I feel compelled to tell people about Kelsey’s story. So often we hear about the sad news in the world. Kelsey’s story is a happy one. She was rescued by several people. I have named the group of people involved in her rescue Kelsey’s “village.” This is the story of her village.
I got the call on a Tuesday. “We have a small shih tzu mix dog that gave birth to four puppies at the shelter, and all my fosters are full.” “Five dogs?! You want me to foster 5 dogs?” But when a shelter that euthanizes animals on a daily basis calls and asks you to help save lives by taking in some puppies, it’s very difficult refuse. I talked to my husband and we agreed to take the dogs in until the following Monday. That would give the Foster Coordinator some time to find another temporary home for them.
The dogs were delivered to my house and the puppies looked like mice. Eyes closed, scrunchy noses… and all they did was eat and sleep. It’s hard to bond immediately with almost inanimate objects. Kelsey, the mother, was a different story. She was very animated. She gave lots of kisses and it seemed her only goal in life was to have her love reciprocated. She was scruffy and dirty and I guessed that she never really knew what it was like to feel the warm comfort of a person’s lap. She had, after all, been picked up from the streets by a Valley Oak SPCA Animal Control Officer (the first of Kelsey’s village). Two days later she gave birth in the shelter. It had been cold and raining that week. Kelsey was terrified, very pregnant, and starving. I wonder how many people had seen this pregnant dog running around in the streets, scavenging for food and water, without trying to save her. In Tulare County, there are a lot of animals roaming the streets with no safe home and no one to love them. I think there are so many that a lot of people stop noticing. Perhaps someone finally took notice of poor Kelsey and called the SPCA. Perhaps the Animal Control Officer just happened to see a very pregnant dog running loose while he or she was on another call. Either way, someone noticed her, scared and cold, and decided to do something about it. Kelsey was one of the lucky ones. I shutter to think of what would have happened to her and her babies if she hadn’t been picked up by that officer…
Once at the shelter, another employee (the second of Kelsey’s village) took a liking to her. But then again, how could you not? Kelsey had a way of looking at you like she had just decided that your soul was kind. She trusted, even though she probably had no reason to trust. The employee kept Kelsey and her babies safe at the shelter until I was contacted and agreed to take them. My husband and I were only supposed to have the foster dogs for six days. We have three of our own dogs and it can be incredibly inconvenient to have extra dogs in our home. It can also add some additional financial strain. But we could handle only six days, especially if it meant that the dogs would be saved.
I took a few pictures of Kelsey and her little mice babies on my cell phone and texted them to my neighbor (the third of Kelsey’s village) who shares my affinity towards animals. She asked if she could come over to see them. She fell in love with them instantly. Later that day, my neighbor brought over a bag full of goodies she had purchased for Kelsey. She bought her food, lots of treats, and some pink with white polka dots food and water bowls. She said that she bought the bowls because she thought Kelsey deserved to have a pampered life from now on. Apparently my old feta cheese containers lacked the kind of luxury she desired for Kelsey. My neighbor offered to help us in any way she could. I told her that she was too generous, that Kelsey and her babies were our responsibility, not hers. I didn’t want her to feel burdened. She responded by saying one of the truest things I’ve ever heard, “This is everyone’s responsibility.”
Six days passed. I could see that Kelsey felt safe at my house. She probably was not used to feeling safe. She was an excellent mother and her babies were really no trouble at all at only a week old. I was afraid that another move might put stress on her, and that can be bad for the puppies. My husband (the fourth of Kelsey’s village), who does not necessarily share my passion for saving animals but who loves me dearly, agreed that we could keep Kelsey and her babies a while longer. He has a good heart and he also wanted what was best for the dogs. As the puppies got older, they did require more work. My husband fed them, cleaned up after them, and snuggled them. Without his help, there is no way I could have fostered Kelsey and her babies for so long.
