TRISTAN’S ECHO ANGEL–PART TWO

I know you have quite a few rescue animals that are now part

of your family.  Can you tell us about

them?

I’d love to… Considering all my

children have fur, I could talk about them all day long!  My pack is almost a manageable size these

days, although much smaller than in the mid-90s.  There was a time in our early years when we

had over a dozen dogs and several dozen cats. 

That’s the point at which I realized the line between helping &

hoarding had become far too thin! 

We currently have 2 donkeys, 5

dogs, and 5 cats, along with 2 foster dogs and 2 foster kittens; all of which

are rescues.  Although each one has an

amazing story of rescue, I’ll just give you just the basics here. 

Dominick is 12, and was our

first donkey saved from a farm in north FL where he was being bullied by their

horses.  He was very well cared-for, but

the family knew he’d be better off on a farm without equine.  Dominick is a very sweet & sensitive boy

who loves affection.  Shortly after he

arrived, we realized Donkeys are pack animals and he needed a friend, so we

sought out a 2nd donkey to keep him company.  A local family with over 100 acres goes to

the auctions every month and buys all the pregnant female donkeys and sells

their offspring to afford to save more moms. 

Jasper came to us at only a few months old and is now almost 5 years

old.  Although he’s far less affectionate

with us, he & Dominick are best-buds. 

Little did we know then that donkeys can live to be 40+ years old and

will likely outlive us!

Amos is our oldest dog, a 14 yr

old flat-coat retriever, chow mix.  At a

few months old he was found outside a convenience store with an old man hugging

a bottle of wine.  The dog was begging

everyone for food.  Alan asked the man if

the dog was his, and the man said “You can have him for $5.”  Alan gave the man $5 and named him after his

grandfather, Amos Starnes.

Mai Peanut (Pnut for short) is a

puppy-mill puppy and at 12 years old has always been the most sickly of all the

dogs I’ve ever had.  She has Discoid

Lupus disease, incontinence, and a severe obsession with tennis balls.  She is also the love of our lives!  Pnut is the sweetest, most sensitive and

loyal dog anyone could ever hope for, and we have been very lucky to have her

in remission – for almost 2 years now!

Bella & Luna are twins and

are my 3 year old Echo Dogs.  Rescued

from a neglectful home in Nebraska, they are the reason I volunteer to help the

white shepherds of Florida.  In 2009, I

completed Echo Dogs’ adoption application stating that I wanted a bonded pair

of young females.  I didn’t care of their

color, or if they were mix-breeds, but preferred sisters. Our first two

shepherds, Barkley & Tasha were sisters and after they died – well into

their “teens”, we wanted another bonded pair. 

I was warned it could take a long time to find such a pair, but I

assured them I was patient.  Six long

months later, Laura with Echo Dogs contacted me about “the twins” and we jumped

at the chance to get them.  Laura drove

from Chicago to Tennessee, and we drove from FL to meet her and bring our girls

home.  Bella is also known as Sugar Belle

– the sweetest, smartest southern belle you’d ever meet.  Unlike her sister, Luna is about as loony as

they get, and has limited eyesight. 

She’s very untrusting, reserved, and skeptical, but loves me with her

entire heart.

Willow is the newest addition to

our pack – and also an Echo Dog.  She and

her sister were incarcerated at a FL animal control together and Echo Dogs

agreed to pull them both on a Sunday night. 

By 8 am Monday morning her sister was already dead, so a fellow rescue

angel rushed to the kennel and got Willow out immediately.  Willow’s foster had to leave town for a week,

so she came here – and never left! 

Despite her foster’s willingness to take her back, and then finding the

“perfect” adopter, Alan decided Willow was HIS dog, and so she is.

As for the cats, they mostly

just “show up”.  Leo’s mom was a pregnant

stray and we chose to keep Leo and adopted out his siblings.  He’s 13, and a long-haired orange tabby.  His mom, Baby Doll lived out her life here as

well.  Tigger is 7 and Sissy is 5 and are

both long-haired orange tabbies.  They

simply arrived at our home looking for food – probably from being dumped in the

orange grove next door.  Tater-Tot is 5

years old and is a short-haired orange tabby. 

