Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Thelma and Louise

In rescue, some dogs have a piece of your heart before you even meet them. For five years, I've been blessed to be a dog advocate and rescuer. Because a small group of volunteers came together with a dream to save as many paws as possible; were able to fund an actual shelter and open it almost 6 years ago, I am a dog rescuer. These people who are now my rescue family, accepted my quirks, my over the top passion for dogs and my craziness. Still, I  love those words. I AM A DOG RESCUER!

My husband and I have fostered over 150 dogs.  Lots of tears have been shed as pieces of my heart get adopted into a forever home. Sometimes a sigh of relief follows the exit of a feisty foster, but always, a piece of my heart goes and piece of their heart stays. Always- my heart is magnified- and dogs rescue me, not the other way around.

Thelma and Louise are sisters. Small breed and transferred from another shelter. They had spent their lives together, and in rescue, we knew they would most likely end up in different locations. They had sisterly love and feistiness and they clung to each other as they entered yet another shelter because their previous owners didn't keep a forever promise.

I am partial to small dogs. I grew up with a toy poodle named Candy and I just prefer small dogs but i love them all. I gravitate towards the smaller ones first. I'm one of the first fosters called when a small furball needs a temporary place to crash.

When Thelma and Louise were processed and came into our ITV family, I was preparing for a vacation. I hadn't met the darling duo, but I quickly learned of the pair when Thelma decided she would make a mad dash toward freedom. It's amazing how fast four little legs can run when they are a mission to escape!

Word came across our Facebook message group. I didn't know Thelma, but she was a small dog who was out in this scary big world alone and I knew she needed to be found. A photo of her sister was sent to my phone, so I had an idea of who I was searching for.

I got in my car and set out on a search.  I honestly couldn't believe she had run across one of Evansville's busiest traveled streets and wasn't hit. There was a sighting of her near an apartment complex. My daughter lived in the area, and my church was in the neighborhood.  I knew this area, so I dropped everything to find Thelma. I had no luck, so I met up with the kennel manager and we searched together. Again, no luck, but at least the weather was unseasonably warm.

I don't care how stupid I look or sound, if there is a dog in peril, I'm going out and I'm going to do anything I can to bring that dog back to our rescue. We searched for a few hours without any luck.  I had an appointment to keep, and had to stop searching for the day. There are so many hiding places for small dogs. At least a larger dog is easier to see.

ITV sent out a social media bulletin and we had our great villagers looking out for our Thelma who had decided to take an adventure. (Would she also try to break out Louise and take an epic adventure across the East side of Evansville?)  A sighting came in the morning. Thelma was seen in an empty lot between two fast food restaurants. I had looked there the day before. I figured she'd get hungry and the smells would take her there. There was also a lot of traffic- and this scared me.

We all searched in our free time over the next two days. I left my business card at the drive thrus of most of the restaurants and staked out locations for a live trap should we need one.
I went in the rescue and talked with Louise. She was left behind and didn't know what the heck was going on. I truly feared Thelma wouldn't be found before I departed on my trip.  Or worse, she wouldn't make it back alive and I would never meet the cutie causing so much of a ruckus.

The day before my departure, I was attending my grandsons birthday party. It was at an inflatable factory and we were having a great time. There was just this dog named Thelma nagging in the back of my mind. I hadn't even met her, and she was an absentee guest at a great birthday party!  I really hated that there weren't any new sightings to confirm she was remaining in the same location.

As a moment came and I could take a break from the party, I just had to call in. I could go look for her after the party, but I'd really be cutting it close on my packing and arrangements before I was set to leave on vacation.

To my relief, Thelma was safe and sound back within the teal walls at ITV. Who was the hero who found and brought her in?  Well, as it turned out, Thelma's adventures werent as exciting as she thought they would be. Thelma was a bit "off" without her sidekick sister Louise. Thelma wasn't impressed with the outside world where she had to fend for herself.

Our Animal director, Tangila,  had been sitting at her desk that Saturday. People were still out searching for the squirt. Tangila swiveled her desk chair and caught a glimpse of something in the window. She thought the black cat looking IN the window was kind of big.  Well, the cat was a dog. And that dog was Thelma!  She had retraced her path, crossed a HEAVILY traveled street and returned to the place she had known for all of one day. She looked through the window and her eyes said " PLEASE let me back in, I had it good in there!"

