The Virtues of Volunteering

Sophie’s Circle was started by Kathy Blackman in honor of her own adopted shelter dog, Sophie. Kathy’s mission was to rescue other homeless dogs and help find them the same kind of loving home she gave her furry friend. The organization is a combination dog rescue and pet pantry (and the only pet pantry in Volusia County) and since it’s a non-profit organization, community help is of the utmost importance. This includes volunteers.

Volunteers typically help out in a variety of ways, including animal adoptions, socialization, feeding, bathing, and grooming animals, and walking animals. Playtime is a must, and a definite perk of pup life! Not sure if the volunteer life is right for you? Here are some reasons to give volunteering a shot. We wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for our amazing volunteers!

It Only Takes One Person!

You may think you can’t do much to make a difference, but that’s far from the truth. It only takes one volunteer to make a huge difference in an animal’s life, and the rewards for you are truly great. Knowing you are helping save animals’ lives gives a weight to volunteering and makes it ultimately even more satisfying. Make a difference in the shelter, in your community, and in the lives of many animals.

Spend Time Wisely

Too much time on your hands and nothing to do? Turn that time into something constructive, and fun. Volunteering gives you the chance to not only make a difference, but to get involved in something unique and incredible. Time with animals is never wasted time, and they will be immensely grateful for your service! Learn valuable things about pet care that may take you into an altogether different career direction. Get to know the ways that your own strengths can help animals and turn a ‘job’ into a PLEASURE!

Get Paid in Kisses!

Volunteering may not be the most glamorous, high-paying job in the world. Or, even a job that pays at all (remember, you’re donating your time to a non-profit organization!) However, it is the most rewarding. Not to mention, there are few things better than a puppy lick on the nose or a head butt from a cat telling you he loves you for all that you do.

The Common Good

Do you find it hard to find friends who understand your love of canine critters or furry felines? You’ll meet other volunteers and shelter staff who completely get you, and you may find working alongside others for the common good creates a lasting bond.

Smile!
Helping animals is an awesome feeling. It can also boost your mood, lower your blood pressure, and keep you feeling healthy, happy, and productive. Running with dogs and playing outside keeps you active, which is great for your health. There are many emotional benefits to volunteering, but there are plenty of physical benefits, too, making it the perfect way to spend your free time.

Where Do I Start?

Ready to volunteer? Head to our website and fill out the Contact Us form. Or, find us on Facebook and let us know you’d love to help. If you don’t have time to volunteer but you still want to help our shelter, there are many ways to do that. We love getting food donations to keep our pet pantry fully stocked, and we also need fosters who can temporarily house dogs and cats until they find forever homes. We need help with animal transport at times, too. There are so many ways to make a difference, even if you’re just donating funds or a few hours a week. Lastly, you may wish to adopt your very own best friend, creating a space for another homeless pet to have a new lease (or leash!) on life!

10 Reasons to Adopt an Animal

Owning an animal (or, letting an animal own you) is one of the most rewarding experiences we can ever have. There’s a bond between owner and pet that doesn’t exist between people. It’s completely and totally unconditional, and there’s nothing like it. If you’ve been on the fence about adopting a cat or dog, here are some reasons that may push you to find the perfect companion for you. The joy of adopting an animal is endless, and bringing a cat or dog into your family is a great way to teach kids compassion for animals, too. Your family just isn’t complete without a furry friend!

1. Unconditional love!Animals don’t care if you had a bad day, got sick, or simply feel cranky. They are thrilled to see you every time that door swings open, and they are ready to love you with their every being. Being loved like that feels amazing, and it’s the best feeling in the world knowing that no matter how your life goes, you always have a loyal friend who cares for you throughout every struggle.
2. Coming home!
   
   
   Every time you leave and come back, your dog treats you like a VIP celebrity walking down a red carpet. He or she is SO HAPPY to see you, it’s like you’ve been gone for days! You are so important to them! You can’t help but smile and laugh when you get that reaction from your pet every day.
3. Save a life!
   
   One of the most compelling reasons to adopt an animal is simple. There are over two million animals euthanized each year, solely because of lack of space in shelters. Make room for another pet by adopting a pet from a shelter, and know that you saved a precious life from a senseless, unnecessary death! He or she will spend the rest of their lives thanking you for your kindness.
4. Having an animal keeps you active.
   
   Playtime is fun! Take your dog for a walk or to play Frisbee in the park. Grab some cat toys on strings and watch your cat freak out trying to grab them. Interacting with your animals gets you off the couch and keeps you healthy and happy.
5. It’s been proven that pet owners have lower blood pressure.
   
