A CALL TO ARMS

The kind that hold that is! Arms to pet, lift, hug, and offer comfort. This was the call that our rescue coordinator sent to the volunteers last week. Six, count them six senior bostons, unrelated to each other were in need of rescue and sanctuary. Six senior fur babies, 3 boys, 3 girls found themselves either in a shelter or with owners who needed to place them in rescue or they would also have to go to a shelter.

Anyone in dog rescue will tell you that the chances of a dog over the age of 10, even in a no kill shelter has a very slim chance of being adopted. For these guys and gals, BTRNC may likely be their last stop on this side of the bridge and we were called to find room within our homes to offer them sanctuary. If you are interested in any of the dogs posed in our sanctuary however, please don't hesitate to contact us. We want what is best for all of our charges, whatever that may turn out to be.

Within 24 hours of the original plea, e-mail came across with such heart warming sentiments as, "I would be honored to provide a home and care for a senior." We have or are working on getting all these special dogs in foster care.

One little girl pictured above came to her foster Mom with pneumonia. She will require a lot of medicine, a lot of special care, including a nebulizer to help her breathing and she will require love and patience.

Her name is still up in the air but we are guessing some for of Lucie - loosey goosey maybe. Feel free to suggest a name through comments. She is now on medication, on a regular feeding schedule, is warm, and most importantly has continuous loving interaction. Love really can be the best medicine. Her foster Mom did comment however that the other resident dogs wanted to know why she is hiding a dog in the bathroom. She wants to give the newest arrival some quiet while she recovers before introducing her to the rest of the family. We all hold our collective breath and pray for her full and quick recovery. Whatever her medical condition, she will remain safe and protected.

One of the most popular blogs ever submitted was entitled "What is Rescue?" The story of one of our oldest sanctuary dogs who out lived even our most optimistic predictions and provided his foster Mom with years of memories.

We have shown once again that rescue means saving those who need it, regardless of age or health. To offer a port in the storm. These are just some of reasons why the Boastful Boston is so proud to be part of rescue and part of BTRNC!

BOOKENDS? MAYBE NOT!

The idea behind bookends is to put things between them so they each hold up their end of the books, right? Although these two adorable little boys look as if they are waiting to have books stacked between them, they would spend their energy moving the books so they could be back rear to rear! They have always had just each other and are lost without one another. Causey is deaf and Dude lends his ears to his brother, always nudging him to do what he hears his foster Mom ask them to do.

They don't yet know how to play with toys, just each other. Dude is more than happy to take care of his brother and "play" with her. He is obviously a very loving young man who knows he has a purpose in this life.

BTRNC knows we are asking a lot for someone to take on 2 bostons at the same time. We also know from past experience that many of our adopters come back later for another, kinda like potato chips or popcorn - betcha can't have just one. If you are the right family for these two, you can have your second helping along with your first - save time and effort. That's not to say of course, that we object to third helpings in some cases.

George and Gracie were adopted together in 2004 by a wonderful family far from North Carolina. It was quite a transport but well worth it to place these two thriving siblings together. You can find a blog and happy ending updates on these two in our archives.

To look at two dogs, one who depends on the other and one who always makes sure the other is cared for has to be one of the sweetest of life's miracles. It's that warm fuzzy feeling you get whenever you watch one animal protect, love, or save another. The biggest lottery winning in the world can't deliver that.

Dude and Causey may gain some independence as their trust in their foster Mom grows and they may even learn to play with other things like toys. We are willing to bet however, that at the end of each day, these two bookends will find their way back to each other rear to rear!

Their bio on our available dogs page provides more details of the amazing bond between these two special dogs. If you are looking to double your return, please check them out and contact us.

Dude and Causey thank you and so do we.

SANCTUARY SPOTLIGHT ON TRIXIE

BTRNC is very proud of our sanctuary. Here is a place where seniors and dogs with chronic or severe health problems have found safety, love, care, and consistency. BTRNC has determined that the likelihood of these dogs being adopted is low. Rather than leave them in the available dogs section, we wanted to do them one better -a sanctuary status that means that we have committed to their medical and well being care for as long as we are blessed to have them on this side of the bridge. We make this commitment for all our dogs but we wait with them as their forever families find them and take them home. Our sanctuary babies are already home, loved secured.

Trixie has been with us for many months now. She had a rough go of it for awhile. You can see from the pictures that he eye was damaged by an untreated puncture wound. She also had a hard time surviving the heart worm treatment necessary to remove the parasites that had invaded her system because she didn't receive an inexpensive pill once a month. She ended up at a shelter in NC where she surely would have either been euthanized or died as a result of her condition. She found rescue with BTRNC and a wonderful foster Mom who will sit beside her, love her, hold her now and as when it's time for her to cross the bridge.

Yes, we are proud of our sanctuary but mostly, our sanctuary dogs make us proud of them and their spunk and desire to stay with us for as long as possible!