With rescue work you have really busy days – like helping to unload 100 dogs from a mass rescue, document them, get them settled, fed, warm, up on pet finder, into your database, vetted and cared for – and then there are other days when you can sit in your office all day paying bills or answering the phone and emails.
Today was a busy rescue day for Pets Alive. Today is a day that I will always remember as the day we rescued Robert.
It all started when I was going through the kill lists for the CACC last night and I saw a cat that my heart just went out to. She was an 8 year old cat named Princess and she had been dumped at the very high kill CACC for reason stated “new husband and baby allergic”. The CACC tested her and gave her one of their highest temperament ratings meaning that this was one VERY sweet cat. I read her “thread” on Facebook and no one had stepped up to take her in. Older cats are more difficult to place and many of us are filled with older cats. I will tell you that Pets Alive has a population of about 90% of our cats that are considered senior and so adoptions can be slow…taking in another one wasn’t really in the cards. At this point we need to try to take in some “highly adoptables” to help fund all the seniors we care for that may NOT get adopted. That’s just the way it is.
So looking at this cat had me shake my head with sadness and move on to the next. But something about her, and the fact that her owner had her for eight years and dumped her in a place where she was almost sure to die because of her new husband’s allergies really had me pissed off. I mean didn’t she date this man before they got married? Couldn’t he have gone for allergy shots? Didn’t they have anyone that could care for the cat or take it in, or could they keep it in the guest room or SOMETHING other than just abandoning it to die amongst strangers? Ah, but I digress. Anyway, I decided to call and pull Princess. “Pull” means put a commitment on her that our sanctuary would accept her in, so that she would not be killed the next morning. The CACC then notes that and holds her for us. So while I was there I saw Jose and pulled him too. What the heck. What’s one more? I have faith in our cat staff to place our cats (our cat manager Becky does a great job with this) and so I was happy. Two cats lives would be spared in the morning.
But then I started wondering, oh heck, what about the dogs – wonder if there are any there that might find a place with us. There was one real cutie. His name was Lincoln and he was adorable, but then, sigh, oh then I saw Tunechi. A little BLIND shitzu. Oh no. She was dying tomorrow? Ugh. No. Ok, let me pull the both of them.
Whew.
Went to bed feeling good. John Sibley was going to go and pick them up in the morning for us. John is an amazing animal activist, animal lover, blogger and friend. He lives in the city, but it was still a lot to ask him to go first to the Manhattan shelter to get the cats and then to the Brooklyn shelter to get the dogs, but he didn’t even bat an eye – he was on it and out there early in the morning.
In the morning I checked online for confirmation that the cats and dogs were coming and I found out that Jose was pulled by another rescue. Yay! That’s great. But on the dog page I saw a dog that was dying that morning that was NOT THERE at 10:00 the night before! A dog named Robert. My eyes were immediately drawn to him. It was a terribly poignant picture. He was crippled and holding himself up by his front legs. His face had the most amazing expression on it that I had ever seen. I can’t really describe it. I put the picture here for your to see and determine what that expression is for yourself.
For ME it was an expression that I couldn’t turn my back on, but my staff is terribly over worked. Every single one of them works more hours than they are paid for, they are dedicated, they work HARD, I never see them hanging around or lounging – they are so committed to the animals here and taking this dog in would put a lot of extra burden on us all. I asked for Janet, our medical staff person, and Sue our adoption and intake coordinator, to come to my office.
When they got there they said “What’s wrong, your voice was terrible”. I said “Look” and turned the screen to then. Instantly their faces changed and they said “awww” and then “Are we taking him“? At that point I wanted to cry. I really did. This staff is just astonishing. We all know what taking in a serious medically difficult dog means to us all, and we all know how expensive it may be too, and we all know how much time it will take to help and handle a crippled dog. But thy didn’t hesitate. They thought we should reach out to help him.
And with that, I called and pulled Robert and sent follow up emails to the CACC staff asking for him. I worried it might be too late. Why would he have NOT been on the CACC death list the night before and yet put on it that morning? It was 9:45am and they usually kill earlier than that. Was it already too late? I called John and asked him to rush to the Brooklyn center and try to save him before it was too late. He was already on his way. A few moments later though I received a confirmation email that Robert was “held” for us. He was safe. He was coming.
