THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR SITE AND CONSIDERING RESCUE

I was in Pets Mart the other day and a woman emerged from the grooming area with two absolutely beautiful Great Pyrenees dogs who had just been groomed. I love this breed and had to stop to pet them. The conversation turned to her delight that I knew the breed and my explanation about rescue and passion for dogs. She then told me that she had considered rescue, but

"they put you through the mill, interrogate you, inspect your house and charge you a lot of money to save a dog's life".

She then said that these two were retired show dogs that had gotten for free from the breeder who no longer had use for them.

So... I want to take this opportunity to ask our visitors, volunteers, and readers to help us explain why we do what we do and what we do and DO NOT want to accomplish.

1. We spend thousands of dollars annually in vet care including surgery, medication, follow-up visits, etc. All our dogs are neutered or spayed and up to date on all vaccinations before they are adopted. We use the money paid to adopt one of our babies to cover these vet costs. We do not profit from these fees.

2. We visit your home because we want to make sure you do indeed have a home and if you rent, that the landlord will allow you to have a dog. Remember, we have met you over the Internet and telephone calls. We in no way want to scrutinize your decor, house cleaning habits, size of shape of your home or the condition of your furniture. We feel awkward showing up at your front door and imposing on your time and space. We may be able to make suggestions that you may not have thought of such as, the gaps in your picket fence are wide enough for a boston to slip through, or the slats on your deck are too wide for your dog to be out off a leash. Most importantly, we thank you for allowing us into your home.

3. We do try our best to match the right dog with the right family so we do have lots of conversations. If you have 3 cats and we know from the foster family that the dog you have picked out on our home page chases and terrifies cats, we want you to know that. If you have 2 young children and your "favorite" dog has a history of snapping at children, we want you to know that as well. If through speaking with you, we come to understand that you want a high energy dog to join you on your hikes, we may already know one in rescue who loves to do just that. If you express a love for seniors or special needs dogs, we can help you make that selection as well.

We do everything we do for one reason: to take all imaginable steps to make sure the dog will be safe and does not return to us as a failed adoption. These babies have already been bounced around from a home to a shelter, or a chain to a shelter to a home to a foster home. They have been used for breeding with no socialization, they have been crated 20 hours a day, been abused for acting out, been chained outside in all weather, and some have been loved beyond measure until their person passed away. It is their time to be secure again in a FOREVER HOME. If we don't do these things, we are not fulfilling our promise to our rescues that we will care for and protect them until they are placed in a loving home.

We THANK YOU for understanding all these things and for considering rescue! Without you, we could not continue to save these precious lives.

Patty(top), Oliver and Austin thank you too and wish you the happiest of Easters!