Do you ever wonder where you would be without your Lucky Dog or Cat? I do.
And, I find myself wishing I could subtract a year from her age every time someone asks me "how old is she?"
I know I can't be the only one. I hear so often what a profound impact owning a dog or cat has on members of our community. How much the addition of one special animal changes lives for the better.
This has been a hard newsletter for me to write. I knew what I wanted to talk about, but I really have struggled to find the words. You see, this month is National Make a Will Month. It's a great reminder for all of us that we are human. And we need to make plans for what might happen if we were to leave this earth.
But, who wants to talk about, let alone think about, that? Certainly not me.
I'm not going to lie. It's been a rough couple of weeks.
First, as people have started traveling more and staying home less, the number of available fosters and adopters has dropped. While we anticipate this being a short term problem, the impact is immediate. Not only are we saving less animals, but we are spending much more on boarding expenses to cover those animals we have no fosters for.
Like thousands of Americans, I feared being stuck at home alone during the pandemic. At the time of the first stay at home order in March 2020, I was still in Hawaii, splitting my time between Lucky Dog in DC and the Kauai Humane Society on the island of Kauai. With my own pets at home in California, I decided to foster a cute, 12 lb ball of fluff named Ruthie. Ruthie was everything I needed -- a loving companion, a reason to go outside for a walk, someone to talk to -- even if she couldn't talk back.
We need your help. For the past year and a half, the world of rescue was turned on its head. We had more fosters and adopters than we could find dogs and cats for. We were overwhelmed with offers to help, and we saved an unprecedented number of lives.
One year ago, our world changed. It turned upside down and on its head.
Everything about Lucky Dog Animal Rescue changed -- just as everything about everyday life changed. One year ago, we didn't know if we'd even be able to keep saving animals through the pandemic. We didn't know if we'd be able to secure enough funding to keep our operations going. There was so much uncertainty and so much fear. Yet, somehow we kept going and found our path. With YOU.
2021 is off to a roaring start at Lucky Dog! We have huge plans this year, including our goal of saving a record breaking 4,000 animals this year. This is really ambitious when you consider we never saved more than 2,000 animals until 2020. But, we know we can achieve it with YOUR support.
After a year like 2020, one might wonder if it's worth planning for an upcoming year. After all, last year didn't turn out to be anything like we had planned. What if 2021 turns out to be just as unpredictable?
We plan because we have to be PREPARED. We have to have GOALS. And, with Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, we plan because LIVES ARE LITERALLY ON THE LINE.
Last weekend, we had a surprise visitor at our adoption event: Marty, a dog we rescued from a chain in a junk yard during Hurricane Dorian. His coat was shiny; his happiness infectious. His love for his new family evident in his adoring eyes.
