My dog rescue efforts started a long time ago. I would pick up strays on the roads of the country or streets of the city and not know exactly what to do with them. Finally, I created an area of our property where I could provide a safehouse for these often-abandoned babies while I figured out what to do next. A place where they could get food, water, shelter and some rest. I fostered dogs for another rescue for a while, and nothing seemed to happen with the pups for a long time — no communications, no updates — until suddenly I received a call that the pups were being transferred to another rescue the following day. At the time, I felt bereaved and bereft. It wasn’t until later that I felt happy for the pups.
It was time to organize. Time to make it official and start our own charity in South County. Sounds really easy, right? It is absolutely not. But this was the start of SCAR (South County Animal Rescue) 10 short years ago. First, we needed bodies, boots on the ground, volunteers. I knew that others, like me, picked pups up from the streets or took in litters of unwanted kittens. I knew there was quite the challenge in our small towns of animals getting loose or being neglected or abandoned, of cats procreating like there’s no tomorrow because they had not been fixed. I called a gathering of the faithful, as it were, and it was surprising to me that there was a solid group of people interested in building an animal rescue from the ground up.
We started. We compiled all the necessary paperwork, paid the fees, re-did the paperwork, filed the extra fees. It was quite the journey. We learned the animal laws, built a Board of Directors, sidled up with the local vet and got going on the work. Money is always an issue with charitable work, so fundraising was consistently a big deal. From sausage barbecues to rummage sales to bake sales, we did a lot of everything in our free time. Just when we thought we were getting ahead, something dire would happen, and all our funds would go to the amputation of a leg or lifesaving surgery. That’s one thing about animal rescue — you never know what is going to happen next. You can never be surprised or thrown off — you just have to figure it out and make it happen.
I regularly took my old Tucker to the prison to be their therapy dog and that was an incredible experience — for him and me. He also became a blood donor at the local vet office and saved countless lives. We all fostered as many critters as we could in our own houses, since we didn’t have a facility, and entire families became involved in this vital work. At one time, I had 11 dogs at my place — then Mollie came in pregnant and she had 11 puppies. This was a lot even for me. My children were whispering “hoarder” to each other. Fortunately, a dear friend who was adopting Mollie took in the whole houseful of pups too, until they were weaned and we managed to get them all adopted into loving homes.
The paperwork and legalities in animal rescue are also quite something — you don’t realize that going in, but there has to be a paper trail for each animal and a vetting system of whoever is going adopt the baby after a wait period when the original owner has to have the time and opportunity to reclaim their animal. How many times have we had to explain to someone that picking up that cute border collie on the side of the road does not mean that you can automatically keep it! Again, it’s quite the journey.
Junior Animal Champions were enlisted to assist us in our fundraisers, which was always a big help — they still do. It’s also a good way to educate the younger generation and show them how to care for an animal. Eli, one of the group’s originals and a local track and field coach has always brought his athletes along to help out with the animal fundraisers — so many lessons to be learned there.
As the name of the rescue became a household name (more often just SCAR than the full name), larger fundraisers were organized — Pinot 4 Paws benefit has been going since the start and will be held at Joyce Winery again this year on July 11. There are often tea party events (the Mad Hatter Autumn Fling Tea Party will be held on Sept. 19 this year at the Pavillion Room, Salinas Valley Fairgrounds). There are grants to be written, shot clinics to host, adoption events to be held (every Sunday at Pets Mart in Salinas) … oh and dogs to be pulled from shelters and put into our training programs with the Unchained (at-risk youth at Rancho Cielo or Juvenile Hall) or with the TAILS program at the Soledad Prison (where the incarcerated population is trained to train dogs — a win-win situation). And then there is the SCAR TNR program (Trap, Neuter, Return). Feral cats are trapped, fixed, vaccinated and returned to their neighborhoods, which is much more complicated than it sounds.
Obviously, it always takes a lot of volunteers to make all this happen and SCAR is constantly seeking animal-lovers to work on the board, work behind the scenes, volunteer, foster, trap, donate … many of our fosters have multiple animals at their homes who waiting for their forever home.
When I started out on this animal rescue journey, I had no idea. I do remember thinking that my ultimate goal for the rescue — in addition to educating the public about spay, neuter, vaccinations — would be to have our own place to call home, a country site where we could hold dogs and cats that would otherwise be euthanized in our highly over populated shelter situation; a location where we could spend time and energy helping them to decompress, seek fosters and volunteers for their care, and pass along our knowledge and education to the next generation so that they could take over our work. We have not found that site yet, nor do we have the funds for it, but I do urge you all to look around you and see if one of your family or friends is seeking a legacy for their life, a place where they could eternally hang their name in the safe knowledge that so much good work will be done there in their honor. I do hope for that, because that would make an enormous difference in the growth for SCAR, the service to the community and the lives of the animals.
But, in the meantime, Happy 10-year Anniversary to my SCAR, my proudest achievement. I know what it takes to do the work and I am constantly amazed by the volunteers and how large their hearts are for the animal community.
If you are so inclined, please send your tax-deductible donation to: SCAR (South County Animal Rescue), P.O. Box 491, Soledad, CA 93960 (501c3, Tax ID# 81-2344689, www.scar.pet).
We so appreciate the help.