I looked over the thread in his Facebook post and there were so many comments from so many people that cared and were pleading and begging someone to help Robert. There was even an offer of a wheelchair from Eddie’s Wheels – a great organization that makes and fits crippled dogs with a wheelchair to get around! Here is a sampling of some of the Facebook posts.
Of course while he was there, John texts me and says that there was only one cat on the death list the night before that was not pulled by rescue. His name was Sam and he had a fractured front leg. Did I want him too?
Sheesh. At this point I have a senior cat, a senior dog, a blind dog, a crippled dog – what the heck, throw in a broken legged cat!
And so Sam was saved too.
John gently put Robert in the back of his car, along with our two other dogs and two cats and headed up to Pets Alive. Over an hour and a half drive in a snowstorm. I told you he was dedicated, didn’t I? GREAT guy (hey girls, he is single too – just sayin!)
After speaking to him, and to Janet we decided that the best thing to do would be for John to go directly to our vets office. Dr. Furman is a great guy and his staff is fabulous and they made room for us to come right in with the broken legged cat and our crippled dog.
I took this little video of Robert at the vet office: http://twitvid.com/GJTU8
and another of our vet with him: http://twitvid.com/KCADF
I met John there and after examination Dr. Furman said that Robert needed immediate care. His bladder was full and he was unable to express it himself. (Dr. Furman did that for Robert to make him more comfortable) and he also felt he was in considerable pain. It was undetermined from the X-rays and medical reports from the CACC if Robert was hit by a car, or if this was an old injury of some sort, but Robert also had lacerations on his face and legs. Dr. Furman felt that he might have had a very serious condition to begin with and then being hit by the car exacerbated it and made him a complete paraplegic. He did note that Robert DID have some feeling in his back paws so if we were to have ANY chance of operating on him, he could not lose that feeling entirely. So he wanted him to go immediately for an MRI, and surgery, as it would be Robert’s best chance of survival and recovery. He also said that his bladder was very full and if we did not have someone round the clock to help him express it then there was a chance of it bursting or causing him a lot of discomfort and pain. He needed critical care and he needed it asap!
Ouch. A snowstorm. Hazardous road conditions and it was 4:30 pm now. How were we going to get him over an hour away to Oradell?
I called Janet to try to figure out what we should do. Many people think Pets Alive is this huge organization, with this immense budget, but the truth is that we are about 10-12 people strong (and some of those are part time) and our budgets is such that we run in a deficit every month until our annual Furball fundraiser and our smaller fundraisers all year that help to fill in the holes.
So looking at $8,000 to $10,000 worth of costs for Robert, a dog we didn’t even KNOW and the care he would need did stop my heart for a moment. How the heck were we going to manage this? Then I looked into his face, and I smiled at him, and he thumped his tail at me. Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart melted and I called Janet – “What are we going to do?”. She said that she was going to call her fiancé and that she and he were going to leave right then, come and pick up Robert and head to Oradell with him. Right then. At night. In a snowstorm. For a dog she hadn’t even met yet.
She is one of the more astonishing and amazing people I know. Janet is everything you would hope for in a person that works for you, but more than that she is so amazingly caring and giving and loving to the animals of Pets Alive. She is irreplaceable. I admire her so much, and more than that I respect her, her work and the person that she is. I was so touched.
I left Robert in Dr. Furman’s care, while I took Sam back to Pets Alive. Oh, and Sam the cat with the broken leg? Yeah. No. Nothing wrong with the leg. Dr. Furman did an X-ray and it was completely clean. Sam has a little bite wound in his leg, and it is sore..that’s all. And his temperament is not hissy and aggressive as his sheet says. He is a total sweetie. A very nice cat. I handed him over to Becky for intake and came home to write this blog.
Robert is on his way with Janet to go to Oradell. I don’t know what his future holds. In the end if we can’t manage his pain and we can’t help him we may be forced to let him go, which would kill us all after all of this.
We have a connection to Robert, and a commitment now. We looked into his eyes and we made him a promise. I wish he had not lain at the CACC for days when immediate surgery could have maybe saved him, but that is the state of our city run shelter. We will do the best that we can by him because this dog after being treated horribly, after being not cared about, after being hit by a car, after laying in his own filth, after not being able to release his own bladder, after living in pain for days…this dog looked at us …. and thumped his tail.
Pets Alive asks you to please help us with costs for Robert. He is worth saving. He is worth having a life and having someone to love him and having a chance at walking again.
