All of our dogs have been rescues to some extent. I adopted Talley from the Boulder Humane Society in 1998 and she lived a long happy life of exploration and flower sniffing. Kris adopted Dakota who was her closest companion for nearly ten years. He came from the Washington DC Humane Society Georgia avenue kennel where we would return for Sheba and Luna some years later. These two have rooted themselves deeply into our family and we love them as if they are our children.
The humane Society has become our regular charity and we have kept in contact with many friends we have met there. Kris has always talked about adopting other dogs or fostering to help out their overpopulated system and I have always vocalized my support but we have never followed through with our thoughts to do so. Occasionally kris would browse the rescue websites and find animals in need, but there was always some level of comfort with their present situation so we decided against moving forward.
Something changed two weeks ago though when she discovered the story behind Angus and Mattie. Unrelated but essentially brother and sister just like Sheba and Luna, they have grown up together but were given up by their owners to a shelter in Kentucky. The shelter in Kentucky has such a large mismanagement and under funding issue, that from the moment a dog is admitted, whether found as a stray or otherwise, the dog is given an expiration date of two weeks. If no one comes forward during that time to rescue, foster, or adopt the dog…. They are put to sleep. This is absolutely astounding to us.
In the days that passed after discovery, all the dogs surrounding the brother and sister were adopted out, but because these were a matched set, no one came forward. Their date approached. Their fate was all but signed and sealed. Unbeknownst to me, kris contacted the shelter to monitor their status and when she finally reported her findings to me, I knew that we were already in too deep. Letting their expiration date pass would be an event that we would not be able to live with ourselves for. I told Kris to hold the dogs, pay for a kennel, do whatever it took to stop the clock.
The date came and went a few days ago, while they were safely in a clinic getting checked out and having their shots updated and getting examined for their upcoming journey to Maryland. We don’t know their real names, birthdays, or even what kind of dogs they are, only that they have innocent souls that deserve to explore our world with wet noses.
