The Super Heroes of Walker County, Alabama
One of the visits I was most looking forward to on this trip was with RUFF (Rescuers United For Furbabies), an OPH rescue partner.They are a foster-based rescue on the front lines who are saving lives in Walker County, Alabama.RUFF supports Walker County Humane and Adoption Center in a gazillion ways, but I knew of them because they pulled dogs from Walker County for OPH, placing them in their foster homes, getting them to the vet for everything necessary to make the trip north and then meeting our transports to hand off dogs.We met Kara Jones, one of the RUFF leaders at Walker County late in the afternoon after she had finished her workday teaching seventh graders. Kara is pretty amazing, and not just because she has such a great name (misspelled, though, I might add). She is young and enthusiastic and Ivory girl pretty, yet fierce when it comes to saving dogs (she’s allergic to cats or I imagine she might be saving them too!). Like all good teachers, Kara is a curious person and as we walked through the facility, she asked again and again, “What can we do better?”
I committed to fostering him, hoping I could scoop him up and bring him north with us, as we had room in the Jeep. OPH sent him to the vet the next morning via RUFF. He was deemed too ill to travel and too weak for neuter surgery. All of RUFF’s foster homes are full, so Kay volunteered to bring him to her house and foster him for the next month in the hopes that he will recover and be strong enough to come north to OPH in October. Meanwhile, I sent Kay a care package for Houdini and I’ll be looking for a foster home for him. (If you’re an OPH foster or would like to be and want to foster him, let me know!)There are miracles happening in Walker County thanks to these remarkable women. Kay and Kara (and Marsha who I didn’t get to meet but heard much about) are holding back the tide, but they need help. They desperately need people in their area to step up and do what they can. They need funding, support, and more foster homes, but they also need volunteers at the shelter to help in any way they can – walking dogs, socializing animals, or answering the phones, anything to lighten the impossible load that surely would break the back of mere mortals.Everyone can do something to help. That is absolutely clear. These animals have no voice beyond ours. Please use yours to spread this message—it is time to let the dogs out. There is no excuse for animals suffering and dying for lack of a home or a simple vaccine. That is on us—all of us.Please subscribe to this blog, follow, comment and share on Facebook or Instagram and join us as we work together to let all the dogs out.Blessings,Cara