We’re all pulling for you Robert. Please keep fighting. We are all fighting for you.
All of you volunteers make the world a better place. We need more people like you. God bless you!
Haven’t heard about Robert’s condition. Any word yet? On pins and needles. It is so heartening to see so many people care about Robert.
Robert’s story broke my heart -I admire every one of you who dedicate your time and love to these precious animals-you are as special as they are-thanks to you you give them meaning- I gladly made a donation and and many prayers-God bless all of you.
just wondering how Robert is doing and where he is.
For updates on Robert, you can follow Pets Alive on twitter &/or facebook…but here is the latest from them as of Monday morning, March 5th…(thoughts and prayers for Robert)…
“Robert update: Robert is still not eating well. He occasionally eats but not enough to sustain him, so he is still on IV’s to help…
He still also can not express his own bladder and the doctors feel that because he lay so long without having it expressed, that …
…that he may have lost the muscle ability to do that and so is on meds to try to help rebuild that.
He also has not shown much improvement in any sort of mobility or feeling &they would have expected to see more recovery of function by now.
So, thus far it seems that our attempts to help Robert have not been very successful, I am sorry to say.
His pain is being managed though and he is more comfortable now, so let’s see what the next couple of days hold for him. :(“
Can I adopt him???
With so many people behind Robert, he just has to improve. If you can overcome by love & Prayer Robert would be up walking by now. At least he is not alone in his time of need. That brings me comfort. I love you Robert, I can’t get your little face out of my mind. Good luck Buddy.
Oh Robert, please, please make it through. We all love you so and there is a wonderful life waiting for you in a forever home with love and comfort and toys and good food. Come on buddy, please try.
Today’s update on Robert…slow improvement…please keep the thoughts and prayers coming…
“Update: Robert appears to be in better spirits today. Much happier & calmer. Still no increased mobility or ability to urinate on his own…
…but the doctors are trying to get him onto all oral meds instead of IV’s so that he can come back to Pets Alive & recover here.”
You guys do wonderful work! I just donated $200 and will speak to my husband about adopting Robert. He looks so sweet! We adopted our Morgan from you, she is the light of our life! Keep up the good work, I’ll say a prayer for Robert, please keep us updated on his condition!
Please, please publish update on webite so those of us non-facebook and twitter users can read about Robert’s status.
And, I would love to come visit Robert when he is more on the mend, just to say hello and cheer him up. Whoever adopts him is an angel and will also be in my prayers. Stay strong sweet baby Robert!
I also just donated. I remember seeing a post for this dog a while back. My heart just broke looking at him. Thank you for rescuing him.
Just donated and I hope that Robert comes through with flying colors. He’s such a sweet dog, and please keep updating his status.
Can I adopt him??
You folks are great.. He is a trooper for hanging in there. I will donate. I am the proud parent of a Pitbull and I could never see him hurt in anyway. He has a strong spirit… I feel good about him.
Tons of updates on Robert and tons of pictures posted at: http://twitter.com/petsalive – take a look! Robert is here at Pets Alive with us, and yes he IS adoptable to a home that can meet his needs (and right now he has many). If you are that home, please fill out an adoption application at petsalive.com ! Thank you ALL for your support and financial help and most of all your love and good will and hopes for a better future for Robert. Thanks to ALL of you – he WILL GET THAT!!!!!!!! THANK YOU! He was WORTH IT! He IS worth it!
Tears are running down my face as I type this…I just donated what I could since i’m not working at the moment. Every penny spent on Robert is worth it!! I WILL have my animal sanctuary soon so I can help every animal and love them unconditionally as they have loved me unconditionally.
Such a wonderful boy. Thank you so much for having BIG HEARTS.
Next payday…..
each time I would start reading, I would have to stop because of tears in my eyes. <3 donation sent! 🙂
Keep up the good work guys!
Just donated 50.00 in the name of that fantastic courageous robert. TY for caring.. My Pitbull Max told me to do it. Max second the idea.
I donated to Robert just now. My dog has had two back surgeries and was paralyzed twice. He couldnt wag his tail when he was paralyzed so hopefully that is a good sign for Robert! Each time my Stanley learned how to walk again. Thank you for giving him a second chance. If you are in the market for a wheelchair check out Eddies Wheels in Massachusetts. They are one of the absolute best.
