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In early 2017 my husband and I found ourselves dogless for a month after my parents took their grandchildren, the Lab and the Hound, to their home to spend quality time with them. In our family we call this Summer Camp. Summer Camp being the time the only grandchildren my parents know get to have the little ones stare at them while they eat instead of us and let them out 19 times a day instead of us. Don’t get me wrong all parties enjoy this time. And, let me clarify, it was actually the dead of winter in New Hampshire when this occurred (picture Jack Nicholson in the snowbank at the end of The Shining), however, our outdoor-loving Lab didn’t flinch, but, the Hound on the other hand had a few choice words for her vacation destination.
So, here we were, stuck in a house with a fenced in yard with no fur baby to spoil and plenty of extra time on our hands. We started to look around for any local organizations who needed any last minute foster homes. We scoured each rescue and shelter we knew for a foster situation that would fit us, our work schedules and our precious, but plump, semi-ornery six year-old cat.
After much reaching out to no avail, we were finally set up with Purple Paws 2nd Chance Rescue (PP2CR), a rescue in Fredericksburg, VA. PP2CR brought over Daisy who was just about the sweetest old lady you could ever ask for who had had a rough go-about it the first eight years of her life. Daisy brought absolute joy to our lives for the few short weeks before she was adopted into her furever home.
From there, we wanted to create a virtual billboard and networking site for rescues, shelters and animal people in similar situations. A place for those who in their heart want to save all of the animals, but can’t necessarily open an animal sanctuary. So, where do we go from here? Whelp, I say we keep our eyes open for situations we can help with no matter how small or how big, gather together a group of people who can share the word in an attempt to reach those who have the ability to assist rescuing animals at that particular moment in time, jump in when we can ourselves and love animals no matter their background or beginnings.
Be sure to subscribe to Ruffugees to be part of our rescue community!
See you on the wild side,
Danielle
P.S. Fostering is amazing. Fostering an animal means caring for their well-being and soul for a set period of time. If you can’t make the commitment to adopt, but you can make connection with a furry friend for a weekend or a few months you are encouraged to do so as it will be good for your heart and the heart of the organization you are working with. It will make you feel great to have someone to take long walks with in addition to reducing the load of a rescue or shelter.