Too Many To Thank

We're full.

Those are the words you never want to hear from the pound. We hear them way too often here in this part of the country.


We are lucky to have a pound that reaches out to us when they are full and have to begin euthanizing. There are many municipalities that are not so lucky. This openness allows us to save more lives.


Sadly, the pound can fill up overnight if too many strays are picked up by Animal Control and too many animals are surrendered by their owners. When that happens, we get a call from the pound advising us that they will have to start euthanizing at a certain time if we can't get some dogs pulled. Sometimes we have as little as thirty minutes.


When that call comes in, we switch into panic mode. We drop whatever we are doing (usually working) and begin emailing, messaging, Facebooking, and calling whoever we can to try to find foster space. The problem is that we rarely have open foster space. Our regular foster homes generally pull whenever they can, so they stay full. So, often, when these calls come in, there is little we can do. We generally pull a few and place them into already overburdened foster homes, but that is rarely enough to save lives.

Yesterday we got the call at 2:30pm: the pound was completely full and we had until 3pm. Those of us too far to make it to the pound in time began emailing, Facebooking, texting, and calling. For two solid hours, I was in constant communication with other volunteers and rescuers via all of these methods. Michelle and Annette headed immediately to the pound where they were joined by folks from Solstice Sanctuary and All-American Mutt Rescue. Our Lost & Found Hotline Coordinator, Shawne, and her husband also jumped in their truck to head to the pound and help transport whatever babies we might find space for. Kelly left work as soon as possible and drove straight to the pound. They took the list of names - those that were scheduled to be euthanized - and walked through the kennels taking photos, temperament testing, and responding back to those of us at home.

By 4:30pm, we had pulled 8 dogs between our 3 organizations. No adoptable dogs had to be euthanized due to space. Yesterday was a good day.

I'm not sure any of us can ever express how grateful we are to the staff and volunteers of Bedford Humane Society, All-American Mutt Rescue, Solstice Sanctuary, and the Bedford County Animal Shelter (BCAS). Thank you to everyone who reached out to us for help, everyone who drove to the pound, agreed to take on yet one more foster, sent out emails, cross-posted on Facebook. We say thank you.

All that we really need, however, is the gratitude in the eyes of the babies that didn't have to die yesterday:

Pearl

Meka

Chester

Holly

AJ

These babies are safe, but there are many more still waiting. If you would like to be a part of this amazing and rewarding work, email sunshine@bhsva.org.