I’ll get into his rescue story shortly. Truffles (sweet as chocolate)

was found trying to cross a busy road at 3 weeks old.  He was so tiny, he took up residence in a

Kleenex box and still had room to move around. 

He’s now 4 years old and is a grey tiger-stripe tabby.  All touched our hearts and became part of our

family instead of being adopted.  And as

you can see, it helps to be an orange tabby if you’re a cat looking for a home

in our neighborhood!

Two Foster Dogs:  Gee is a long-coat, pure-bred white German

Shepherd Dog.  He’s 5 years old,

neutered, micro-chipped and up to date on shots.  Gee is a very strong-willed dog and will need

an experienced handler that can continue his training.  Snoopy is a German Short-Haired Pointer,

Beagle mix.  She’s 2 years old, spayed,

micro-chipped and up to date on shots. 

Currently going through heartworm treatment, Snoopy will be available

for adoption on May 1st.  She

is a very sweet girl who loves belly-rubs, playing with balls and runs like the

wind.  She is great with kids & dogs,

but should not be in a family with cats or birds.

Two Foster Kittens:  As of March 25th are about two

weeks old, found in an abandoned home and currently with a loving foster being

bottle fed around the clock.  They will

be available for adoption on 4/28, or got to my vet for adoption.  Both long-haired, one is white with a few

charcoal spots and the other is a grey tabby.

Sometimes it’s a tough call on

who to keep and who to adopt out.  I

often think it would be better for them all to go to a family where they’d be

#1 or #2 rather than having to settle into such a large pack here with us.  And that’s what happens most often; we end up

keeping the “unadoptables” and letting the most balanced and friendly pets go

to other homes.  But every now and again,

some just worm their way into our hearts and we find a way to spread our love

just a little bit further.

 

            One of the

many benefits of adopting Tristan is that we’ve become friends.  You’ve told me some amazing, unforgettable

stories about the animals that you’ve rescued over the years.  Could you share a few of your more memorable

experiences with us?

I’ve often said that some of my

most treasured friends were brought to me by strays.  And that was certainly the case with you and

that big, goofy boy of yours!  Aside from

Tristan, one of my most memorable rescue experiences was my own kitty,

Tater-Tot; mostly because it gave me the opportunity to impact a young human

life as well as a pet.  So often as

rescuers, we get fixated on “saving the pet” and sometimes forget the human

aspect that goes along with it.  Or, we

become so hardened to humans because of all the abuse to pets we see at the

hands of humans.  But Tater-Tot was

different…

In 2008 I received a call from a

young girl about a cat she’d found while here on vacation with her family.  They were staying in the neighboring city of

Kissimmee at her aunt’s house and this orange tabby cat showed up, weak &

hungry.  Hannah made it her mission – on

her summer vacation – to help this kitty find a home.  Her call to me was to see if I’d take him

into Catnip Trails and get him off the street. 

Keep in mind that I receive hundreds of calls & emails like this

every month, and cannot take them all in. 

So, I told her that the right thing to do was to first see if he was

merely lost and try to locate his family. 

I created some flyers and had her post them in the neighborhood and drop

them off at their local vet.  I had

spoken to her mother who agreed to help and urged me to guide her daughter

through this process.  Hannah was about

10 years old. 

She spent the next week

interviewing her aunt’s neighbors and vets offices to see if she could find his

rightful owner, but sadly, no one who knew the cat she was calling Chester.  Throughout the week, she emailed me with

updates on her progress, letting me know all the steps she’d taken to find him

a home.  She was determined to not leave

Florida without this cat being safe.

The night before her family was

to go back north, she called me in despair. 

Her aunt would not continue caring for the cat and was going to turn it

loose once they left.  She was

heart-broken.   We realized we had an

opportunity to not only save a cat’s life, but to make a positive impression on

a young girl’s life.  If she left here

defeated at trying to help an animal in need, she’d possibly never try to help

again.  If she left here knowing all her

hard work paid off, maybe – just maybe – she’d be a rescuer one day. 