The weeks went on and the puppies grew, opened their eyes, and began walking around like real dogs. My husband named one of them Oscar after Oscar De La Hoya, because De La Hoya’s nickname was “The Golden Boy” and Oscar the puppy was blonde. We named the rest after boxers as well: Butterbean, Winky, and Micky. One of my bosses (the fifth of Kelsey’s village) let me borrow a puppy gate so that we could let Kelsey and the puppies have more room to roam without damaging the house. It was the funniest thing to watch them pounce around, trying to learn how to jump, and often falling over as a result of having no balance. Oscar often lifted his front paws in the air, slowly, in an apparent attempt to fly right off the ground and into my arms. He had the most perplexed expression on his face when he didn’t take flight but fell straight back, paws in the air.
My neighbor sent Kelsey’s picture to her adult daughter (the sixth of Kelsey’s village) who had recently lost her shih tzu to illness. Another heart was melted by Kelsey’s scruffy face. Later, when the puppies were almost 7 weeks old, my neighbor’s daughter adopted Kelsey, vowing to spoil her rotten until the end of her days. So far I’ve only listed six people in Kelsey’s village, but really there were countless others. The Foster Coordinator, the VOSPCA employees and volunteers who fed Kelsey while she was at the shelter, my friend who took professional photographs of the puppies to help them get adopted… the list goes on.
I once saw an episode of a television show on Animal Planet where a couple of women who worked for a dog rescue organization went on a trip to New Orleans to “rescue” the remains of a dead dog. The dog died alone under an overpass. It had a pink collar but no identification tags. The person who called the organization to ask for their help had been told by other organizations to simply dump the remains in the trash. It was a morbid rescue mission, but the women wanted to give the deceased dog a proper burial or cremation – to show some respect and love for a creature that undoubtedly died terrified and alone. I thought about that episode often while fostering Kelsey. I couldn’t help but think that that could have been her. If she hadn’t have been rescued from the streets, should would likely have tried to find a quiet place to deliver her puppies - behind a dumpster in an alley or under a pile of trash and lumber in the yard of an abandoned house. She would have tried desperately to keep her babies alive, but they would have inevitably died from exposure to the rain and the cold winds. Kelsey probably would have starved to death, a nameless dog behind a smelly dumpster. But Kelsey will never know that fate. She’ll never have to worry about where her meals will come from, or where she can go to get out of the rain or the extreme heat. She will know only love. With any luck, her puppies will never have the experiences that Kelsey had before she was rescued. They were loved from the moment they were born. Kelsey did a great job caring for them in their first weeks of life. But she had help. She had a village.
I got the call on a Tuesday. “We have a small shih tzu mix dog that gave birth to four puppies at the shelter, and all my fosters are full.” “Five dogs?! You want me to foster 5 dogs?” But when a shelter that euthanizes animals on a daily basis calls and asks you to help save lives by taking in some puppies, it’s very difficult refuse. I talked to my husband and we agreed to take the dogs in until the following Monday. That would give the Foster Coordinator some time to find another temporary home for them.
The dogs were delivered to my house and the puppies looked like mice. Eyes closed, scrunchy noses… and all they did was eat and sleep. It’s hard to bond immediately with almost inanimate objects. Kelsey, the mother, was a different story. She was very animated. She gave lots of kisses and it seemed her only goal in life was to have her love reciprocated. She was scruffy and dirty and I guessed that she never really knew what it was like to feel the warm comfort of a person’s lap. She had, after all, been picked up from the streets by a Valley Oak SPCA Animal Control Officer (the first of Kelsey’s village). Two days later she gave birth in the shelter. It had been cold and raining that week. Kelsey was terrified, very pregnant, and starving. I wonder how many people had seen this pregnant dog running around in the streets, scavenging for food and water, without trying to save her. In Tulare County, there are a lot of animals roaming the streets with no safe home and no one to love them. I think there are so many that a lot of people stop noticing. Perhaps someone finally took notice of poor Kelsey and called the SPCA. Perhaps the Animal Control Officer just happened to see a very pregnant dog running loose while he or she was on another call. Either way, someone noticed her, scared and cold, and decided to do something about it. Kelsey was one of the lucky ones. I shutter to think of what would have happened to her and her babies if she hadn’t been picked up by that officer…
Once at the shelter, another employee (the second of Kelsey’s village) took a liking to her. But then again, how could you not? Kelsey had a way of looking at you like she had just decided that your soul was kind. She trusted, even though she probably had no reason to trust. The employee kept Kelsey and her babies safe at the shelter until I was contacted and agreed to take them. My husband and I were only supposed to have the foster dogs for six days. We have three of our own dogs and it can be incredibly inconvenient to have extra dogs in our home. It can also add some additional financial strain. But we could handle only six days, especially if it meant that the dogs would be saved.
