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shape our own realities. The good news is that after much assessment and searching through
never-ending applications, we were lucky enough to find what we felt comfortable was a
match…a calm, pleasant, self-employed gentleman from Connecticut who would have the dog
by him nearly all day, every day, living next to acres of his conservation land. He had the
sympathy factor as well, (verified through his veterinarian), that he had tragically lost two long
time Shepherd companions within the last year due to two disparate types of cancer and was well
deserving of a fresh beginning – just like our canine friend. He made the trip up to meet the
shepherd and the rest is history!

Returning for a moment to the more serious side of the rescue process, the true effort and
conscientious involvement of the rescue community, we witnessed in our initial venture into
their inner working was enlightening. It is highlighted by the omnipresent fact that, in spite of
numerous public message and rescue organizations’ efforts, the on-going lack of sufficient spay
and neutering still fuels the rescues, fills the shelters, and still necessitates the thousands of
euthanasias annually with their horror, thus proving conclusively the issue is not being
sufficiently addressed. The predilections of a voracious consuming public always searching for
the new and different, have only added to the burden by their insatiable search for the new and
exotic. Witness “designer dogs” which have sprung up and continue to proliferate, creating a
choice of myriad coats and colors and physical and temperamental attributes. Where there is a
niche for a market, some entrepreneur will fill it. But who will take the old, the less beautiful, or
the slightly infirm who might have medical care and effort spent on them in lieu of a shiny new
puppy…who will in the course of time inevitably itself become infirm and possibly less
beautiful, and if lucky, will have endeared itself to its family sufficiently to end its life peacefully
with them?

As an epilogue to this coverage of our placement experiences, we have added the following link
with the permission of One Tail at a Time, to a gritty opinion piece entitled “Letter from a
Shelter Manager” taken from their website, penned by an anonymous author. This article is a
visceral exercise in what it means to face the horrific work of a shelter every day and the courage
it takes to do what so few of us could. There are links provided to a You Tube video “A Day at
the Pound” and a website piece entitled “Reality Check for Dog Owners”.

http://www.reachoutrescue.org/info/display?PageID=11681

This has been a departure from our usual annual report, but I have seldom been so disturbed by
an article which provides such a cautionary, thought provoking tragic piece of realism. Perhaps
we should invest some perspective into its content, taking a hard look at the impact our actions,
attitudes and personal “wants” affect the animals with which we claim to love.

Thanks to our supportive Communications Center whom without, we could not function. Our
appreciation to Best Friends kennel for their extra help this year and to Reed Wilson our alternate
Animal Control provider.

Respectfully submitted
Helen L. Phillips ACO

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