   Petting a cat or dog instantly calms and soothes you, creating less anxiety and stress. We all live in a fast-paced, stressful world, and it’s easy to get caught up in stress. Calmly stroking a pet’s fur, kissing a pet, and cuddling with a pet creates positive emotions and feelings that stick with you and lift your spirits. Pets are the best antidepressants!
6. Life gets lonely for all of us sometimes.
   
   Pets provide constant companionship, and most pet owners refer to their animals as their ‘best friends.’ Having an animal to keep you company throughout the day, sleep with you at night, wake up to, and spend the days with provides a strong bond that may be hard to come across in the real world. Pets don’t talk back, yell at us, get mad, or go without speaking to us (well, if you don’t refill the food bowl on time, you may hear about that!) so you always have a built-in best friend nearby.
7. Adopt, don’t shop.
   
   Instead of heading to a pet store, head to an animal shelter instead. Adopting an animal from a shelter not only saves a precious life, but is usually cheaper than shopping for a pet. The all-inclusive adoption fee generally covers shots and/or spay and neuter. It’s easy, hassle-free, and won’t cost a fortune to adopt a shelter pet. The rewards are immeasurable!
8. Avoid supporting puppy mills.
   
   If you choose to adopt a new friend from a puppy mill, a shelter dog loses his chance at a new life. Puppy mills are dangerous, unsafe breeding grounds where dogs are treated poorly just so breeders can make a profit. Sometimes, these dogs end up in pet shops, so avoid them and head to the nearest shelter instead.
9. You don’t have to do the legwork.
   
   In most cases, shelter dogs and cats have already been housebroken or litterbox trained, so your pet is ready for play as soon as you head home. Shelter animals are socialized by volunteers, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with the basics when you bring home a pet from the shelter. It’s normal for a pet to be afraid at first, but once she gets used to you, she’ll be thrilled to be going home!
10. Emotional benefits.
    
    Opening your home to a dog, cat, or both, can open your heart, too. It may touch you in a way you hadn’t expected. It’s also a good way to meet people if you’re shy, especially fellow pet-owners when you’re at the dog park or out on the sidewalk. Pets are an amazing conversation starter!

Adopting an animal is a commitment for life, so it should be considered carefully. That being said, once you bring your new companion into your home, you won’t regret it! There are immeasurable opportunities for adoption in Volusia County, and plenty of animals in need of a loving, forever home. If you have questions about adopting an animal, we have answers! Contact us at Sophie’s Circle and we’ll help you through the process.

5 Ways to Help Your Local Animal Shelter or Rescue

If you love animals, you likely want to help your local shelters and rescues. There are several shelters and rescues in Volusia County you can help and there are plenty of ways to do so. While connecting with the shelter and asking what they need is always a good place to start, you can use these 5 guidelines to help local shelters and rescues save animals.

Donate Food – Most shelters are always in need of pet food, but places like Sophie's Circle actively run pet food drives to help animals stay out of the shelter. By providing food to needy families and seniors who cannot provide food for their pets, we keep animals safe at home with the families who love them. This kind of donation is affordable, often tax deductible and allows you to pitch in whenever you have enough money for a space bag of dog or cat food. Most shelters actively accept pet food donations, but you can call in to ask if they need them before making the purchase.

Volunteer Your Time – Many shelters and rescues operate on a volunteer or semi-volunteer basis, which means that most people working there are doing so for free. If you have extra time, one of the best things you could offer could be your time. This is especially important if you have skills like social media, photography, dog grooming, animal care, or are just good at cleaning. There are hundreds of tasks surrounding animal rescue including feeding, caring for, cleaning up after and grooming animals, but also handling social media, promoting and marketing animals to ensure that they are adopted, handling questions, paperwork and even taxes. If you think you can help, call your local shelter or rescue and ask.

Donate – Whether you have money, old blankets and clothes, dog food, or anything else, your local shelter or rescue may be able to use it. While a cash donation is the most versatile donation you can make, you don't have to have money to contribute. In most cases, old blankets are perfect for keeping dogs and cats warm in shelters, old dog crates and leashes can be used for transportation, etc.. Some shelters maintain a list of items they accept as donations, but you can also call in or contact their Facebook page to ask.

