...... from the Director's Chair

We saw a few TLC alumni at Thursday's VCAS Board of Commissioners meeting held at Camarillo last week... Thank you for coming in support of the No-Kill movement... It is GREATLY appreciated...This morning I wanted to share something personal with everyone who reads this blog... Let's call it "What a Rescuer Goes Through From a Personal Perspective" for lack of a better title...

In May of 2010, I had gone to Camarillo to bailout a few dogs we'd been watching and were afraid would be killed on the next list of culling there... Having put things in motion and waiting for paperwork to be done, I took a walk around the kennels... This is ALWAYS a big mistake for me and I KNOW better than to do it... 

Coming around the backside of what I call the "I" building (the one on the far right and straight), I passed numerous Pit Bulls, large breeds and an assortment of dogs over 30 pounds... Almost at the end of the row, I just about passed by one kennel, thinking it was empty... Peering against the sunlight and into the kennel, I just about saw a small, dark bundle huddled up against the wall...

I stopped, waited and tried to encourage the 'dark bundle' to come forward to the front of the kennel run... It did take some time and very slowly, the bundle unfolded itself to reveal not one small Tri-Color Bandit Chihuahua, but two in fact... 

Coaxing in my very best 'Chi speak', after about 15 minutes I convinced one to come forward enough for me to see her size, but I could not get the second one to come forward... She remained huddled in a ball and shaking as the Pitty on one side whined and the crazy Lab on the other continued to bark non-stop... It is SO sad what kennel shock does to all of these dogs...

Hearing my name called over the loud speaker, I had no other choice but to leave and head to the office... Once there, I asked about the two wee ones in that kennel... They were both available but were not 'showing well'... 

I stood at the counter, debating with myself... I had already pulled two dogs above the number of foster slots we had, convincing myself that I'd locate some more volunteers willing to foster once we'd pull them... Pulling two more was simply just above our means to adequately foster... It was a struggle, trying to decide... 

"One is somewhat friendly, so she'll probably get adopted - the bigger one of the two... But the little one? I just don't know..... And ya know?  You can't save them all... " trailing off as the counter person continued processing my paperwork... 

I took the leap of faith I have done so many times... "OK, we will pull the little one that has less chance of getting adopted and see what we can do to rehabilitate her.  If her sister does not get adopted, mark it in the computer to have someone contact me and hopefully we will have an open foster spot"....

And that is the circumstances, "Shirley" (as we will call her) left Camarillo... Her sister, Laverne, was more outgoing and had a better chance to find someone in the general public to love her furever... "

Shirley was indeed scared out of her mind... It took weeks to see her tail come up right and walk like a proud Chihuahua I knew she could be... Approach her and she'd either run away or fall over onto her back and expose her belly in fear... It was heart breaking to see... I tried several foster situations with her and she failed at all of them... Each time she'd come back to me and I'd shake my head, take her back and continue to work with her again...

A few weeks after getting Shirley out of Camarillo, I was working with data of the dogs that had been killed there that month and recognized Shirley's impound number... Because she and her sister, Laverne, had come in together, I quickly looked for that impound number thinking for sure I would see "ADOPT"... 

But seeing the word "EUTH" aside of it, my heart sank and I sat there, staring at the paper unable to believe what I was reading... What happened to calling me before killing her?  Why had I bothered to believe the Camarillo staff person?  I know better, despite what they say at the counter about having 'such a high rate' of adoption as they attempt to console someone who is surrendering a beloved pet for whatever reason... 

I INTENTIONALLY left behind the most adoptable dog of the two for someone in the general public to adopt and save, taking the least adoptable one... Why in the heck hadn't I just pulled both of them and Laverne would be alive today, sitting on someone's lap and loving life as a cuddle bunny?
I think of Laverne many times when I hear the excuses Camarillo spits out about dogs needing to die, or explaining that it is everyone else's fault their kill rate is so high... I can quickly spit out 10 reasons why Laverne did not need to die starting first with the fact neither one had a photo on their website, followed just as quickly that housing 2 3-pound Chihuahuas between much larger (and noisy) dog breeds is going to do nothing else but scare the hell out of them!

But why?  Why give the list of things I KNOW could have saved Laverne's life... It won't bring her back...  No matter how many times I go over and over these things, I don't see Camarillo's mindset changing... I just see more dogs dying, like Laverne...  This is what it is like to be a rescue director in a high kill county...