When I got there, Chester was in

a carrier on the back porch and Hannah was beaming from ear to ear.  Her mother took me aside and thanked me for

teaching Hannah the responsible way to help this cat, for making her “stick

with it”, and for showing her that hard-work pays off.   As I was loading Chester (soon to be

Tater-Tot) into my car, Hannah gave me the biggest, little-person hug ever,

with tears flowing down her face.  She

reached into her pockets and pulled out 3 one-dollar bills and a handful of change.  She told me it was what she and her sisters

had left over from their vacation money and she wanted to donate it to

Chester’s care.  Knowing I was about to

refuse the money, her mother put her hand on mine and said “I wish we could do

more – please take it.  You are the only

one who responded to Hannah’s plea for help.”

While Tater-Tot’s rescue had a

positive impact on a little girl’s life, it’s also had a huge impact on

mine.  “Toot” as he’s affectionately

called is the most awesome, loving, and special kitty we have.  And by special, I mean he’s my “Forest Gump”

of kitties.

One more story is of Red – a

senior golden retriever I found tied to a pole at the post office on a hot

Sunday afternoon.  I had just flown into

town and stopped to check my mail on the way home.  I didn’t see him on my way in, but coming

back out the door, there he sat, panting & frothing, parched from the

heat.  There was also a sheriff sitting

in his air-conditioned car in the parking lot. 

I walked up to the dog and he

wiggled and whined.  I checked his collar

for a tag – none.  The officer got out of

his car and asked if I was his owner which I declined.  He told me the dog had been there all day and

he had come back to wait for animal control who was called in to pick him

up.  I said “You know at his age, they’ll

just kill him.”  He nodded in

agreement.  I asked if he’d had any water

while he was there “all day”, and he replied that since animal control was

coming and we knew the inevitable, he saw no need to give him water. 

I unhooked his leash and led him

to my car.  The sheriff asked if I was

claiming the dog, to which I replied, “No, but I am taking him for a drink of

water.”  I put him in my car, drove home,

and never looked back.  Red River, as we

learned his name to be, was microchipped to a woman in NC.  Unfortunately, the contact information was

more than five years old and she never kept it up to date.  The phone number listed was no longer in

service and there was no forwarding number. 

Sleuth that I am, I took his picture and faxed it to every vet in my

county and to the county where she used to live in NC.  No one knew this dog.  I did a white pages search for her name and

called every listing – but no one claimed poor Red.  So, being that we live in one of the most

popular retirement areas of FL, I forged on to the obituaries, and there she

was.  She had died earlier in the week in

a neighboring city, and evidently her family decided they didn’t want her

dog.  I didn’t bother tracking them down,

and instead advertised him for adoption.

Red River, although a senior at

9 yrs old, adopted out very quickly to a wonderful family who still sends me

updates.  I’m so thankful that he’s now

being shown the love & respect he deserves. 

I’m sure it was very confusing for him to lose his mom, and then his

home, but dogs are so forgiving of us humans. 

They love unconditionally even after abandonment or abuse.  Red River is one of the lucky ones – he will

be cherished for the rest of his life!

            Joan, I’ve

said this so often to you and my friends in Echo Dogs, but I have so much

admiration for what people in rescue work do.  

I think most of us feel sympathy or sadness when we see a lost animal or

encounter a dog that is being neglected or abused.  How do you keep from utter despair when you

see so much suffering on a daily basis?  

Do you have any suggestions how the rest of us can help animals in

need?     

 

Unfortunately, Sharon there is

no magic potion to ward off the despair, and ultimate burn-out all rescuers

experience from time to time.  I feel it

in my heart, and sometimes it takes its toll on my health as well.  Stress is very powerful, yet that’s what we,

as rescuers all feel when we look at the hundreds of faces we know we can’t

help in time.  I sometimes feel like I’m

having a heart attack, but know it’s merely my heart breaking… once again.  But that’s not what it’s all about.  If we focused on the “RIP” albums (yes, there

are RIP albums to pay our respect to those we were unable to help), we’d never

be able to continue our work. 

It takes a great deal of strength

and courage to forge past those albums and onto creating the “Success Stories”

that keep us going.  And Tristan is a

prime example of one of my most triumphant rescues.  Not a week goes by that I don’t look at

pictures of him, Oliver, Riley, Baroness, Josie, Lucy, Ginger, Bear, Buddy,

Sugar & Spice, Peaches, Kodi & Gracie, Zorro, Muffin and hundreds more

that were saved because we force ourselves to continue - despite the

losses.  I can only hope that those whose

help didn’t come in time, did not expire in vain; that somehow, someone’s life

was touched enough to make a difference in the life of another pet.