So Thelma and Louise were reunited and I was able to go on vacation knowing the Boston Terrier/Pug Mixes would likely get adopted before I returned. Fast forward almost two weeks. Thelma and Louise were quite the pair at the rescue and still searching for an adopter when my vacation was over. The previous shelter surmised that the pair were bonded and would have to be adopted together. No one had come forward who wanted to accept two new furry family members, so they were still awaiting their happily ever after to start with any type of meet and greet.

Our executive director, Susan, decided we should see how the dynamic duo did separated. At the rescue, they barked and made a fuss as they were crated separately. Louise voiced her loud disapproval when Thelma was walked without her. Sill, being adopted together was highly unlikely and we didn't want the pair to be forever in our shelter.

Susan and I decided to take one of each the sisters to foster them in our homes and evaluate their behavior separated from the other sister. I took Thelma and headed in the house where she was greeted by my 4 littles and my 90 pound great Pyrenees Mix. Oh, she got along well with them all, and if she didn't want to be messed with, she just spoke her mind and sat solo. Louise also adapted quickly and we knew the pair could be separated without any true mental harm. Louise adopted first.

Thelma hung out on the back of my couch or curled next to me.  She found the sunspot and bathed when she could, but always kept an eye on me. I gave in and let her sleep in bed with me one night. Well, that was it. Thelma was bonded at the hip to me and she became my shadow. My PERMANENT pets know the drill. They don't particularly like it, but they know it and tolerate it. They know I'm their mom and that they've got it made!  When you take into consideration that two of them are foster fails, they just know to go with the flow. They know mommy loves them, and will ignore a new foster until I can place them in a perfect home.

Like I said, some fosters take a big piece of my heart and others I'm ready to send on their new adventure. Thelma loved car rides and leash walks and I took her to ITV each time I volunteered. Maybe her new family would find her that day. I made special arrangements to do a meet and greet with a family on a Sunday when the center is closed.  Rescue never takes a day off. If there's a chance my foster or any dog in the rescue will meet their forever family  on a Sunday, then I'm going to do my best to make it happen.

I took Thelma to I Phone Todd's where Todd was graciously throwing a benefit fundraiser for our ITV shelter. Thelma was getting  tons of attention and reveled in having me all to herself- away from my personal dogs and shelter dogs. When the time came, she hopped in the car and we drove to the rescue hoping to meet her new family and start her new chapter in life. The family was great and Thelma loved them. Unfortunately, their furry family member was a ball of fire and was just too much for Thelma to handle. They loaded back in their car. And Thelma immediately headed towards my vehicle.. .She knew she was with me and she was ready to go home.

That's a kink in the system sometime in fostering. I'm fostering Thelma, and as great as she was (and she was the easiest foster Ive ever loved to date) Thelma THOUGHT she was already home. I hated the thought of ripping her from me and having her start over. Would she survive it?  Would I survive it? Of course !!!! Silly me and my big heart. Thelma would survive And thrive . I took my insecurities and poured out my heart writing a bio about Thelma. It had been posted and all I could do was wait.

Rescue doesn't always have a happy ending. Fortunately, most of the time it does. Thelma DID find her perfect family. An 8 year old boy-- one of 4 children- searched the pet finder list  because his family was going to add a furr baby to their mix. He saw Louise's unique face in our photos taken by our great volunteer photographer. He read how good she was and Her great laid back personality. His parents and siblings all agreed they needed to meet Thelma and an application was submitted.

Thelma is now part of a big new family. She has four kids to fight over her and to decide which bed to sleep in. I said my goodbyes to her from home because I was ill. There would be no clinging to my foster and that ugly cry baby face I get when one of my fosters is starting their new journey in life. As I sat ill on the couch sad and feeling sorry for myself, a photo came across my phone. It was Thelma and her adoption photo. This Thelma- that so many thought could only adopt with her sister, was being loved on by 6 new people!  This Thelma who broke out for a wild adventure- possibly to find Brad Pitt  leaving Louise behind- was now (at last) part of her real family....forever.

No more shelters. No more fosters or meet and greets. Now, Thelma would figure out where the best sun of the day would be in her new home. She would never go hungry and would always have someone home to love on her. Thelma, the run-away rescue that I searched for before I had even met, had pressed her paw in my heart. I will always feel the love and thankfulness she gave me. Yes, I could give her up. There are more paws to rescue and more (many more) dog lives to save. I enjoy choosing my fosters.  Sometimes they pick me.  Or, perhaps, Karma chooses well before I even know they exist. I wonder who is coming into my heart next........

Blessings,
Lori Martin
ITV DOG RESCUER🐾