Ask What They Need – Some shelters will need specific items and you can help a great deal by calling in to ask. For example, if a shelter has recently rescued puppies, they might need formula for the pups, if it's cold, they might need blankets and if they're running low on food, they might literally need a food donation. You can always ask how you can help to make the most of every donation.

Educate Others – If you can adopt, it's always better to adopt and get an animal out of the shelter.

However, you can also work to educate friends and family, get them to adopt when necessary and share animals on shelter pages to help them find homes. By actively participating on shelter pages, you can greatly improve their reach and make sure that more people see every animal on the page. You can also help by ensuring that friends and family are educated on the difficulties of raising animals, that they know the responsibility of getting a pet and ensuring that no one you know blindly jumps into getting a pet, which will then end up in the shelter.

If you have more time and resources than most, you can consider volunteering to foster animals. This can be a great way to offer a lot of help to local rescues, who often need temporary homes for animals to socialize them and to keep them out of crates and kennels. However, most shelters will want to establish a relationship with you and this will include considerable screening to ensure that you can care for special needs animals on a regular basis.

If you want to help, there are dozens of ways to do so and these 5 are just a place to start. Thank you for caring.

Help Sophie's Circle Save 17 Dogs from the Redlands

Sophie's Circle is dedicated to rescuing dogs whenever we can, no matter the circumstances of their health. That's why we chose to work alongside the Redland Rock Pit Abandoned Dog Project to rescue dogs from Redlands, a dog dumping area. These dogs are in danger of being eaten, dying of starvation and many are frequently found dead soon after being dumped. Our mission was to save as many as possible and we collected 17 dogs with the intent of giving them medical care and finding them a new home.

Now, we need your help to meet the extensive medical needs of these dogs to ensure that they can go on to find a loving family.

What is Redlands?

Most of us know that some people dump dogs they no longer want. While we often try not to think about it, it is an unpleasant truth. Redlands is a place in Miami that has become known as a dumping ground for pets. This means that 'owners' who no longer want the responsibility of their pet will often drive to Redlands, throw the animal out, often without stopping and leave.

These dogs are most often indoor animals, raised around humans their entire lives with no survival skills. In the wild, they become prey for alligators and panthers, are hit by cars and many starve. Their interactions with humans are few and many become feral.

The Redlands Rock Pit Abandoned Dog Project is a non-profit group that aims to feed these mistreated dogs as often as they can with their funds. Unfortunately, there are just too many for volunteers to keep up with and many still die.

The Rescue

On March 10th, Sophie's Circle went to the Redlands in Miami with the intent of rescuing as many dogs as we could. We eventually brought 17 dogs back to our shelter, which only slightly reduced the number of animals at Redlands. Each of these dogs needs medical attention and significant care to recover.

Many have eye infections, severely infected bite wounds with bugs and maggots, fleas, ear infections and even chemical burns. It is our mission to nurse these dogs back to health so that we can find them great homes.

How You Can Help

Each dog will cost us an average of $400 each for spaying, neutering, micro-chipping, vaccination and deworming. Many will cost more for medical treatment for infected eyes, ears and bite marks.

At this time, our biggest need is for monetary donations. This will help us to take care of these animals and get them into good shape. However, if you cannot, please share on your social media so that we can build exposure for the rescue to get these dogs the help they need.

Meet the Dogs!

Paddington – A Chow mix who was initially quite skittish turned into one of the sweetest dogs we caught. Check Paddington's rescue video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni9m_7yhk3Y

El Guapo – El Guapo is one of our most serious rescues and we took him straight to the Animal Emergency Hospital. He was badly burned with chemicals and lost hair around his neck, which has become infected. He is receiving medical treatment daily for the injuries.

View his rescue video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3cIC7aFQJY

Ladybug – Ladybug was our easiest 'catch' at Redlands and one of the sweetest dogs in the shelter. She's crate trained, probably recently dropped and very friendly.

Honey Bee – Honey Bee is a 10 pound Chihuahua with one eye out, who is well behaved, leash trained and ready to adopt.

Jewel – Jewel is a 35 pound pitbull with a sweet temper and well behaved. She's good with other cats and dogs and is ready to adopt.

Sullivan & Sully – Sullivan and Sully are two 12-week large-breed dog mixes.

To see more of the dogs from the Redlands Rescue, visit our Facebook Page, Sophie's Circle Dog Rescue. If you can, please donate to help cover the medical costs for these dogs so we can get them a better life.

