Sunday, April 1, 2012

Animal Rescue (A to Z)


Woohoo! Today starts day one of the 2012 Blogging from A to Z challenge! Every day in April (except Sundays) participants post about anything related to the corresponding letter of the alphabet. More than 1400 people are joining in. Pretty damn neat, right? This is my first year and gotta say I'm a little nervous about some of the letters. Should be fun though! *waves hi everyone on my team!*

I couldn't think of anything to do with the letter A that I wanted to write about. All that kept popping into my head was Apples and while they're pretty they that was about all I had on apples. Finally decided to go with Animal Rescue since that's what I do and what takes up a big chunk of my time. 


It all started way back in 2004 when I lost my blasted mind and created Palisades Animal Rescue. One of my cats disappeared and I went checking all of the animal shelters around here for him with no luck. After 3 weeks and 2 days with no luck I started up the rescue and brought home 3 mother cats and 13 kittens all under 6 weeks old. The next day my cat came strolling back home like he'd never been gone. It's been nearly 8 years now (as of May 25th) and there have been over 300 cats, dogs and mice through our doors. We opened an adoption center 3 years ago where most of our animals live in open, non cage rooms. We're on Facebook and there are a bunch more photos of the center over there if you'd like to check em out. 

Our group pull animals from area county/state run shelters that euthanize due to space limits, minor illness, breed, etc. In our county run shelter alone over 4000 animals are put to sleep each year. Last time I checked nation-wide it was over 4 million cats and dogs per year! Pretty overwhelming and why we encourage people to get their pets fixed when. Many areas will have low cost spay/neuter programs. 

If you're thinking of getting a new pet you should definitely give rescue a try. Most animals will be up to date on their vaccines and routine veterinary care, be spayed/neutered, and even microchipped! We get all kinds of animals. Purebreds and loveable mutts. Cats, dogs, turtles. Mice, rabbits, birds. You can even find farm animals looking for non-eating them homes. Not only will you find your new best friend but you'll also help save another life because the rescue will be able to pull another pup or kitten from the area shelters. A pretty wonderful thing! 

One great place to start your search is Petfinder where most rescue will have their pets listed and you can search by area/pet characteristics and even by pet name!

 
All of the pictures are from animals that have been through the rescue or are in it now. The pup is actually my dog Margarite. I adopted her from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah back in 2003. The room pictures are from our adoption center in Cary, NC.



26 comments:

  1. What a fantastic post!

    I think what you do is amazing and admirable. The animals all look so relaxed and happy too. One of my German Shepherds is a rescue and I couldn't have asked for a better dog. I think everyone should consider rescuing in the first instance.

    Thanks for sharing and good luck with the rest of the challenge!

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    1. Thanks Denise! We try to keep them happy :) They're a great group of kitties and pups. Love German Shepherds! One of my dogs is supposed to have some in him but I don't see it. I've met some lovely ones over the years though!

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  2. First of all LOVE the blog name! I have 6 rescues in my home right now. 3 dogs, 2 ferrets & 1 cat, also have a 4th dog that was a gift. Your rescue has a very nice set up. Very clean & tidy.

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    1. Thanks Vanessa :) You've got a nice little herd there! Have never had a ferret before but have met a few. They're an interesting lot.

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  3. YEAHHHH to Animal Rescue!!! Both my kitties were rescues... the only way to be a pet person, I think!!!


    Violet @ Revolution ~ Evolution

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    1. Aw yay for rescue kitties! We LOVE the kitties here :) All of my herd but the turtles were rescue babies. Thanks for coming over Violet!

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  4. Aww, that's so very sweet. It makes me wish I had room for a pet, :( But one day, when I do, I'll definitely look into a rescue animal.

    Lovely post, and good luck with the rest of A-Z.

    K.S. @ Adjective, Not a Noun

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    1. Aw. I hope you get to have a pet one day. They're wonderful to come home to and spend time with. I can't imagine life without mine! Even the turtle :) Thanks for coming over!

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  5. So glad to find you through the AZ Challenge! I'm in the process of rounding up our neighborhood feral cats and getting them spayed and neutered. I have 9 living on my back porch at the present time. It will be fun to keep in touch with you and read your posts!

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    1. Hey Betsy! That's wonderful you're getting the ferals in for spaying. Such an important thing and I know a huge challenge. I've got a couple ferals here that I'm working with. Hope the trapping and vet visits go well!

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  6. Wonderful post, and what a wonderful thing to do. Our 4 cats are rescues and I'm glad we have them.

    Claire's Writing Log
    Twitter: @ClaireGoverts

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    1. Aw yay for more rescue kitties! Aren't they the best?!

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  7. I applaud you for your important work with animals. I can't think of a better "A" word and wonder what was wrong with my brain that I didn't think of it. I decided, on a bit of a whim this morning, to try the A-Z challenge. I'm 1676, w-a-a-a-y down there. What number are you?

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    1. Hi Janice! Glad you're joining in on the challenge. I do believe I'm #1049 or right about there.

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  8. Aww I think this might be my favorite A topic for the day :) Plus, KITTIES!

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    1. Yay Kitties! 5 of the herd are helping me blog right now. The little monsters :)

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  9. Great idea for a theme! I might need to steel that for R. :)

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    1. Thank ya! Would love to see another rescue post. They're always so nice to see!

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  10. What a lovely theme and big round of applause to you for starting an animal rescue and a shelter ! It's good to know that all these adorable animals have found new homes because of you :)

    Looking forward to your posts; mine can be found at http://dazedreflection.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks :) They've all been great babies and I'm glad I could help them find their new homes! We have about 20 right now looking. So not too bad!

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  11. What a great story! I wrote my own post about animal rescue (coming up under D for donations). My roommate is also doing A to Z and I kind of hope she doesn't find this because we are housing 4 rescued cats and regularly keep track of 5 strays outside. The last thing she needs to discover is the idea of starting our own rescue ;)

    Keep up your amazing work!

    xoxo Lloralye

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    1. Oooh. Looking forward to your rescue post! Sounds like she's already on her way ;) Love little kitty herds!

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  12. Wow! That's a lot of cats. I just have one, so far, but I am working on my husband to get Ned a "friend." All of the cats I've had have either come from shelters or have been rescued from the mean streets. It's crazy how people treat animals as if they are disposable, so I'm glad there are people like you in the world helping to give them a good home!

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    1. Aw, Ned definitely needs a buddy! It is amazing some people thing of animals. Mine are part of the family and I can't imagine it any other way! Thanks for giving shelter and street babies a home! Good luck convincing the hubby :)

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  13. My weakness are animals. I have volunteered at our local NO kill shelter for many years and donate money as well. I have rescued animals off the streets too. When I was a little girl I wanted to move in the country with lots of land and rescue all the abandoned, abused, sick,etc... cats & dogs, etc.... to give them a safe andhappy home full of love. Best of luck to you!

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    1. Aw. Thanks for volunteering with the animals in your area. That's wonderful!

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