12/31/2020
As this year comes to a close, I want to reflect on all the wonderful things this year has brought, despite its challenges. We are so proud to have matched so many deserving dogs and puppies to their loving new families. Our dogs have come from horrendous conditions; they have been abandoned and neglected by their humans, their suffering ignored. With the help of our rescue partners in Oklahoma who find them and give these dogs the immediate help they need, and our wonderful foster families who care for them once they arrive in Colorado, we are able to give them the medical care and emotional support they need to go on to become loved and valued members of their families.
Some of the dogs we’ve been able to help include Molly and her 3 puppies, Mitch, Mongo, and Minx. The puppies were only 3 days old when they were rescued, living outside among the junk in the yard in the dirt. Ghost and Marley were left starving, with Ghost being pregnant when they were rescued. Ghost began giving birth on her ride home to her foster family. Sandy and Sally, both pregnant girls, were fending for themselves and were about to give birth in an open field had they not been rescued, within days of giving birth. Alice and her puppies were abandoned in their home when their humans moved away. They were lucky to have been found. Izzy and her puppies were abandoned and would have been easy prey for coyotes. So many mommas and babies that faced a life of starvation, disease, and predation if it hadn’t been for caring people that said yes to helping them. Hershey was abandoned at a construction site at only 6 weeks old. Our Boxer puppies were being given away at a Walmart to whoever would take them. So many young puppies that could have fallen into the wrong hands.
We’ve had some dogs with big medical problems this year that we’ve helped. We’re committed to doing the right thing for them. Pooky was essentially crippled with a form of arthritis. But with specialized diagnostics and a treatment plan, he’s gone on to regain his mobility. Gidget was born with a defect that left her hind legs very weak. We have provided her with specialized vet care. Likewise, Nugget was born with a defect that will result in surgery. We are assisting his adopter with the expenses related to that surgery. We've provided heartworm treatment to 5 different dogs.
Additionally, we have donated $2,000 toward spays and neuters for dogs in Oklahoma, to help with overpopulation there. There are so many stories we could tell, of the life-changing transformations we see with the dogs in our care.
We would like to say a special thanks for those folks that have been pivotal to our success this year: David Beattie, pilot for Pilots N Paws; Debbie Davis-Sanders, who does the heart-wrenching hard work on the Oklahoma side of things; Amber Hunsucker, Oklahoma puppy whelper extraordinaire; our wonderful veterinarians at Summer Valley in Aurora, and Caring Hands and Guardian Angels in Thornton; our dedicated foster families, particularly long-term fosters Laura and Scott Birdsill, Mick and Michelle Piontek, Amy Smith, Lisa Murray, Amanda Taft, Cristina Zehr, Jennifer Jensen, Kim Hazlett, Annairis Johnson, and Tasha Mendez.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the amazing Board of True-Blue Pet Rescue, for their tireless work and dedication to the dogs in our care. They will drop everything to do what is needed, without ever a complaint or hesitation, and they always have the best interests of the dogs in mind in decisions and actions taken. I’m incredibly proud of the work we do, and recognize that we couldn’t be as successful as we are without Rhonda Pylican, Adoption Coordinator and Treasurer, Joanna Van Gieson, Adoption Coordinator and Secretary, and Katelynn Fontenot, Behavior and Special Needs Consultant. We are incredibly blessed to have the wonderful people supporting us that we do, without whom none of this could happen. There are too many people to name here that we want to thank, but you know who you are. You have donated when you can, you have liked and shared our posts, you have stepped up when the call came out for a foster and you have adopted rather than supporting puppy mills.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We wish you all Happy Holidays and a new year full of love, happiness, and pawprints.
Jolie Hendricks
President, True-Blue Pet Rescue