Donate Here 

Cypress Creek Elementary Pet Food Drive – Kids Lend a Helping Hand to Their Furry Friends

Sophie's Circle works year round to provide food and rescue to dogs in Volusia County but our pet food bank relies on the generosity of our donors. Sometimes those donors go above and beyond to help out, for no other reason than that they love animals. For that reason, we wanted to call out and thank a special group of kids who worked hard to help animals and collect food for them.

On November 4th, 2016, the Cypress Creek Elementary hosted a pet food drive to collect food for Sophie's Circle, and the thousands of animals we help every year. This food will go towards helping the animals in our shelter until we find them homes, and towards helping families in need keep the animals they love.

The class, from Port Orange Florida, are in the third grade, and collected the food as part of a project under their teacher, Michelle Morrison Phelan.

"I have a lot of dogs that are a part of my family and I love them very much. My reason is so that they can have a home and live in peace. Maybe it's your turn to save a dog and you can be its loving and caring family." - Kendra

"Because I'd never want my dog in the shelter or any other dog to go to the shelter." - McKenna

Sophie's Circle collects pet food year round and we are forever indebted to our wonderful donors, like the third grade class from Cypress Creek.

From the Class:

Every participant in the Cypress Creek Elementary Pet Food Drive sat down to write about why they helped, and why they want to help animals. You can find their answers below:

"My first reason is so they can live a happy life. I got my dog from a shelter and we saved his life. He was so happy to have a loving family. In closing, you now know my opinion. It is so important to give back and help as many animals as I can."  - Bradshaw

"Do you like animals? Well I sure do! I feel that animals deserve the very best. I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason that I'm going to share is animals should have a nice and caring family. I have two dogs that are part of my family. I love them very much. My second reason is I don't want any animals living in a shelter. I got a dog from the shelter and we saved his life. He was so happy to have a loving family" - Jessica

"You think it is important to help animals However, I'll share some reasons why I think it's important. My first reason is sometime animals are in danger. My next reason is so animals don't starve. Animals deserve good shelter and to live like everyone else.  - Sean

"My first reason is some animals are already in danger. There are really so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is that every animal can have a home. There are so many animals in shelters. Animals deserve a good life like everyone else. - George

"So animals are protected, there are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is so that every animal can have a home. There are so many animals in shelters. Animals deserve a good home like everyone else.  - Mackenzie

"Animals are nice and friendly creatures so we should help save them. I feel that animals deserve the very best. I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason is that I'm going to share is animals should have a nice and caring family. I have one dog and I love her very much. My second reason is I don't want any animals living in a shelter. Because I'd never want my dog in the shelter or any other dog to go to the shelter. In closing you can now see my opinion. It's so important to give back and to help as many animals as I can." - McKenna

"Do you like animals? Well, I sure do! I feel that animals deserve the very best. I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason that I'm going to share is so they don't go to a shelter. I feel this way because animals should have the same respect as people. My second reason is so that they have food and water so they don't starve. " - Anna

"Do you think it's important to help animals? I am going to share some reasons why I feel it is important. My first reason is some animals are already in danger. There are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is so that every animal can have a home, there are already so many animals in shelters. In closing you can now see why I feel it is important to help animals."

"Do you think it is important to help animals? I'm going to share some reasons why I feel it is important. My first reason is so animals are protected. There are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is so animals don't starve. There are so many animals in shelters. Animals deserve a good life, like everyone else." - James

"Believe it or not, helping animals is very important. I feel that animals deserve the very best. I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason I'm going to share is that I don't want animals to go to the shelter because that would be really sad. My second reason is so that they can have a happy life" - Joshua

"You might think helping animals is not important. I feel that animals deserve the best. I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason that I'm going to share is so animals can have a nice and caring family and for they do not struggle. I love them very much. My second reason is so they can survive longer.. When animals live on the street, they struggle to get food and water and when they get a family, it's easier for them. In closing, hopefully you now know why it is important to help animals. Hopefully your opinion is mine." - Sophia

"Do you think it's important to help animals? I'm going to share some reasons why I feel it's important. My first reason is some animals are already in danger. There are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next is so that every animal can have a home. There are so many animals in shelters. Animals deserve a good life, like everyone else."

