The Great Snow-vacuation - February 2010
The great Snow-vacuation during the Snowpocalypse of 2010... or ...The Great Dog Bailout of 2010...or just another day in the life of a rescuer. . . and why every one who cares about homeless dogs and cats is essential, and why we need you right now. . .
Are you inside next to a roaring fire, with a cup of hot chocolate, or perhaps something stronger, grumbling about another snowstorm and all the shoveling you are going to have to do? Or perhaps you are looking foward to another day off work, to catch up on reading, or paperwork, or a hobby you almost never seem to have time for anymore? Is your pet snoring softly on a warm comfy bed? Did a thought cross your mind of animals who have no warm bed, and did you feel sorry for them, or worry about them?
We often think about the dogs HART rescues, and think, thank goodness at least those dogs are warm and safe. Until they're not. One of the kennels where we board many dogs lost power. Nancy Tarr, our Director of Animal Programs, went by to check on the dogs and discovered it was so cold inside, the water buckets were starting to freeze. She gave the dogs extra bedding to keep them as warm as possible and then started working furiously to make alternate arrangements to keep them safe, calling on several dedicated volunteers for assistance.
Jane Wiggs, Vern Horne, Mike Fonte and Nancy met at Greenbriar to pick up crates and strategize, then Jane and Vern headed off to rent a propane heater with 2 tanks. They caravaned to the kennel where Beth Nelson and her incredible kids, Jessica and Matt were waiting for them in the "dogburban."
Once there, Nancy, Beth, Jane, Jess, and Matt set to work loading dogs into the warm cars while Mike and Vern (our heros) set up the heater and carried two 170lb tanks across the frozen snowy yard. Vern and Mike blasted that heater for a solid two hours while the others moved the remaining 4 dogs (all heavy coated and hearty) into the smaller room with new beds and new warm bedding. When they left, the runs were warm and dry and each of the four dogs had a bone to keep him busy.
The dogs in the cars were delivered to emergency foster families (thank you Kelly Shoup for helping to find these angels and for helping with transport of Dash). Thanks to this team's dedication and love for these dogs, including Meg Hart who helped to coordinate everything and everyone (and special thanks to Beth and Jess for working extra shifts at the vet to secure 4 spots for our dogs), we were able to move 11 dogs out of the kennel AND find a place for the more recent rescues that were supposed to go there.
Another long day in the life of a rescuer, but well worth it to know that the dogs are safe, warm and dry. It was only Tuesday and another storm has hit us, but we have already saved four new dogs this week, and we are determined to be here for those who need us.
Every one of these people made a difference...the power of one can make all the difference!
And here is how YOU can make a difference: Last weekend we had 5 adoption events scheduled (3 dog and 2 cat), and we had to cancel all of them because of the snow storm. The weekend before, we held the events during a snowstorm and attendance was very light. That means we have received almost no adoption fees for weeks to offset our expenses, yet the cost of caring for our dogs and cats continues, including the expense of treating Scooter (who is making a wonderful recovery). At the same time we are being inundated by yet more requests from shelters to take dogs, including one dog that was going to be euthanized only because it had a broken leg, something that is easily treatable. We need funds to help us through this very trying time. We know that these are difficult times for so many people, and the recent snow storms have caught all our attentions and taken a great deal of our time just . . . coping. Unfortunately, the snow has not halted dogs and cats being abandoned or needing rescue. In fact, because of it, many of the shelters we deal with are inundated and begging for our help.
Any size donation you can make is welcome and helpful. Donations are tax deductible and can be made by PayPal or by mailing a check to our office. Names will appear on this page thru mid-March 2010. PayPal donors: Please click the link below and put your dedication in the "Instructions for HART" box.
A HUGE Thank You to our donors!
- Leslee Eldard
- Amy Pellegrino
- Marylin Shaikh, in memory of Momo, who passed away today
- Cheryl Kennedy
- Jill Sherwood
- Katherine Sharp
- Cynthia Tidler
- Mark and Diane Harris and Roxy (formerly Sascha) our adopted HART dog
- Tiffany Tully
- Patti Schaeffer
- Linda Goudreau
- Valli Watson
- Prabal Saxena
- Rena Loesch
- Heidy Barrientos
- Valerie Bond
- Julie Lu
- Carolyn Cyran
- Juliet Koback
- Beth Gilligan, , "In celebration of 6 years with our sweet Ernie (formerly Buddy). Great years with a great, loving dog. Thank you for all you do!"
- Teresa Rubin
- Eleanor & Lynx, a HART alumnus and greatly loved
- Ann Reed
- Sunny Kim
- Ursula Uszynski
- Rachael Hackett
- Cynthia Mattingly, "This donation is made to celebrate and show our appreciation to HART. Tom and I adopted Buster, a black lab mix and the best dog ever, five years ago today. Thank you to all the HART volunteers, keep up the great work, it was worth it to us!"
- Jennifer Wolfe
- Marcia Shields
- Anand Daga
- The GMU PhD Crew, in honor of the Rachel Gelman-Charlton family
Note: Corrections may be sent to the webmaster.