Last Save of the Year

 

Last save of 2023: that honor belongs to Seamus, a 2-year-old Border Collie mix.

The first photo is the intake photo from a large well known Minnesota rescue doing high volume adoptions. Like most of the animals this place deals with, Seamus was from a rescue down South, and came up to this state to try his luck to find a loving home. He was adopted by an older guy named Ron and his wife, who lived in a condominium complex.

Seamus was well cared for and well loved by his new family but tragedy struck a few months ago when the wife developed cancer and died not long after. Seamus was a great source of support for Ron during this difficult time.

Being a sensitive and highly intelligent Border Collie mix, Seamus surely felt the stress and grief in the home after Ron's wife died. There were complaints about Seamus' barking from some of Ron's condo neighbors even though there were several other dogs in the building who barked more, according to Ron. Then while riding in the elevator with Ron after his wife had died, Seamus reportedly leaped at a cleaning personnel from the building, grabbing her by the coat sleeve and leaving a bruise. This action was unprecedented behavior from Seamus.

The condo association, already full of individuals intolerant of Seamus' barking, now demanded that Ron either get rid of his dog or find a new place to live. Ron owned his condo but it made little difference if those in control of the association handed down an edict. They apparently would not negotiate or give Seamus another chance. Ron was distraught and felt cornered, his only choices to move or put the 2 year old Seamus to sleep. Ron knew Seamus was undeserving of this fate and especially after all the friendship the dog provided during the sorrowful loss of Ron's wife and the aftermath.

Ron went back to the Minnesota rescue where he had adopted Seamus- but they refused to help or take Seamus back into their care. He tried numerous other Minnesota rescues but was turned down by them all after reporting the incident involving the cleaning person in the elevator.

If organizations who place dogs and cats won't take them back or offer help when the adoption runs into problems, then they are not "rescuing" animals but selling them. And in fact, by not standing behind the animals they are putting into the community, they are falling short of even an appliance store- or even a place like Office Depot, who at least offer warranties of two years or more for the products they sell, To bring animals up to a new state from afar and then abandon them if the dog or cat can't keep their adoptive home is not rescue but selling and with even less of a an assurance for the outcome and future of that dog or cat than an appliance store offers on a washer/ dryer or a refrigerator or an office supply store offers on a fax machine or scanner.

It wasn't just Seamus abandoned in this situation but Ron too, who had already suffered the loss of his wife from cancer and was now feeling abandoned and alone in this predicament, facing having to kill his dog or give up his home. It felt like a desperate choice, a no win choice for him.

In talking with Ron and in reviewing what had happened, it seemed like Seamus' behavior was an outlier and that he was capable of and deserving of forgiveness and another chance, even if it couldn't be at the condo or with Ron, let alone with the organization that had sold him to Ron. We don't say adopt or rescue because abandoning this dog and his heartbroken owner to twist in the wind served neither the dog nor the family who had tried their best and now needed support.

Without any other options for the dog, Home For Life Animal Sanctuary again stepped in to deflect what we viewed as an unfair outcome for such a young, loyal and good dog who had stood by his owner during a heartbreaking time of losing his wife to cancer.

Once again, we called on our friends at Liberty K9 MN who welcomed Seamus about 10 days ago. Ron brought him up to Duluth and signed him over to Home For Life Animal Sanctuary who has taken custody of Seamus. He will spend the next 6 weeks with the team at Liberty K9 MN in their training program where we can get a better idea of what he is like and what he needs to succeed.

Upon arrival, the team at Liberty described a dog very much lacking in confidence. He had no doubt observed and felt the sadness of Ron who had lost his wife, the uncertainty and grief about the future as Ron tried without success to find a safe landing for the dog and faced the possibility of euthanizing his best friend and probably Ron's frustration when he faced losing his home and was unable to find help anywhere.

