Hands Across the Nation

Don’t you love the idea of people metaphorically joining hands across the nation to help animals?  Through a recent experience I learned that this really does happen.  And I realized an encouraging truth:  The rescue efforts we make at HSAPL are, in fact, one small part of a larger movement that is going on around us; a movement in which individual organizations network to find options for homeless animals everywhere.  My education began on an ill-fated trip to Arkansas a few weeks ago….

The Arkansas adventure was a birthday celebration for my mother.  However, the trip did not go according to plan at all.  As a matter of fact, our timing couldn’t have been worse!  Tornadoes, hail storms and floods hit the Midwest shortly after we arrived.  We pulled up to our vacation cabin in the deep woods, just as the sky prepared to let loose with another round of rain and wind.  As I stepped from the car I was greeted by a friendly dog who trotted over to say hi.  The sweet boxer mix wagged his stumpy tail and offered his head to be petted.  At first I assumed he belonged to the cleaning woman who was preparing the cabin for our arrival.  However, upon closer examination I could see this dog was not well fed.  His ribs were clearly outlined and his fur seemed stretched too tightly over his hips.  The cleaning lady told me that the dog had been dumped the week before and had been surviving ever since on the crumbs provided by tourists staying in the cabin.  I did what anyone reading this post would have done:  I blinked back tears and determined to rescue this dog.

            Jasper with one of his new family members

And so began the effort to find a home for Jasper, as he came to be called.  My first plan was to take him to a local no-kill rescue organization and see if they could place him.  “Local” turned out to be two hours away at the Good Shepherd Humane Society in Eureka Springs.  This organization is the only humane animal organization which exists in that part of the state.  It not only takes in the usual number of abandoned animals, but due to its location in the heart of puppy mill country, it has been slammed by an inordinate number of dogs dumped by the puppy mills as a result of the recent economic downturn.

It isn’t surprising that Good Shepherd didn’t have room for Jasper.  What did surprise me was the enthusiastic helpfulness shown by Diane, a rescue coordinator who works with the shelter, and Marcie, one of the technicians there.  I had never met either of these women, but I felt a kinship right away.  Both of them got to work helping me figure out what could be done with Jasper.  Arrangements were made for Marcie to foster him until transportation could be set up for his onward journey to Florida.  Since the shelters in Arkansas were overloaded that seemed to be the best alternative.  Back in Florida, friends at HSAPL were already sending the word out that Jasper needed a home.

Within a few days a perfect home had been found for Jasper in Jensen Beach.  As plans progressed, complete strangers opened their hearts and their homes to aid in the process of getting Jasper out of Arkansas and down to his new family.  A week after I flew home, Jasper made the journey to Florida by car; driven by a young man who decided to combine a vacation with transporting a needy dog to a new home.  This was networking at its finest!

Jasper is now happily settled with his new family, adored by three doting boys and two doting parents.  The teamwork required in coordinating his journey was truly an example of people reaching “across the nation” to help an animal in need.  What a wonderful reminder that those of us involved in rescue work are part of a grand brotherhood dedicated to saving lives—feline, canine, and more.