"You may not think it's important to help animals, I will share some facts why it's important. My first reason is some animals are already in danger. There are already some helpless animals. My next reason is so no animals starve. There are so many animals in the shelters. In closing, now you know it's so important to help animals. - Shaun

"Keeping animals safe. You may not think it is important to help animals however I will share some reasons why I believe it is important. My first reason is some animals are already in danger. There are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is some animals don't starve. There are so many in shelters. So animals can have a good home. Animals deserve a good life like everyone else. In closing, now you know why I feel it is so important to help animals" - Trevor

"You might think animals can survive on their own but really they need us. I feel like you should help the poor creatures survive, so I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason that I’m going to share is so they can live a happy life. I feel this way because I have a lot of dogs that are a part of my family and I love them very much. My second reason is so that they can have a home and live in peace. Maybe it's your turn to save a dog and you can be its loving and caring family. Now you know all of my opinions. It's very important to love and care for the lovely and nice creatures. - Kendra

Do you think it's important to help animals? I'm going to share some reasons why I feel it's important. My first reason is some animals are already in danger. There are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is so that every animal can have a home. There are so many animals in shelters, animals deserve a good life like everyone else"  - Audrey

"Do you like animals, well I sure do! I believe that animals deserve the very best. I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason that I'm going to share with you is animals should have a nice and loving family. My second reason is I don't want any animals living in a shelter. We adopted a dog and we saved his life, and he was so happy to have a loving family. - Andrea

"Do you think it's important to help animals? I'm going to share some reasons why I feel it is important. My first reason is animals are already in danger. There are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is so that every animal can have a home. There are so many animals in shelters. Animals deserve a good life like everyone else. " - Warren

"Do you think it is important to help animals? I'm going to share some reasons why I feel it is important. My first reason is some animals are already in danger. There are already so many helpless and homeless animals. My next reason is so that every animal can have a home. There are so many animals in shelters. Animals deserve a good life like everyone else." Katherine

"Do you like animals" Well I sure do! I feel that animals deserve the very best. I'm going to share my opinion with you. My first reason is that I'm going to share is animals should have a nice caring family. I have one dog that is part of my family and I love him very much. My second reason is I don't want any animals in a shelter. I adopted my dog from a shelter and we saved his life. He was happy to have a loving family" - Trina

5 Reasons Adopting a Senior Dog is a Great Choice

Adopting an older dog might be the last thing on your mind but it could be the best thing you ever do. Most of the time, when people think about bringing a new family member into their lives, they want puppies. But, adopting a senior dog is becoming an increasingly popular choice for families around the US, and right here at home in Volusia County. Senior dogs are given up for a variety of reasons and often find their way to shelters and rescues after a lifetime of love and care. Bringing them into your home means giving an older dog a second chance at a great family. There are also plenty of other reasons to adopt a senior dog, and if you're curious, you should keep reading.

Why Adopt a Senior Dog?

Senior dogs have several advantages over younger ones, especially for families with children. They're every bit as loving, trainable, and rewarding as any other dog.

Older Dogs are More Reliable

Where younger dogs are often taken to the shelter for training and exercise issues which result in aggression and damage to the home, older dogs rarely end up in shelters for these reasons. In most cases, older dogs are well trained and cared for, and end up in shelters because of a change in circumstance, a misfortune, or a poor decision on the part of their owners. For example, many senior dogs are turned into shelters because of death's in the family, owners moved into hospice care, new family members (babies), new allergies, or moves where dogs are not allowed. People give up family pets that are loved and loving. This means that adopting a senior dog allows you to bring a trained and loving dog into your family, so that you have less to worry about.

In addition, contrary to popular opinion, older dogs are great learners. You can teach an old dog new tricks, and many are eager to learn and learn well. Because old dogs have less energy, they pay attention better, so they can be easier to train than younger dogs.

Senior Dogs are Less Demanding

Puppies and younger dogs are high energy and may require hours of walks every day. Adopting older dogs means that you won't have to worry about this, as many senior dogs require significantly less exercise. While this will change based on the breed, older dogs are typically quieter, more reserved, need less exercise, and are less likely to have energy problems. Most older dogs don't require constant monitoring, making them a better choice for busy individuals, seniors, and families.

You Get the Dog You Adopt

When you adopt a puppy or a younger dog, you may be in for a lot of surprises. Even small pups can grow very large, puppies rarely retain their personality for long, and you'll have little choice in what kind of dog they grow into. When you adopt a senior, you can choose a dog with energy levels that match your preferences, and choose a dog that fits well into your lifestyle and your home. You will have to make adaptations to accommodate your furry friend no matter what, but with a senior dog, you know exactly what kind of dog you're adopting.

