While some of you may know me as Fetch Blog Girl extraordinaire… (ok, that’s pushing it maybe) I also volunteer much of my time with a local rescue called Safe Hands Animal Rescue. I’ve been with Safe Hands for the last 3 years, and have fostered 27 puppies in that time. I’ve also done everything else for them from helping with intake of new dogs, to adoptions to making long day trips to meet our transports 5 hours away.
In two weeks, I’ll be making my longest trip with them yet, to the shelter in Harlan, Kentucky that we rescue all of our dogs and pups from.
I’ve heard many stories about this place and felt that now was the time to see where it all began. From everything I’ve been told, I don’t know that there’s even a way to mentally prepare for what I’ll see.
It isn’t a happy place. It’s not a clean, bright, cheerful shelter where the dogs are all happy and the story always has a happy ending. It’s dark, over-crowded and dismal. If it weren’t for rescue, most of these dogs would never leave the shelter.
It’s a long drive there, followed by a day of mentally and physically draining work, followed by an even longer drive back home.
The drive home brings joy for the animals that we’re bringing back with us, who will find loving forever homes and sadness for the ones we couldn’t bring along.
I know these stories from the volunteers that have made the trip and not first hand. In a few weeks, I’ll be able to tell you what I’ve seen, first hand.
Stay tuned…
