been saved.
So, if you’re thinking about getting a dog, please consider adopting one. You can adopt any age, from puppy to senior. Conveniently, most adoption organizations list their available dogs on their websites and most host local adoption events where you can go see the dogs in person. In fact, Adopt-a-Dog is hosting its annual Putting on the Dog fun dog show on Sunday October 18th at Roger Sherwin Baldwin Park in Greenwich (http://www.adopt-a-dog.org/POD2009.htm) Throughout the day there will be a dog show with seventeen categories, such as Biggest Lap Dog, K-9 Krooners, A Pooch Who Can Smooch, and Clever K-9 Tricks amongst other fun activities for the family. There are so many dogs out there looking for a safe, loving home- many of them are as terrific as Bella. Please don’t forget them.
LOCAL PET ADOPTION ORGANIZATIONS:
Adopt-a-dog, Greenwich, 629-9494; adopt-a-dog.org
Bridgeport Animal Control Facilities, Bridgeport, 576-7727; bptanimalcontrol.com
Oxford Animal Shelter, Oxford, 881-3653
Pet Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Norwalk, 750-9572; pawsct.org
Save Our Strays, Westport, 255-0514; saveourstraysinc.petfinder.com
Shelton Animal Shelter, Shelton, 924-2501
Stamford Animal Care and Control, Stamford, 977-4437
It’s wonderful to hear that you too have had a great experience adopting dogs- and four, wow!!
I’ve bought a supply of kongs, that should do the trick! Thanks for the advice.
I’m so sorry that I didn’t include the Greenwich Animal Control. Is that totally separate from Adopt-a-dog’s facilities? Thank you for bringing it to my, and the other readers’ attention. I would be honored if you wrote a letter to the editor and please do include info about the GAC. I think that’d be terrific!
Mary, thank you for your blog which appeared in the Greenwich Time on 10/14/09. It’s great that you adopted your dog from a rescue organization! When someone who is prominent (such as you and Mr. Himes) promote pet adoption, it has an enormous positive impact on the public and on this cause. The information about adoption organizations that you listed is very helpful. I noticed, however, that our local shelter in Greenwich was not included. It is Greenwich Animal Control (part of the Town police department), located on the property of the Bruce Museum. I have volunteered there since 2002 and cannot say enough about the care and attention that the staff gives to the animals! Many long time Greenwich residents do not know that our shelter exists. With your permission, I would like to submit an editorial to the Greenwich Time, thanking you for your wonderful blog article and pointing out that we have a first-rate shelter right here in Greenwich. I hope that you will see this comment and let me know your thoughts. Thank you! Linda Bruno
Great article, Mary. Thank you so much, especially for the mention about Adopt-A-Dog. Can you spread the word that the cast of Rescue Ink from the National Geographic channel will be special guests at Adopt-A-Dog’s Puttin’ On the Dog this weekend? They will be judges, signing books, etc. Thanks again.
Thanks for the info!
I’m so glad you’ve had a positive experience with a rescued dog too!
That’s so sad. I’ll do my best to keep her away from tennis balls. Thankfully she loves her kong too.
Great point! Thanks for letting me know.
Wow. Thanks!
This story is so touching. I am voting for your husband next time even though I am a republican.
Our family, too, rescued a Lab through labs4rescue–a wonderful organization. I would encourage any of you in the Stamford/Greenwich area to also frequent the new Stamford Dog Park–a great way to exercise and socialize for you and your dog!!!
One thing you don’t touch on that is a HUGE issue for shelters and resue organizations alike is the number of dogs/pets who are abandoned because men and women serving our nation overseas are gone much longer than anticipated–and the temporary caregivers they arrange for their pets grow weary and give up the animals to shelters…so please consider that sometimes adopting a pet is an act of patriotism–giving a loving home to the pet of a soldier who would like to be there but who is sacrificing in the service of our nation.
Thanks for addressing this issue and for sharing your husband in the service of Connecticut’s interests. He is doing a stellar job.
Please, please, please get a larger ball for your beloved pet. A colleague of ours lost his beloved Lab who choked on a tennis ball while playing and even trying the Heimlich manoeuvre timely could not save the dog.
Thank you for such a great article. I am the proud “mom” to four rescued dogs, our youngest is a lab mix also from Lab4rescue. Little Lucy was found in a box with her littermates on the side of a road in LA. Heartbreaking. Labs4rescue is a great rescue organization and there are many more out there. Adoption is always the way to go!
I am so glad you shared this information with us. We do need to help more animals. We rescued our dog and it was the best thing we could have done for our family. Thank again and keep up the good job.
Don’t forget the CT Humane Society. They have locations in Westport, Waterford and Newington. http://www.cthumane.org I got both my dogs from them when they were puppies.
Thank you so much for helping promote pet adoption. Not only does it save an animal’s life, but each adoption makes room at a shelter or rescue organization for another needy dog or cat. People should also consider adopting adult animals … they’re often overlooked, but in reality make wonderful pets.
The last place anyone should acquire a pet from is a pet shop, where most of the dogs come from puppy mills … breeding factories where the animals are kept in horrific conditions, and the puppies are usually unhealthy.
By the way, I recently learned of another humane group that does good work — Strays and Others, which is based in New Canaan.
What a great article on Dog Rescue!!! Mary Himes you are so right about the need to rescue dogs in high kill shelters especially in the South where neutering and spaying requirements are lame and way too many dogs are put down unnecessarily – especially Black dogs which seem to be in abundance and therefore, more likely not to get adopted out.
One more suggestion is the North Shore Animal League out in Port Washington, (L.I.) New York. They are a hike but I mention them because they not only rescue dogs (and cats) from all over the country (and Puerto Rico too) but they have taken in many displaced Katrina dogs and puppies too. They are also a ‘no kill’ shelter and screen applicants really well so that the animals get a great match and a responsible and caring “forever” home.
Thanks for sharing your happy tale……..we need more animal rescue advocates in this area to speak out on behalf of the numerous dogs and cats that are piling up in the shelters due to the difficult economic times. It’s heartbreaking to see these displaced animals no longer able to stay with their families because of the economy. We live in a very affluent area of the country – please consider adopting one of the dogs and cats in the shelters – they will make a world of a difference in your lives.
PS – there are many health benefits too including weight loss from walking your dog, and regular, frequent petting of dogs is known to reduce chronic high blood pressure in humans.
If you are by any chance looking for a beautiful Bichon Frise you can try smallpawsrescue.com. They are a great organization.
Thank you so much for letting us all know about your organization. I was hoping that organizations that I’d missed would chime in. Thanks for helping all those dogs and cats!
Ridgefield Operation Animal Rescue (ROAR) is also worth checking out if you are looking for a new family member (dog or cat)!