Giving a Dog a Second Chance

Many senior dogs find their way to the shelter when their families cannot care for them, move, or older caretakers are moved into a nursing home or die. These unfortunate circumstances often cannot be avoided, and an otherwise healthy and loving dog is left without a home or anyone to love them.

For example, Sophie's Circle was invited to take in a senior dog, Fred. His family was evicted from their home, and animal control was forced to take him. Because no one would adopt him, he was scheduled for euthanasia. When he came to Sophie's Circle he was heartbroken, he refused to eat, but we couldn’t find anything wrong with him. After giving up, he spent Christmas Eve with Kathy Blackman's family, and realizing he was loved, began to eat. Fred, now Freddie, is perfectly healthy, he's one of the sweetest and best mannered dogs we've cared for, and he lost his family as the result of misfortune.

Many senior dogs lose their homes because their families are moved into hospice, become financially unstable, or to death. But, while the dog can't understand why their family is gone, they are still deserving of love and care. Dog's grieve just as much as we do, and giving them a home allows them to have a second chance.

Saving a Life

Many older dogs, usually any older than 7, especially for larger dogs, are difficult to adopt. Because many of the shelters in Volusia County are kill shelters, they are often euthanized because people prefer to adopt younger dogs. By taking an older dog into your family, you can quite literally save a life. While Sophie's Circle is a no-kill rescue, adopting an older dog from us will open room to allow us to help other dogs and to give them a home until they find a family.

While many people have concerns about older dogs, they typically offer fewer problems, require less maintenance, and less training than younger ones. While it is more important for us to carefully match an older dog with a suitable family and environment, adopting an older dog will allow you to bring an instant companion into your family.

Sophie's Circle works to rescue and rehome dogs around Volusia County, and we frequently foster and adopt senior dogs. If you're interested, visit our adoption page to see some of our adoptable animals, or to get started learning about the adoption process.

Jason, An Extraordinary Dog

At Sophie's Circle, we take in hundreds of dogs of every year. Some of them are in good shape, others are strays and don’t have a real home, and many need some medical care. For the most part, we take dogs in, give them medical attention, neuter or spay, feed them, and adopt them out to new, loving families who can give them a better life. Unfortunately, not all dogs are so lucky.

We're proud of every dog we've helped and given a new life, thanks to the unwavering support of our volunteers and donors who make every rescue possible. But, sometimes a dog comes along who is in such bad condition that we must take extraordinary measures to save him.

Jason is one of those dogs.

In August, 2016, a local animal control officer sent our founder, Kathy Blackman, a text. He included a photo of a dog who had been chained to a concrete slab with no shade, food, or water. The dog was emaciated and skeletal, barely clinging to life when animal control found him. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the rescue he so badly needed.

The officer told us that if we were unable to bring him into our rescue, he would be euthanized. The pictures were shocking and it was difficult to believe that he could pull through, but after learning his story Kathy and the team of volunteers were determined to save him.
                       

"Jason clung to life for almost a month as he waited to be saved. For that bravery, he deserved to be helped, not euthanized, putting him down after that ordeal would have been the cruelest fate." - Kathy Blackman

When Jason came into the rescue for the first time, we were heartbroken. This dog who looked up at us with big eyes and wagged his tail was dehydrated, anemic, and infested with fleas and hookworms. Our vet ranked his body weight at 1/9th, the thinnest possible before death. He had heartworm disease, left untreated, and the vet was almost certain he wouldn't make it.

For the first four weeks, it was touch and go. Feeding him was out of the question at first, his organs were shutting down, and at any moment, he could have died. We determined to try, and we gave Jason an IV with subcutaneous fluids to begin hydrating him. Reintroducing him to food was slow and there were times when Jason almost didn't make it. At one point, he collapsed and spent 4 days at the emergency vet, where we were unsure if he would ever walk out. Thanks to the extraordinary care from our team of volunteers, Jason pulled through.
      

Then, things started brightening up. Jason finally started to gain weight, he ate better, and he was strong enough to be homed with one of our rescue team members, Jen Popowich. He spent the next few months with Jen, her kids, and four dogs and slowly gained strength, playing with new friends who loved him.

He received heartworm treatment when the vet decided that his weight was up enough to allow him to be treated safely.

Today, his weight is up to normal, and this dog who has been through so much is happy, playful, and confident.

Jason is a mixed breed dog with big eyes, a sweet face, and a great personality. Hundreds of people have followed his progress, rooting for him along the way, and we are pleased to say that he is making a full recovery.

Jason's Beginning, when animal control found him.

Jason - After 11 Month's