Behold! The photo attached to this blog post is an actual pic of two cutie pie Yorkies we were able to prevent being surrendered to a shelter and instead are now in the perfect foster (hopefully permanent) home.

I say WE because this was a monumental effort involving just a few very determined animal lovers who refused to give up. It started with my dear friend Diane who luckily was at the shelter that day and who had the owner hand the dogs right over to her. She was then able to secure rescue backing from an incredible not for profit (which is very important!)

We only had a couple of days to secure the perfect foster because Di was leaving for vacation and she would never board them. They had been through enough. So we all whipped our rolodexes (lol they're called phones now) and we called and/or texted as many good hearted, compassionate animal lovers we could think of. No joke, I literally spoke with people I hadn't seen or spoken with in over 5 years! We also flooded social media pages and may have begged a little too.

It was starting to feel a little bleak. I started to doubt that I would find this special person until the next day when I texted my friend "Donna" who immediately responded with "I know the perfect person!" A few minutes later and I was on the phone with her friend "Tracey" who is in fact the perfect person who stepped up without a moment's hesitation. She committed to fostering them and to potentially adopt them both too. A few hours later and the transfer was made and no one has looked back...especially the poochies!!!

The takeaway is...it really does come down to relationships. Your network is going to determine a lot and it's incredibly important in the animal welfare, advocacy and rescue space. Surround yourself with the best people and you will have the best outcomes. It takes a village but they're always worth it!

‍

Valerie Heffron

Host of Professionals & Animal Lovers Show