Sometimes it takes animals like Lucy to remind us that the work we do is well worth the effort – and the cost.  In the animal rescue world, it’s far too easy to be overwhelmed by the day-to-day tasks involved in helping animals.  Sometimes, one catches him or herself thinking, “why do I do this”?  Then a dog like Lucy comes along and you quickly remember why, as well as rekindle the fire of inspiration to continue helping others.

 Lucy was not having a very good week when we first met her.  She had apparently been hit by a car, which broke both bones in her left front leg.  Traumatized, she found refuge in a nearby neighborhood, where she hid in the hedges around a home for days.  The homeowners felt sorry for her, and brought her food and water, but were unwilling to accept the responsibility of getting her the emergency medical attention that she so desperately needed.  After a few days of making phone calls, they contacted us and we rushed to the scene to transport Lucy to the vet.  There we learned the grim truth: the breaks in the leg were bad, and would require the expertise of a veterinary orthopedic specialist to repair them.  As if that weren’t enough, we also learned that she was highly heartworm positive.  Moments like these are extremely difficult – and controversial - for animal rescuers: as we watched dollar signs flash before us, for a fleeting moment we questioned whether the expense could be justified.  So many other animals could be helped with the $1,200 it would take to restore Lucy to health.  Could we justify spending that kind of money on just one animal, possibly at the expense of being able to help others?
 

One look into Lucy’s crystal blue eyes gave us the answer.  We knew in an instant that we had to help her – and animals like her – as long as there was a reasonable expectation of her making a full recovery.   We had not faced such a financial challenge before, and never had to make such a tough call.  But that day, we crystallized our policy that, when we say we are “no kill”, we mean it, as long as the animal is adoptable and can fully recover to enjoy a high quality life.

 To this day, we have not placed a price tag on an animal’s life – we are fully committed to helping animals in need – as long as we have a reasonable expectation that we’ll eventually be able to pay for it, and as long as the animal is adoptable and not experiencing a terminal condition. 

Cases like this undescore why your help is so crucial to our mission.  Today, Lucy is fully healed, heartworm negative and spayed.  All Lucy needs now is a permanent, loving home. But she says she want to have a family all to herself - she doesn't want to have to share them with any other dogs.