“Happy Tails Rescue” is a non-profit run by a stay-at-home mom and her husband. It is the ONLY rescue in the county and also the surrounding 4 counties. There is NO Humane Society or SPCA. Unwanted pets are thrown out on the side of the road very frequently (including litters of puppies). We drive 1 ½ hours (one way) every other week to get dogs spayed or neutered because the vets in the area refused to reduce costs for the rescue. Most dogs are at the Sokoll’s home which allows them to get to know the dogs very quickly. After over 100 rescues, we are very good judges of doggy character. We have two young children and therefore, do not allow any aggressive dogs in the rescue. We have 3 cats so we can test each dog’s response to cats. We also have 2 big labs, a Great Dane, a Chihuahua, and a lab/pit mix. Basically, our house is puppy boot camp and a new dog learns very quickly how to act (Lesson 1- “Someone really does care about me”. Lesson 2- “The big dogs won’t eat me”. Lesson 3- “Don’t step on small dogs”. Lesson 4- “Food is plentiful here, I will never be hungry again!”, Lesson 5- “Don’t mess with the white cat!”). But, most importantly all dogs that enter the rescue feel safe at our house and happily await the time that they get to meet their “Forever Family”.
The Pound
“Happy Tails Rescue” was started in July of 2009 by Richard and Lisa Sokoll after their first trip to the local dog pound. The dog pound consists of 10 open-air kennels surrounded by two locked fences and covered with tarps so that the dogs cannot be seen. The pound is located in front of a sewage-treatment plant (sounds like a vacation home, doesn’t it??) In order to view the dogs, one has to make an appointment through the police station and because of the inconvenience very few adoptions occur. On their first trip to the pound, they found a small dog that was abandoned at the pound. Because of the “rules” the dog was not allowed into the pound and was not supposed to be fed. “Lucy” survived for months, until Lisa found her in the parking lot and brought her to the vet. Unfortunately, “Lucy” was not the only dog dropped-off at the pound and left to suffer. Many are shot outside of the pound by passers-by having fun doing target practice.
Gus
Gus a Month Later
Dogs that are picked up in the city limits are brought to the pound and euthanasia is supposed to be 7 days later. Often their stay is much longer than 7 days, and the poor souls are covered with mange and half starved before they get put out of their misery. The third dog that “Happy Tails Rescue” pulled from the pound was a Great Dane mix that was going to be euthanized within hours. He weighed 33 pounds and was 6 months old. He was too weak to walk and we knew that there was little chance that he would make it but we were unable to walk away from him without trying. We brought him home and bathed him as he just laid there, too weak to even lift his head. We fed him every 2 hours and found that he had not lost the will to live. He ate ravenously and stole our hearts as we watched as he gained weight and strength. He was named Gus and was adopted by a family in Rhode Island.
The Root of the Problem:
Jackson, Alabama is a very rural area that has very ignorant mentalities about animals. We have heard it more than once that boy dogs are preferred because they don’t come home pregnant. And because of that, most of the dogs that are thrown out are females. Backyard breeders are unable to sell the females and they are given away or discarded. What are the children in the area learning?? Boys can reproduce as much as they want without consequences.!?! Happy Tails Rescue does NOT adopt out dogs or puppies that have not been spayed or neutered. The vet that we use does pediatric spayes/neuters and is able to fix a puppy as long as it weighs over 2 pounds. When the dogs are adopted they are fully vetted with vaccinations, deworming, heartworm testing/prevention, flea/tick prevention, and spayed or neutered.
“Happy Tails Rescue” Meets “Laura’s Hope Rescue”:
Because of a nationwide email from Happy Tails asking for help (we were desperate for help with over 30 rescue dogs at our house) the two rescues met. Laura’s Hope was willing to help us find homes for our pups and Happy Tails was very grateful to have help (to say the least)! Happy Tails quickly realized that Laura’s Hope was founded by very kind and caring people who have the same ideals as Happy Tails. We trust Laura’s Hope Rescue with the pups that we have put so much time and energy into saving. We have found that with the right resources, dogs that are considered worthless here can find a forever home with a caring family up north. We also discovered that vetting the pups can be done much cheaper in Alabama and more adopters are available in Pennsylvania. Professional Rescue transport services are available to safely deliver our pups north to Laura’s Hope Rescue. We have already sent 15 pups in two different trips. Of those, 8 have been adopted with 5 pending. The homes are carefully screened and we are confident that the pups are adopted by loving families. We look forward to working with Laura’s Hope Rescue frequently in the future in order to save as many dogs as we can.
Lisa and Richard Sokoll
(Founders of “Happy Tails Rescue” in Jackson, AL)
No comments:
Post a Comment