Hello there and welcome to the Friends Fur Life NE web page. Poor a cold drink, have yourself a seat and hang with me for a bit while I talk to you about this rescue.
The core of this particular rescue was started way back in the 20th century and will be celebrating its 11th anniversary soon. If you don’t know a lot about southern shelters, let me fill you in a bit. Unlike most shelters in the north, southern shelters don’t keep their dogs around for long. That’s a fairly nice way to say they have a high euthanasia rate. Friends Fur Life TN and NE are working together to get as many of these homeless dogs to loving homes in the north.
Let me tell you a bit about me and why I am doing this. I’ve worked rescue for a short time now, transporting dogs, conducting home visits etc and through this I became so much more aware of the plight of these dogs. Late last fall I was still a 3 dog mom but I knew I needed someone else in my life. I spent months applying and searching for just the right dog, but nothing panned out. It just wasn’t meant to be.
Just prior to Christmas 2006 I was working with a rescue contact and asked her to keep a look out for a smaller dog that would fit in my home. She sent me a couple of links to shelter web sites and since it was very late on a work night, I was going to close the ole’ lap top down and head to bed, the web sites could wait until morning.
Something made me sit my butt back down and start clicking on the web sites she gave me. They were soooo depressing; I spent the rest of the evening in tears. I’m not here to go into why I cried, but let me tell you my eyes opened that night to the conditions these dogs must survive to be rescued.
Just as I was about to close the last site when these eyes caught mine and I just stared. She was a female terrier, about 40 pounds (not exactly the small dog I was looking for!) and due to be euthanized in less then 48 hours. Taking a dog directly from a shelter is a huge risk when you have other dogs at home, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to take her directly from a shelter and transport her to the north. But alas, it was meant to be.
I woke early the next morning and the first thought that came to mind was “Maizie ~ her name is going to be Maizie”. From then the race was on to get her out of the shelter quickly. Let me tell you it’s not as easy as it seems and after much prayer, pacing and crying, Maizie Ranae was rescued 20 minutes prior to being euthanized. One week later this scruffy little bundle bounced off of the transport truck ready for her new life. She is out mascot on the home page. Talk about the best Christmas present in the world!!
So here we are, trying to get more “Maizie’s” home. These dogs are not all picture perfect, pick of the litter; if they were they probably wouldn’t be here. But they are all in great need of someone to love them and give them a safe, warm and happy home. With some patience and perseverance you can earn the deepest gratitude you’ve ever experienced. Not only will you feel wonder but you will have a loving companion for the length of their lives.
