2017: The Year in Review by Dawna Pederzani
This morning is feed the pups, sip pumpkin spice coffee and change the calendar. Can I just say that although we lost our financial shirts on our 15 month calendars last year, this morning I am so thankful that our models graciously lost theirs in the name of the dogs! My wall is much more interesting this morning. Now in the interest of not hurting feelings, we lost our shirts on the fully clothed version as well. It is the one that stays up when I have foster children and contains amazing images of our pilots, co-workers, community executives and service veterans. The process of getting them to print was fun, exhausting, exciting and creative. Karen and I had the tough job of choosing photos. It was hard ,but for the rescue cause we sucked it up and forged ahead. They are most likely our last calendars.
I was thinking last night about the diversity of this rescue. Since 1998, Vermont English Bulldog Rescue, was just that: English Bulldogs, and an occasional cross. In 2015 I began getting requests from rescue partners to help save some of the non-Bulldog breeds. We discussed it, and realized that there were times when we had empty kennels. There simply are not the volume of English Bulldogs to keep them full. “Bulldogs and Buddies Rescue” was born under the umbrella of VEBR (Vermont English Bulldog Rescue).
It has been a joy, a learning curve, interesting and so much fun! It is akin to inviting every extended family member from all over the world to come visit. So what has 2017 brought to us?
On the tiny end, Chihuahuas, from one pound babies to 12 pound crosses. These little bundles of energy who are anything but frail are such an example of tenacity. They do not think they are big dogs but they project it in their stance and mostly in their vocals. It has been so comical to watch our tiny Tex and Rex (now Wallace and Gromit) posture and snarl at Molly our big Terrier mix and send her running. We can also now relate to why folks have small dogs, everything about them is easier from poop pick up to transporting them.
On the other end of the size spectrum we pulled four Great Pyrenees over the course of the year. Although all very large and predominantly white, each had a distinct personality and way of being in the world from stoic, handsome and regal Finny to more delicate and outdoorsy working dog Millie, who now watches over Alpaca in New Hampshire, and our current Great Pyrenees, Dallas is different still with an affinity for children.
Recently we had our first Giant Schnauzer in Jada. If she is any indication of the breed, there will be more. Simply gentle and present and full of love. We had our first Boxer at the 10th hour. Percy is a tall, super model of the breed and the response from Boxer lovers was resounding. We have two coming on the 24th of January.
Everyone seems to have followed our journey through mothering nine, (yes, nine!) Basset Hound puppies. Color coded collars do not help one identify puppies when the collars are constant objects for tug of war. Our identifying markers became; “large black strip down left side of face,” “tan male who bullies everyone,” “brindle with longer ears.” Imagine treating them two times per day with medication for an upper respiratory infection! Pile of microchip papers….ok that was the blue collar with the pink paw prints….Alfie. Now grab the brindle female with the long ears…collar chewed off.UGH! As the number of remaining pups diminished and the papers no longer made sense, Karen would head off to the vet to scan the micro chip to ensure that Myrtle was Myrtle. They were an absolute joy. We moaned and swore that this was the last litter ever! Then, while holding a sweet little Basset girl with puppy breath and soulful eyes, we reneged and admitted that we would do it again in a heartbeat. There is decisiveness for you.
In-between we had Mango and Murphy, two English Setter mixes that were dumped on a back road in Texas and saved by Barbara Ross a lovely rescue buddy. They are now in safe and loving homes, one with my primary physician…..reason to visit her more regularly.
We had Black Mouth Curs and three Bassets: mom, daughter and granddaughter from South Carolina and tiny Terriers from Texas.
This was the first year and sadly our last for saving English Bull Terriers. I, like many, have been fascinated by the breed. They are a constant in shelters due to their inaccurate image in movies and on the Target commercials. I liken these dogs to folks with Autism. They are charged nearly all the time and often do not have the capacity to stop before acting. They are lovely dogs but indiscriminate breeding, which is terrible for any breed, has turned many of this breed into tortured souls incapable of relaxing and enjoying life.
After pulling several this year, VEBR faced an Internet attack by folks who call themselves Bull Terrier experts. They alleged that we were clueless and random in our selection of dogs and said that if an English Bull Terrier is in a shelter facing euthanasia, so be it. It is there for a reason. Seriously? I would, at the very least get that dog out of the shelter and give it a few good weeks of love and care and then if necessary, have it humanely euthanized in the arms of a loving and caring person. Their emotional demise after all, is at the hands of humans. We owe them that. We have four now and hope that some experienced Bull Terrier folks will step forward to adopt them. However, they are here for as long as is necessary.
We took in American Bulldogs, Old English Bulldogs, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, Australian Terriers and yes, an occasional English Bulldog.
I was asked by the family of an elderly neighbor to help re-home a sweet little Japanese Chin named Abby. Her owner, now suffering the effects of Alzheimers, was no longer able to care for herself let alone this beloved dog. When the neighbor was moved to a lovely specialty care facility, Abby came to us and is now with a family who already had one female of this breed. Abby is safe and loved and her former owner is getting the care and support that she deserves.
We had two tiny white deaf Boxers that were going to be drowned by the breeder in Georgia, apparently a regular fate for an imperfect dog. Both are now in Boxer-experienced homes, completely socialized and integrated with other animals and humans.
