Rescuing Sadie, Rescuing Me.

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Rescuing Sadie, Rescuing Me.

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Editorial

in Opinions

Wednesday, July 14. 2010

Comments (4)

Dear editor,

This article was originally submitted in an essay contest which people were to write about the special bond they felt with their shelter rescue animals.

Let me begin by saying that my dogs were not rescued from a shelter; they were rescued from the streets.

We don’t have a shelter in our area, so people think the next best thing is to carry them out in the country and dump them on a dirt road

My dogs did not have the good fortune to be taken to a shelter where they would get food, water, medical attention and a chance to be adopted into a loving home. I was their guardian angel so to speak. My first rescue was Sadie. She was thrown out with her five puppies, two of which had already been run over when I found her. I got the other three pups in the car, but she was so scared one could not get her to come to me for anything. I couldn’t just leave her there, so I drove very slowly with my daughter in the back of the car holding the puppies and calling to the momma encouragingly. She was a dedicated mother; she followed us for four miles.

She would tire and I would stop for her to rest and we would go a little further until we reached home. After three days of caring for the pups she finally came over and sniffed me and let me touch her. We found homes for the puppies. She had been apparently so abused it took me quite some time to get close to her and we finally bonded. To this day, four years later, I am still the only one who can walk up and pet her, brush her hair or take her for a walk. She is jealous of any time that I spend with my other animals. She has become my protector instead of me being hers.

I have rescued two other dogs and a cat in the same way: thrown out on a dirt road in the country to fend for themselves. It is like I was meant to find them. They finally have a loving home and know they are here to stay. I know they cannot tell me they love me as much as I do them but the wag of their tails and the look in their eyes when I talk to them speaks volumes to me. It’s like I’m their superhero. I rescued them when they were thrown out, feed them when they are hungry, take them for walks, teach them right from wrong, clean up after them, bathe them when they are dirty, keep them healthy and above all else love them when no one else would.

My love for animals goes way back. I feel more blessed every day for having them in my life. Their love is unconditional. The only thing they ask in return is our own unconditional love.

This is a prime example of why Faithful Hearts Animal Shelter needs to become a reality in Dodge County. This story was written by one of our members who truly sees the need for these animals to have a place to turn to. She has given much of her time and even opened her home to foster animals until the day arrives when we can open our own shelter doors. If you would like to volunteer your time, talent, or support to further our efforts please contact us at: Faithful Hearts Animal Shelter, PO Box 5014 in Eastman, GA 31023 or call us at 478-231-6942.

Diane Lemley

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#1 Cherokee on 07/20/10 at 01:58 AM [Reply]

People must realize that a dog has feelings also. They need everything that a human needs. I have raised several dogs from puppies to adults. The last dog I had was a beautiful cream color Lab and Sheperd mix. She was very loayal to me and to this day I miss her. I took her to a shelter to be adopted when I relocated. I am a member of SPCA in another state but I carry the love for animals with me, I am part cherokee indian and when I researched my indian surname, I found it meant that we loved and breeded wolves. I cannot and will stand to see an animal mistreatd in any way, the same way I donot tolerate humans being mistreated. I thak God for the compassion that I have. We must realize that dogs or any animals are God creatures also. I wished Eastman had an animal control not beacuse we have strays in the city but to put a stop to the people who are raising animals for dog fighting. I appreciate this article and I wished everyone would take heed as to what Diane is asking of you. Please donot mistreat and animal.

#2 Cherokee on 07/20/10 at 02:08 AM [Reply]

People must realize that a dog has feelings also. They need everything that a human needs. I have raised several dogs from puppies to adults. The last dog I had was a beautiful cream color Lab and Sheperd mix. She was very loayal to me and to this day I miss her. I took her to a shelter to be adopted when I relocated. I am a member of SPCA in another state but I carry the love for animals with me, I am part cherokee indian and when I researched my indian surname, I found it meant that we loved and breeded wolves. I cannot and will not stand to see an animal mistreatd in any way, the same way I donot tolerate humans being mistreated. I thank God for the compassion that I have. We must realize that dogs or any animals are God creatures also. I wished Eastman had an animal control not because we have strays in the city but to put a stop to the people who are raising animals for dog fighting. I appreciate this article and I wished everyone would take heed as to what Diane is asking of you. Please donot mistreat an animal. Diane when I read this article it brought tears to my eyes. I thank God that you are a compassionate person toward animals.

#3 candi on 08/05/10 at 02:50 PM [Reply]

I to have dogs and cats that i have rescued from certain death on a dirt road in Eastman.The thing that bothers me the most about this is that Dodge county says that we do not have the funding to build an animal shelter. I find that hard to believe when every time we need a baseball field redone or new bleachers at the football field that the money is there. I think that our town leaders would find it to be an embarasment to our town to see an animal suffering and do nothing about how bad this situation is really getting. I personally have found homes for 14 kittens and and 12 dogs not counting the 5 dogs and 6 cats that we have kept as our own pets. I would love to see a town put forth the effort in stopping those crule hearted people who dump these poor animals off on our dirt roads to starve to death. We are part of the Bible belt here in Georgia well,these animals that are being dumped are Gods creaters as well so we need to do the Christian thing and find a way to help these animals.

#3.1 Matt Oxley - Web Admin for Faithful Hearts Animal Shelter on 08/06/10 at 03:18 PM [Reply]

Candi -

Thanks for your concern, and you are right - this should absolutely be a priority for Eastman. Thankfully we have had help from our county and should soon be signing a land lease on which we will build the private shelter.

If you are interested in knowing more about us, check out the website at http://FHanimalshelter.org or come to one of the monthly meetings every second Tuesday of the month at 7, at the Mercer Building across from the Library.

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