Why We Rescue: Part 3

Last night I took the kids to their first transport.
Big New Mexico transports come into Pup Tub, and they are an experience. I always leave these transports a little more emotional.
It's because there are so many dogs...good dogs that would have been killed had we not stepped up. It's because there are so many people...men and women that are spending their Saturday night washing dirty dogs, cleaning piss and vomit, picking ticks out of fur, kissing scared faces...instead of watching college football or having dinner with friends. It's beautiful.

Matt always comes, but he had a (rare) boys night planned, so it was just me this time.
And I took the kids. They watched the van pull up, filled to the brim with kennels (some with 2, 3, 4 pups inside them.) Then watched a second van pull up, filled with even more kennels. They watched the dogs put their feet on the ground - many for the first time in 10 hours or more.
Some of them come off a transport wagging their tails and licking the hands that open their kennel doors.
Some cower in the back, terrified to come out.
ALL of them are immediately loved by a whole group of people.

Fosters claim the dogs they chose online, which is sometimes more difficult than it sounds! The pictures shelters send never do a dog justice - they are ALL cuter than they look in the pictures we choose them from. But some look like entirely different dogs!
We bathe them in the tubs, scrubbing layers of dirt, feeling old scars, checking for ticks and fleas. Sometimes the dogs shy away, frightened. Sometimes they lean in, enjoying the touch.
We rub them dry, use the blow dryer if they aren't too scared. We baby talk to them in soft, low voices when they're timid and hold them close when they shake.
We take them home, feed them and give them a warm, soft bed. We comfort them when they cry, calm them when they pace, and smile to ourselves, content when they finally sigh and fall asleep...safe.

We show them kindness like they haven't seen in a long time...maybe ever. And it's a privilege to do so.

Tessa and Asher enjoyed the transport. They both love dogs and love being a foster family. This was just another piece of what we do to them, and they weren't touched like I always am. I think growing up in it gives it less of an impact. On the other hand, I think growing up in it will make it more of a natural thing to do.

We rescue for our kids. To spread love and kindness, to teach compassion for animals.

(Why We Rescue: Part 1)
(Why We Rescue: Part 2)

Photo credit to Krista Romero.