No doubt Seamus was confused to now have lost both his family members, his home and to now be in a new situation, not knowing what to expect. He had felt the grief, confusion, dread and frustration in his old home but didn't know how to process what he was sensing. Part of his rehabilitation will be to restore his confidence by helping him make sense of his world now, so he knows what to expect what is expected of him and so he can trust the situation and respond appropriately. As you can see from the photos, Seamus has already readily responded to sensible, kind handling and is learning tons and having a great time, especially on the nature walks around the facility!

"Rescued" in animal welfare is not the same as being saved. Look at Seamus: at the age of just over two years he had been "rescued" twice. Those are the rescues we know about. Yet his life was at risk again and he was facing an untimely death at age 2. An organization should model the commitment to and bond with the animals they take under their care that they expect the community to emulate and support. Let's not call it rescue if what is really occurring is selling dogs and if the product turns out to be "defective" then too bad, the dupe who "adopted" the animal is on their own.

Instead of 2024 starting without Seamus, he is now saved and safe with Home For Life Animal Sanctuary. Stay tuned for more heartwarming photos and updates about this good and loyal soul who needed a third chance and found it with us.

UPDATE

Seamus arrived at Home for Life on February 15, and photos were taken at the sanctuary. Seamus is

Home for Life!

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What's the Matter with Caden?

This is a guest post written by Amy Fink, one of  Home for Life's board members and offers a unique perspective from someone who was there at the beginning, when the idea of our sanctuary was first created. There was much hope 20 years ago that No Kill might someday be an achieveable goal and, we were so impressed with the vision of Richard Avanzino, the then director of the San Francisco SPCA who had many innovative ideas  that inspired a whole new approach to help animals most in need.

As Amy writes, though, what we have seen through our work at Home for Life is that 20 years later, animal welfare and "rescue" has lost sight of many of the guiding principles which informed Avanzion's vision .with the result that still, today, many dogs and cats in need are left at risk with their lives in peril.    

This is the text of the presentation Amy gave to her Toastmaster's Group in November, 2020.  

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I'll give you the answer  to the question the title asks: nothing is the matter with Caden. 

But this title forces people who care about the fate of dogs and cats like him to recognize the  lens thru which rescue organizations are valuing animals, a warped marketing framework that is proving counter to their purported missions.

The mission of rescue is not supposed to be finding more marketable animals. Rescues are supposed to be making the animals they have more marketable by insisting that people stop disposing of their pets like last season's fashion, by doing a better job of " selling " people on the real appeal of each and every cat and dog that falls  into their care.  Not so that the greatest risk to the life of an animal  is to end up in "rescue" or to have "rescues" abandoning their adopters if they run into a challenge with a cat or dog they have bought from the organization.   

But the market model has also put alot of rescues in competition with one another financially, and so they take a short cut and just go for the animals who will sell themselves. 

As a care for life sanctuary,Home for Life stands outside that competition because we don't have to "sell" the public on our residents. 

About 20 years ago I helped my sister found a sanctuary for unadoptable dogs and cats. This was at the point when the No Kill Movement was REALLY gaining steam

We went to a big No Kill conference in San Francisco to talk with other rescue workers and get ideas. Everyone in animal rescue is about reducing animal suffering mostly through spay/neuter or adoption into forever homes.

A sanctuary IS a forever home for animals who don't get adopted.  

But when we told people  at the conference we were focused around lifetime care ONLY and not adoption, they said:  

       "OOOh, you will have a hard time funding yourself!"

   Because most animal rescue organizationss raise a good part of their operating costs through adoption.  

Adoption RULES the animal rescue world. Most groups gauge their success around how many animals move through their doors into "fur"ever homes.

San Francisco Humane Society, our conference host, was a model of what could be accomplished along these lines!

Their director, Richard Avanzino, recognized that we are a market-driven culture, and so he harnessed that market instinct.

