Several months ago, I found myself making daily trips to the Savannah Chatham County Animal Control in search of my little man, Mr. Bentley.  What I witnessed as I searched for my lost schnauzer was nothing new to anyone who has ever seen an ASPCA commercial, watched Animal Cops on Animal Planet or any number of shows out there now about the homeless pet population that not only this country but many others face.  What I didn’t realize at the time was the amount of diligent hard work, dedication and countless tears that these workers (the “dog catcher” to the rest of us) face on a day in and day out basis.  I also never thought in a million years that in just a few short months I would look forward to each weekend so I could spend Saturday and Sunday volunteering at this high kill shelter.

Many of Chic Galleria’s readers may know that through the loss of Mr. Bentley I found another BFF in a rescue pit that literally was seconds away from death.  Xander was on a table sedated and they were seconds away from administering the medication that would stop his heart.  He had been at the shelter for three weeks and his time was up.  They needed to make room for the countless and nameless unwanted animals that arrive daily.

Xander and I came into each other’s lives in the nick of time.  He quickly became my leaning post as I recovered from the loss of the last of my three schnauzers.  I decided I would take bags of food out there every time I picked up a bag of food for Xander.  Each time I would take a walk through the shelter and pet each dog and give them a few words of kindness, not knowing if that dog would be the next to be put down or not.  I thought it was the least I could do.  I would have hoped that if Mr. Bentley had wound up at the shelter someone would have given him kind words until I got to him!  Well, the last trip I made with a bag of food, I did my usual walk through and found myself staring into the most soulful pair of brown eyes I had ever seen!  This little black and white female pit looked at me, I looked at her, our eyes locked and I made three trips up there in the next two days before I took her home Valentine’s afternoon.

Coco (after my favorite classic designer) quickly adapted to the good life!  I was warned that she might have dog aggression and I would need to introduce her and Xander slowly and be very careful.  All this little girl needed was what most dogs in an animal control, human society or other shelter need.  She needed a little TLC and a second chance at a happy life where she was wanted and taken care of.  What these animals give back to us is unmeasurable.  The unconditional love, attention and affection that these animals give back to us is ten fold the simple chance at a better life we offer to them.

The afternoon that I first took Xander out to the shelter to “meet” Coco found me filling in for the shortage of volunteers and workers on a busy day.  There were many visitors wanting to see what cute dogs we had.  People wanted to hold the kittens.  Amidst all of this, there were kennels that needed to be washed out, linens that had to be washed, food bowls filled and nearly fifty dogs that would give anything for a moment of attention and a short walk out in the bright sunlight.  I quickly found that nearly four hours had passed and I loved every busy minute of it!  I told them that I would be back the next day with Xander to try to get him and Coco together.  She had found herself there for over two weeks and while she had a lovely sponsor (someone was willing to cover the costs associated with her placement) she had shown signs of dog aggression.  That, combined with the fact that she was a pit bull greatly decreased her odds of adoption.  I was determined to work with her.  She bonded with me instantly, sensing I think that this was her last shot.  That was two weeks ago and we (all three of us) haven’t been happier!

Last weekend there was a Dog Day Afternoon event held at one of the squares in Savannah.  There was a “doggie psychic” and other activities for the dogs as well as their owners!  Local art students from the Savannah College of Art and Design (my alma mater) were on hand to do portraits of dogs for a $20 donation.  A local chapter of the Boy Scouts were on hand rolling truck tires around that had portraits painted on them of a few of the dogs that had already found “happy forever homes.”  There was even a documentary film-maker from NYC on hand shooting footage for an upcoming movie about the shelter!  It was truly a fun event for the dogs and their human companions.  The cause was great and the proceeds from the day went towards the many costs for the animals still waiting at the shelter to find their “forever homes.”

If I could make one plea on behalf of my two shelter babies it would be that you might help spread the word not to buy a family dog while there are so many still in a local shelter sitting on death row.  There is no reason for so many of these amazing and loving dogs to die each week!  There are so many little items that your local animal shelter needs.  Even if you can’t adopt a new family member, you would be amazed at the little items you might be able to help them with.  Contact your local animal shelter or local animal control to see what you can do to make a difference to even just one animal! Xander and Coco thank you!

Written by Theresa Jones