February is the month of love, so I thought I’d share a bit about a newfound passion of mine.
You see, it’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that I love animals. I have a particular soft spot for dogs. Even more specifically – what they call brachycephalic dogs, or short-nosed breeds like my very own Bruno, a Boston Terrier.
Bruno has terrible allergies and has required lots of special testing and medication to keep it under control. It’s been expensive and difficult, but I truly think it’s brought us even closer together, if possible. In my extensive research of the breed and on allergies, I came across S.N.O.R.T. – Short Noses Only Rescue Team, a rescue group serving Bostons, French Bulldogs, English Bulldogs, Pugs and the like. And I was touched by the stories of the surrendered dogs and moved by those who show such dedication to finding these animals their forever homes.
So I decided to act on it. I went through a thorough application process with the organization and was approved to be a volunteer. My duties started in updating the group’s Pinterest page, and I signed up for the Yahoo group keeping me up to date on all the happenings, including those dogs needing foster homes, those finding their forever families, fundraisers and more.
At the beginning, I declared I’d help in ways I was able to, but excused myself from fostering. I was too afraid of what they call “failing” – meaning fostering an animal and later adopting it as part of your own family.
Then Buddha came up on the Yahoo group. A 5-year-old French Bulldog who was said to have allergy issues his owner couldn’t get a handle on and could not afford to treat. The third call came around looking for a foster (most get snatched up at first announcement), and crickets. So I decided Buddha was meant to be my first foster. After all, I have experience with an allergy boy in my Bruno.
I won’t tell you we’re not getting attached. He’s a sweet boy. But he’s got a long road ahead of him. He’s currently on a six-week course of two antibiotics for a staph infection of his skin and it looks like there’s a skin biopsy in his future to find the underlying cause of his issues, which, ironically, may be autoimmune and not allergy-based. We’re blessed to have the backing of S.N.O.R.T. and it’s donors to the cause to help him along the way. The nonprofit group’s sole aim is to get these dogs into loving homes, and I’m proud to be a volunteer.
Big hearts are aplenty at S.N.O.R.T. Of particular urgency right now is the case of another 5-year-old Frenchie, Ofelia, who needs surgery to have a brain shunt implanted or her quality of life will decline and she will die. Fundraising is going on at a furious pace as time is of the essence for Ofelia. You can read more about her story and view her fundraiser, here.
I’m learning rescue never quits. And the stories aren’t always happy ones, but we can work together to make more of them come with happy endings. To learn more about S.N.O.R.T., visit snortrescue.org.