  INCREASE ANIMAL DESIRABILITY 

  -- pretty up the adoption rooms to give the animals greater curb appeal

  -- get on local tv to showcase animals

  -- give animals a name and tell their backstory

  REDUCE NUMBERS OF HOMELESS ANIMALS

  -- pay people to spay/neuter

  INCREASE NUMBERS OF HOMES THAT COULD TAKE ANIMALS

  -- work with landlords in a city with a very high renter population to have them allow pets 

The program was so successful that  the San Francisco SPCA had a contract with the city pound to take all of their animals and find them  homes.

It was truly inspiring!  No-kills sprang up around the country and everyone redoubled their efforts to end euthanasia and animal homelessness following the market approach 

So...living in a market driven culture, we all have a feel for markets 

We have an instinct for what sells and what doesn't sell.  Right?

Let's try it.  Which of these animals do you think is more adoptable?

1)   "Caden" a  three year old hound mix - neutered,  sweet and kind boy, originally from Alabama and a shelter there, then was transported to Chicago's Anti Cruelty Society to try his luck to find an adoptive home. Heartworm positive with a limp due to previous car accident.  

2)   "Papaya", an eight year old  English bulldog - neutered  not awesome with kids,  breathing problems, bad knees, obesity, arthritis ( also at the Animal Cruelty Society during the same time frame  because his owner had surrendered him )

I'll ask another way:  

  Which one has better curb appeal?  Which would you bring onto a local news show?  

It turns out most rescues wanted the bulldog.  In fact they competed for him even though objectively, he would not make a better pet:  he was older, had health problems, and didn't like children

Meanwhile, none of the rescues would go to bat for Caden.  Why?  Because he is a dime a dozen.  

And this is the problem! 

Rescues are caught in a trap because they need homes for the animals they are rescuing, which means they need to sell the public on adopting an animal. 

Some rescues try to stock their cages with animals they believe will be more adoptable 

   -- purebreds   cool looks    interesting or dramatic story.  

Dogs like Caden get overlooked and left behind.  

In a market-driven world, success is measured by moving your product.  

Every adoption/sale "proves" the rescue is fulfilling its mission.  Right?

But animals are not commodities and unlike a store with hard goods, a rescue can't just order up inventory to match market demand.  

The LAST thing rescue organizations want to do- or should want to do- is manufacture more copies of a popular model.  

It goes completely against the ethic of animal welfare.  , 

The adoption-as-success metric also hides a sad story.  People are flaky and casual about the lives of their animals

  Many animals move in and out of the system for years, with each adopting group claiming success, 

and meanwhile the animal's health and spirit are slowly destroyed through each transition

Caden already had 4 homes in his short life!  He never found a "fur"ever home and he was about to be euthanized until our sanctuary, HFL, stepped in. ( Read more about Caden close call  here: Home for Life Animal Sanctuary: Rescue Remedy (homeforlifesanctuary.blogspot.com)

                                Caden in the pool, Home for Life, Summer, 2020

There are millions of suffering, lonely and unwanted animals across our country  

Whenever we disregard or devalue one of them, we place all animals in jeopardy, 

Because any dog or cat can lose their home, become old, injured, or ill and unwanted. 

But in a system designed to handle problems on a mass scale, individuals DO get overlooked. 

We can't let ourselves forget that, behind every data point, is an individual like Caden, with their own story and the need for someone to recognize all that makes them special.

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I feel that the lesson of San Francisco's great success was lost in all the mania to increase adoption numbers. 

San Francisco, under Avanzino's leadership, was practical and market savvy, and those ARE necessary qualities in a well-run rescue

BUT remember:   San Francisco did NOT pick and choose the animals they would help.  They took on the WHOLE city's animal population! 

After all, what keeps animals safe and cherished is our attitude towards them, and our capacity to care .

Whenever we step up to save one animal, we take a stand for all animals in similar situations,  and we make visible and practical what is truly possible

The REAL lesson from that conference was that we have a duty to recognize the individual light in every one  of the dogs and cats we help.

and to do all we can to give them a safe landing.

This is the mission of our sanctuary, Home for Life.

                                       Below, Caden running in the meadow                                                                          Home for Life, November,2020