We saved two American Bulldogs from Miami that were used as bait dogs in dog fighting. They were found literally in storm gutters, ripped to shreds. One, Fred, is now an emotional support dog for a veteran that suffers from PTSD and Jessie is with our foster in Georgia awaiting some, any interest from an adopter in order to come north. Jessie is healthy, beautiful and living in Lynit’s (our Georgia foster) home. All the folks who so dramatically asked me to save her, promised financial help, fostering and adopting her, faded into the sunset the moment we pulled her. Their promises were as fleeting as the weather.
There is a lot of drama in rescue. It is annoying, depleting, useless and takes valuable time and resources that could be used saving a dogs life. We had two Old English Bulldogs with severely cropped ears this year. Both from South Carolina: Athena, who we put through heart worm treatment and boarded for six months, and Piper who was found living in a hole behind an abandoned house. Both ear crops were clearly home jobs most likely with scissors and both left each dog with scar tissue, overly sensitive hearing and constant ear infections. Their protection of their ear flap, cut off to achieve a “look.” What kind of human takes a puppy and does that?
We had two Rockers this year with Hendrix and Zappa. Hendrix came from South Carolina and is a tall and handsome boy with the saddest expression nearly all the time. He is terribly strong on the leash….except for our trainer, Sam, very gentle and quiet in his kennel and just beginning to show glimmers of his personality. Hendrix will need a person with patience willing to shower him with love and build his trust in humans.
Zappa came to us after the passing of his owner. It was described that Bret adored this boy and just doted on him. They were apparently inseparable. Bret’s family turned to us to take Zappa and find him his forever home. Nicole and her family are providing that. Hendrix is waiting to rock a new life.
We found a new means of transport this year with the non profit, Operation Roger, an organization that pairs long distance truckers with animals needing transport. Tony and his fancy Volvo rig jumped into action, carrying Cronos and Xena, our first two English Bull Terriers ,from Miami to Vermont. We will certainly use them again.
We flew dogs with Pilots and Paws and ground transported with a variety of commercial transports. Our costs for transport will exceed $5,000 this year.
We kept a lot of vet clinics in business in Miami, Bayshore Vet Clinic in San Antonio, Callahan Road Animal Hospital and in Vermont with Fitzgerald Veterinary Hospital, Burlington Emergency Veterinary Services and Veterinary Eye Care of Vermont as well as other specialty clinics.
Our vet costs will top $50,000.
Our credit card debt in 2018 begins at almost $20,000.
Dogs saved: 112
We were approved to pull from more locations this year: Pawmetto in South Carolina and most recently named as a New Hope Partner at Animal Care and Control of New York City.
We added a new store on our websites, www.VermontEnglishBulldogRescue.com; www.BulldogsandBuddies.com, installed new outdoor covered kennels and air conditioning indoors. We had middle school students (Jake, Eli, Spencer, Luke) join us as volunteers as part of their Williston Central School 8th grade challenge, as well as adult volunteers Jessica, Nicole, Solange, and Rebecca who show up religiously in any weather to walk and visit our dogs.
We had a new volunteer come into the fold recently named Gina. Those who follow the page might remember my recent plea for help with a transport from Texas. Gina was the volunteer driver to pick up Dallas, Jada and Percy from a transport that was originally dropping in NY at noon and ended up dropping in White River JCT VT at 3:00 in the morning. Gina has since made another emergency run to the same local for Zeek and Xena. I can not tell you the stress that this takes off of me. In addition, Gina is fostering Dallas and meeting perspective adopters, all in her free time.
We have an amazing and long term volunteer named Amy who has not only been fostering Tyler for months as he awaits his forever home, but takes him out into the community for socialization and fun. Amy also volunteers tirelessly at our fundraiser events.
What a journey. The year was filled with ever changing elation, anticipation, tears, fear, anguish, self doubt, worry and pure joy. Our ongoing relationships with the people and families who contact us for help is of utmost importance to us. We are forming a giant quilt of purposeful, life changing events that together do change our world in important ways. We pride ourselves in caring, compassionate and respectful relationships with adopters, surrendering families, rescue partners and all the businesses we utilize. What a journey.
If I missed anything please forgive. Some days I am fortunate to remember where I live. And so another year opens to us. What do we hope for? In the big picture, a move to a larger property. One where there can be a designated facility for the dogs but where I would still live to provide 24/7 care. I do not know how that happens other than money. We do not have a lot of backing. There is no corporate sponsorship and a handful of regular and very much valued donors.
I hear complaints weekly about our adoption fee and have to bite pencils trying to be civil. We can not feed the best food, seek the best veterinary care and pull the neediest dogs cheaply. We do not want to bring in truckloads of dogs and adopt off the truck every weekend. That may be fine for some, but it is not us. What we do comes at a cost.
We would like for folks to sponsor one dog through its stay with us at $100 per month. That is akin to five days in a boarding facility. We would love to have regular deliveries of Zignature canned and kibble food from Chewy.com or Pet Food Warehouse. We would love a to have folks come and help with maintenance or lawn care.
We strive in 2018 as we did in 2017 to help more dogs. And so, as I reheat my pumpkin spice coffee for the forth time and listen to Butter, Lu and Peter snoring in their respective spots, I am deeply thankful to do what I do. I am thankful for all the folks who make it possible. I am grateful to those of you who entrusted us with your beloved dogs and to those who opened your homes to them through adoption. I am hopeful and excited to see what this new year brings.
Happy and Blessed New Year!
