A Rescue Story

You may recall that on Thursday's I take the calls for Lab Rescue, from the 'owner give up line.' A few weeks ago I got a call from a Realtor who had come upon 2 Labs being kept outside in a 5 x 8 pen. He described the conditions as deplorable, and used similar words to describe their owner. With the heat, Mr. Realtor felt that it was a dire situation for the pair, and he asked the owner to give the two dogs, named Gunnar and Lucy to him. Of course he wouldn't. Money talks. Mr. Realtor ended up buying the pair from him - For how much, I've no idea. 

~Lucy~

Mr. Realtor immediately took them to his vet, and they were given check ups, bathed, nails trimmed, and appropriate vaccines were given ... It was also discovered that Lucy was expecting puppies in a couple of weeks. Not sure of what to do next, Mr. Realtor called Lab Rescue - And I returned his call. 

~Gunnar~

**I will add here that my role in answering 'the owner give up line,' is return all calls and to decide if Lab Rescue is right for a particular dog -- I get photos and ask about 2 pages worth of questions covering everything from favorite treats to last vet visit. All that information is put into a report that I send to a coordinator who gathers any vet records, and arranges boarding with vets offices and other coordinators for the dogs to come in to the rescue. I tell the owners it may take 4-6 weeks. Dogs in shelters have priority over dogs being given up from owners. 

~Gunnar, left and Lucy on the right~

But, back to my story .... I explained to Mr. Realtor what my volunteer role was. I told him that my coordinator was out of town, and a weekend was coming up, and even though I knew boarding space was a premium, I would do my best and add an 'urgent' to my report. Which I did do - I sent everything to the medical and foster home coordinators that typically don't work on the weekends. 

Meanwhile,  Mr. Realtor assured me that he could manage having Gunnar and Lucy at his home, where he has a cattle dog, a geriatric German Shepherd, and a Lab mix. 

At first, Mr. Realtor seemed to have everything under control. The text messages were positive, and I was optimistic that time was on our side. Mr. Realtor even sent me a video of the pair. 

But unfortunately Mr. Realtor quickly realized he was in over his head because his dogs were not accepting of Gunnar and Lucy. He told me he thought he could keep them all separated and safe. I'm still not sure if or how he did it. All I know is that I got the below text on Sunday afternoon. 

I'll admit I had a moment of panic thinking about 2 dogs coming to our house - And one of them expecting puppies - It sent this whole situation to a whole other level. I was able to talk Mr. Realtor through everything and calm his worries and concerns because I knew behind the scenes it was already being worked on. 

Thankfully on Monday, the coordinator was able to arrange for Gunnar to be both boarded and neutered, and she found a foster home for him too. 

The Foster Home Coordinator also found a foster home for Lucy - one that specifically takes expectant Mom's and their puppies. 

The pieces truly all came together. I could not have been happier or more relieved. And it was just in time. Lucy arrived at her foster home on Tuesday and on Friday she gave birth to 9 puppies. It was a very rough labor for Lucy and three pups were stillborn - she finished having her little ones at vets office because she was having such a hard time. 

We are all sad that 3 little ones were lost. But the thought of Lucy giving birth outside in the heat, and needing vet care during the delivery would have probably meant more would not have survived. Perhaps not even Lucy.  

But thankfully and gratefully, Lucy has six healthy puppies and I'm told that she is being a great mom!  

And Gunnar has already found a new forever home too.  

Eight lives have been saved. ❤