I donated what I could to Robert, thanks to one of your volunteers writing about it in Facebook. I hope that every little bit helps.
Can you please update us on Robert’s status? Was he able to have surgery?
Tears & Joy for those so dedicated to save every living, loving creature. As you said, Roberts eyes reached out to you, me to believe that All deserve better care & love. I’m a huge dog, cat, horse, etc loving person. Roberts story brought me to huge tears, thank you for all you & your staff do to save these beautiful creatures! I’ve made a donation for Roberts care, but would like to also know more about the references to wheels for mobility when he’s up & ready to get about on his next joyful adventure. Again, thank you for your brave & giving rescue of Robert!
When can, please update me on Roberts status. If he’s better, I’d like to know about the wheels for mobility. Thank you.
I cross-posted and shared this little fellow more than any I ever have the night before he was to be put down. This is the video and webpage I show people who have given up trying to help the animals. You all are the reason I keep foraging ahead. Thank you from the deepest part of my soul.
I follow the blog everyday after having donated towards this brave dog and those loving folks who care for him.
How is he doing today?
God bless
Until there’s a moment free to write a new blog about Robert…even if you don’t have a twitter account…be sure to use this link to get to their twitter account and see all sorts of wonderful pictures of how Robert is now…and read on his latest news…
(including that he is up to having some visitors who might want to come by and sit with him for a while and tell him what a wonderful boy he is!)…
https://twitter.com/#!/petsalive
Ugh, trying to post the link to their twitter account again…
https://twitter.com/#!/petsalive
I hope this one will work!
Okay, last try…link to Pets Alive’s twitter account…
http://twitter.com/petsalive
It took me about 2o minutes to read this…I could not stop sobbing! I am legally blind and understand how difficult it can be living with a disability and this poor little boy can’t even talk to tell anyone how he was feeling. God Bless you for saving him. I know that with angels like you, he will live a long, happy and love filled life! Donating to help him, I don’t have much but I’ll give what I can.
Pets Alive is very special to me. This reminds me why they are.
Pets Alive (Sue and Kerry) took in 2 sweet dogs from NC who were locked up for 3 years in a pound that no one knew about the pound does not advertise, locked up with no human contact, with newspaper covering the window, their only light..the story is posted in a blog here below at the link. After a long long progress of me trying to get them out alive, going through the system, courts, District Attorneys, Judges… it was another very long process to find a rescue to take them. They could only be released to a rescue..No one wanted them..and I contacted everyone! almost lost hope until I got that one email from Pets Alive. Pets Alive stepped up to take them in. I couldnt believe it.
Story of Biscuit and Orka, (their names have been changed from the ones in the article)
http://petsalive.com/blog/2011/07/16/what-happens-to-evidence-dogs/#more-1602
And here they are on their petfinder page
Biscuit
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21032858
Orka
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21032843
Robert, Biscuit and Orka, keep on waggin your tails!
How is Robert? Those of us that don’t have twitter or face book want to have an update too!
Here in Clearwater, FL there was a miracle packaged in a small dolphin named Winter. She gave and continues to give SO many PEOPLE hope and inspiration. A little boy rescued her and with the help of a small, bankrupt aquarium, they gave her new life in the form of a prosteic tail. In turn she gave the aquarium new life as well. A movie was made about her and it was a happy ending… My point is, perhaps this little Robert, like Winter is really the Angel in the story. I hope his tale (pun intended) wags to SO MANY people and there is a surgence of funding coming his way that he is able to help many of the other animals there too.
God Bless all of you who are donating and caring for this little guy. There was a post commenting about the difference in pictures. I agree and say the first picture showed a helpless animal feeling doomed and seemingly ready for his ‘punishment’ whereas the newer ones show a renewed sense of a dog who knows he is saved and is grateful for it. I hope his story becomes a bigger story with a happy ending = )
Can I please have an update on this poor little guy? Were you able to save him? Are you still needing donations for him?
I just saw this story on Pinterest!!! Can someone tell me if Robert Survived???? I have So much Respect for your Rescue!!! Hope to have my own Rescue someday!!! Please let me know about Robert!!! Thank you!!!
Robert was adopted by a loving volunteer and even has his very own facebook page! You can continue to follow him and his story here https://www.facebook.com/RobertPetsAlive?fref=ts
What ever happened to Robert?