I took a few pictures of Kelsey and her little mice babies on my cell phone and texted them to my neighbor (the third of Kelsey’s village) who shares my affinity towards animals. She asked if she could come over to see them. She fell in love with them instantly. Later that day, my neighbor brought over a bag full of goodies she had purchased for Kelsey. She bought her food, lots of treats, and some pink with white polka dots food and water bowls. She said that she bought the bowls because she thought Kelsey deserved to have a pampered life from now on. Apparently my old feta cheese containers lacked the kind of luxury she desired for Kelsey. My neighbor offered to help us in any way she could. I told her that she was too generous, that Kelsey and her babies were our responsibility, not hers. I didn’t want her to feel burdened. She responded by saying one of the truest things I’ve ever heard, “This is everyone’s responsibility.”
Six days passed. I could see that Kelsey felt safe at my house. She probably was not used to feeling safe. She was an excellent mother and her babies were really no trouble at all at only a week old. I was afraid that another move might put stress on her, and that can be bad for the puppies. My husband (the fourth of Kelsey’s village), who does not necessarily share my passion for saving animals but who loves me dearly, agreed that we could keep Kelsey and her babies a while longer. He has a good heart and he also wanted what was best for the dogs. As the puppies got older, they did require more work. My husband fed them, cleaned up after them, and snuggled them. Without his help, there is no way I could have fostered Kelsey and her babies for so long.
The weeks went on and the puppies grew, opened their eyes, and began walking around like real dogs. My husband named one of them Oscar after Oscar De La Hoya, because De La Hoya’s nickname was “The Golden Boy” and Oscar the puppy was blonde. We named the rest after boxers as well: Butterbean, Winky, and Micky. One of my bosses (the fifth of Kelsey’s village) let me borrow a puppy gate so that we could let Kelsey and the puppies have more room to roam without damaging the house. It was the funniest thing to watch them pounce around, trying to learn how to jump, and often falling over as a result of having no balance. Oscar often lifted his front paws in the air, slowly, in an apparent attempt to fly right off the ground and into my arms. He had the most perplexed expression on his face when he didn’t take flight but fell straight back, paws in the air.
My neighbor sent Kelsey’s picture to her adult daughter (the sixth of Kelsey’s village) who had recently lost her shih tzu to illness. Another heart was melted by Kelsey’s scruffy face. Later, when the puppies were almost 7 weeks old, my neighbor’s daughter adopted Kelsey, vowing to spoil her rotten until the end of her days. So far I’ve only listed six people in Kelsey’s village, but really there were countless others. The Foster Coordinator, the VOSPCA employees and volunteers who fed Kelsey while she was at the shelter, my friend who took professional photographs of the puppies to help them get adopted… the list goes on.
I once saw an episode of a television show on Animal Planet where a couple of women who worked for a dog rescue organization went on a trip to New Orleans to “rescue” the remains of a dead dog. The dog died alone under an overpass. It had a pink collar but no identification tags. The person who called the organization to ask for their help had been told by other organizations to simply dump the remains in the trash. It was a morbid rescue mission, but the women wanted to give the deceased dog a proper burial or cremation – to show some respect and love for a creature that undoubtedly died terrified and alone. I thought about that episode often while fostering Kelsey. I couldn’t help but think that that could have been her. If she hadn’t have been rescued from the streets, should would likely have tried to find a quiet place to deliver her puppies - behind a dumpster in an alley or under a pile of trash and lumber in the yard of an abandoned house. She would have tried desperately to keep her babies alive, but they would have inevitably died from exposure to the rain and the cold winds. Kelsey probably would have starved to death, a nameless dog behind a smelly dumpster. But Kelsey will never know that fate. She’ll never have to worry about where her meals will come from, or where she can go to get out of the rain or the extreme heat. She will know only love. With any luck, her puppies will never have the experiences that Kelsey had before she was rescued. They were loved from the moment they were born. Kelsey did a great job caring for them in their first weeks of life. But she had help. She had a village.