Aside from opting to adopt,

there are so many ways people can help animals in need.  Fostering is probably the single, most-valued

service rescuers need.  Without foster

homes available, rescues cannot pull a pet without putting him/her in

boarding.  And saving one from death just

to have him/her sit in a kennel for months is not rescue.  Foster homes provide a temporary residence

while a permanent home is found.  They

further evaluate the pet’s behavior with humans and other pets, and provide

training when necessary.  Mostly, they

provide a loving environment for a pet to blossom in, and cash-in on lots of

sloppy kisses!  Most rescues (Catnip Trails

and Echo Dogs included) pay for all medical expenses while the pet is in

foster, so the only expense is usually food. 

Many people say they could never foster because it would be too hard to

let the pet go to a forever home.  I find

that curious, and although I too am a “failed foster” by adopting Willow, I’d

much rather see a pet leave me to go to a good home, than never have had a

chance in the first place. 

Other ways to help include:

Always opt

to adopt instead of shop for your next pet; and remember a pet is a

lifetime commitment.  Almost 40% of

the pets in shelters are pure-breds. 

Not all shelter pets come with problems – many are there due to the

unfortunate circumstances, or ignorance of their former families.

Always have

your pet spayed/neutered to stop reproduction.  Having just one litter increases your

female pet’s chance of cancer.  Not

having a male pet neutered increases his chance of cancer by an astounding

90%.  And with over 4 million pets

being put down every year in our country, over-population has become an

epidemic.

Ensure your

pet always has a microchip or wears a tag.

Volunteer

your time at a local facility or no-kill shelter.  Most shelters won’t ask you to scoop

poop or clean kennels – many just need dog walkers and people to play with

the pets to further their social skills. 

What’s more fun that playing with dogs & cats?  Others could use help posting animals in

need, providing transports (usually 60 miles or less), or simple office

work.

Take your

dog to obedience training.  He

doesn’t understand the rules until you show him, and an abundance of dogs

are surrendered for simple obedience issues that could have been avoided

with just one obedience class.

Never, ever

offer pets as “free to good home”. 

Ask for a donation, find a rescue, or use your local SPCA if you

have no other choice in surrendering your pets.  Free to good home pets often meet a fate

worse than death.

Teachers:  Invite a Humane Education speaker into

your classrooms.  If you’re in

central FL, I’d be happy to speak at your school.

Vote!  Support legislation that protects

animals.

If you find

a lost pet, stop and pick it up. 

Then contact a local rescue for resources on finding its rightful

owner or a shelter to take it to. 

Although shelter-life often has a bleak outcome, it certainly

offers better odds than starvation, traffic, or worse.

Teach your

children the humane treatment of animals.

Report

abuse, chaining/tethering, and neglect to your local officials.

Keep your

donations local!  The Humane Society

of the United States shares less than 1% of their donations with shelters

that actually house animals.  Find a

local chapter or a no-kill rescue – we are all over-extended with pets and

vet bills, and short on funds. If you cannot afford to donate money, bring

them an extra bag of pet food, towels, collars, leashes or pet toys. 

If there’s a

family in your neighborhood or social circle with pets and you know they

are financially struggling, bring them an extra bag of pet food.  Help your community keep their pets in

their homes and out of shelters. 

Seniors are most often in need of a little extra help – and need

their pets more than ever in their golden years.

Become

familiar with the “No-Kill

Equation” and other shelter reform documents through the No Kill

Advocacy Center.  Don’t be afraid to

ask your county animal facilities if they follow such protocol, and help

promote the No Kill vision when possible.

Remember,

you don’t have to adopt every pet to make a difference, just join the

village and get involved on some level.

Joan, thank you so much for

agreeing to this interview.  You are an

amazing person and I feel proud to call you my friend.   Tristan is sleeping right now on his bed,

utterly relaxed with all four feet in the air, and you made this possible for

him—and for dogs and cats (and donkeys) beyond counting.   My readers interested in learning more about

Joan’s rescue, Catnip Trails, and Echo Dogs White German Shepherd Rescue can

visit their websites here.   http://www.catniptrails.com/       http://www.echodogs.org/

May 5, 2012