Have you ever wondered about the "behind the scenes action" at RDR? Well if so, we would love to share a a sneak peek at what really goes into spaying and neutering our rescue dogs.
Our new upbeat video documents all the hard work and organization that goes into a successful spay and neuter clinic.
We present this special look with sincere thanks to Dr. Jill Shiffman and the team at Bergen County Veterinary Center for donating the staff's time and the facilities you see in the video.
We also want to extend a MAJOR shout out to volunteer and videographer Malaika Menezes who put it all together.
ENJOY!!
Oakland Volunteers Take Animal Rescue In A Different Direction
It's a New Day Friends
Welcome to Real Dog Rescue. I have to say, this isn't how I envisioned our first major message. In my mind, I saw our initial blast as a grand celebration of our new rescue . . . a story about a passionate group of women who will make a difference in the lives of dogs and the people who love them . . . a promise to be a rescue that is true to their mission and dedicated to kindness . . . a commitment to save every dog we can, regardless of age, breed and medical condition, whether they are here in our backyard or clear across the country. We were going to tell you all about our plans for the future and invite you to be a part of our journey. We planned to let you in on our upcoming events and adoption days and to show you photos of happy dogs looking for forever homes. But things don't always go as we envision, and even though I am an obsessive planner, in this instance, I'm okay with straying off course.
On Sunday evening we received a plea to help a 12 year old Dachshund mix that had been dumped at a local high-kill shelter. She was confused and frightened and was in need of immediate medical care. Naturally, we dropped what we were doing and rushed to get her. When we pulled her out of the transport truck, she seemed okay. She had been recently shaved and her tail was wagging. It wasn't until we met up with one of the shelter workers that we started to piece together the story of this poor elderly girl. Dagny, as we named her, had been brought to the kill shelter when her owner was hospitalized. We were told that her fur was so matted that every time they tried to shave her, she would scream. The pain of trying to remove the matts was so severe that they had to sedate her just to shave her down. Once we got Dagny home and examined her more closely, we saw that her mouth was entirely rotted. There were teeth that were hanging from her jaw, and the decay and infection was unimaginable. The fact that she could be so sweet and loving, while enduring such tremendous pain, was heartbreaking. She spent that first night warm and comfy in her new bed, yet she cried as she lay there, sad and confused.
The following day we brought Dagny to the amazing team at Bergen County Veterinary Center, where they immediately began working on her infected mouth. In the end, they were forced to extract 31 teeth. 30-freaking-one! While that is a tremendous ordeal for any dog, it is especially difficult for a 12 year old dog. Even so, Dagny walked out into the waiting room with her tail wagging. We could immediately see that she felt better and we knew that this was just the start of her wonderful new life.
So while we may still be working on our marketing materials and our website, and while we haven't yet blasted out our official "Welcome to Real Dog Rescue" post, we have done something much, much more important. We have rescued Dagny, our very first, very special dog. We named her Dagny because it means "New Day". It is a new day for Dagny and for all of us, and we couldn't be more pleased to be sharing it with you.
This is Real Dog Rescue, because every dog matters.
We sincerely appreciate your support.
Carol