Go Team!

When I pause to think of what I am most thankful for in my rescue work, there is so much that comes to mind, but first and foremost is New Rattitude's NW team of volunteers that I am so blessed to work with.  In this group of people there are acquaintances, great friends, and even some people who probably aren't really fond of each other, and yet everyone is willing to give what they can of themselves because their focus is the dogs.

One of my rescue jobs is "state coordinator".  I share the job with my close friend (thank goodness!), and my side of the job focuses on choosing which dogs to rescue, which of our 10 foster homes the dogs will best fit in, and getting them transported to the foster homes.  It takes a lot of juggling to make sure new rescue dogs are arriving right when current fosters are going to forever homes. Or if they get here a few days early they have a place to stay for a few days.

The goal is to have as little time as possible between when an adopted dog goes home and the next rescue moves into their spot because the more efficiently we can work, the more dogs we'll be able to save over the year. Like any good team, there's a "play board" to keep track of what's going on and who's going where and when they are going and how they are headed there.  It's ridiculously full of symbols, and color coding and a variety of sections to track current foster dogs, applications, transports, dogs still in the shelter but being tracked...

The NW Team "Play Board"

And sadly, it has to pass as art in my dining room since I like to work where I can keep an eye on the dogs which means my office is a storage room for dog blankets and equipment and my dining room is an office. Yes, we pretty much live and breathe dogs here.

Rescue Central: the dining room "office"

At times the NW team gets so busy that even with my compulsive organizing I can't keep up with everything and I drop the ball. Or sometimes the unexpected emergency crops up.  Whatever the case I know there are always volunteers available who have my back.

 There is so much dedication here to save these dogs - every one willing to pitch in and give a little extra when it is needed - driving long distances to get a home visit done so a dog can get home, temping a dog who needs out of the shelter ASAP when they are already living in a house overloaded with terriers, transporting a dog over the mountains in winter when no one really wants to be driving up there unless it's for a ski vacation... The list goes on and on.

So a big thank you to my NW NR peeps who continue to make working in rescue enjoyable and fun. While it isn't always a smooth ride, we get the job done and then some.