1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,680 Hello friends, welcome to Rough Life. 2 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:20,280 It is our last transport of the year and it's another bittersweet one. 3 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,020 Probably just for me though. 4 00:00:22,020 --> 00:00:25,640 But as they say, Misery Loves Company. 5 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:31,000 So I am going to tell you so you can all be sad too. 6 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:36,800 If you have ever listened to my podcast before, you know my deep love and appreciation for 7 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,880 the shelter right here by my house in Alabama. 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,840 If you've been with us for a while, you know my primary focus in Mississippi is getting 9 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,920 puppies before they get to shelters there. 10 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:49,560 We have lots of fosters. 11 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:56,560 Okay, well we have a handful of fosters and the shelters are just so detrimental to animals. 12 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,400 It's my goal to get them before they're even surrendered there. 13 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,680 Here in Alabama though, I'm still so new. 14 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:09,040 I'm my only foster and I still mainly have Mississippi fosters staying with me. 15 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:14,200 But I somehow almost accidentally partnered with this local shelter at the beginning of 16 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,680 the year and I just love them so dearly. 17 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,120 I really, I really do. 18 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:24,280 I pull from them whenever I can and whenever we have empty spots on transport, they're 19 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,440 always filled with their animals. 20 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:32,640 There were actually supposed to be 20 plus puppies, kittens, and moms on the van today 21 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:34,800 from the shelter. 22 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:40,960 Unfortunately, literally the absolute worst case scenario, they informed me earlier this 23 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:47,080 week that one of their puppies that was brought in was suspected for distemper. 24 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:52,280 If you don't know anything at all about distemper, all you need to know is it's bad. 25 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:53,520 It's big bad. 26 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:59,320 Like has the potential to bankrupt an entire rescue or cause an entire shelter to have to 27 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,360 euthanize every animal. 28 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,560 Now it's very possible that none of their other puppies were exposed because they caught 29 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:07,960 it so quickly. 30 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:13,400 They may be totally fine and I may be telling you their stories in January. 31 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:18,360 But it's just not a risk we can afford to take or are willing to take on behalf of all 32 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:23,880 of our other animals on the van who would be exposed as well if we sent them this week. 33 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:30,680 I'm trying very, very hard to focus on the fact that A, they are not a kill shelter. 34 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:35,440 My babies that are in there are not going to be euthanized over Christmas. 35 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:40,240 And B, they may not even get distemper and they may be totally ready to go by the first 36 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:47,840 transport next year, but regardless, it is a very tough pill to swallow knowing the 37 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,840 Christmas that those guys were going to have if I sent them and the Christmas that they're 38 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:54,440 going to have now. 39 00:02:54,440 --> 00:03:01,480 Not to mention the sick puppy who I love so, so much who is so deathly sick right now. 40 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:07,920 Okay, so I'm sad today, but I'm holding on to the fact that their spots were not empty 41 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:08,920 on the van. 42 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:13,840 They were filled with other animals who were not in the safety of a shelter and could have 43 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:19,680 and would have probably been dead or given away by our first transport next year. 44 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,280 So let me get out of my doom and gloom and I'll tell you their stories. 45 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,280 Oh, these pregnancy hormones are so brutal. 46 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:35,000 Okay, so we sent 61 total animals today and that is fantastic. 47 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:36,680 Don't let my doom and gloom fool you. 48 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:41,680 I am very happy that 61 animals got out of the south. 49 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:47,000 My plan is to do an end of the year wrap up episode for all my other data loving friends 50 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:52,080 to go over our stats for the year and share some of my favorite stories. 51 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:59,040 But y'all know how I am with plans, so fingers crossed that it actually happens. 52 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,400 Okay, finding Christmas. 53 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:07,560 Okay, I don't want to toot my own horn, but Jessica and I are pretty fantastic at remembering 54 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,960 when we commit to animals and we get them out of their unsafe situations as soon as 55 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:13,480 possible. 56 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:21,480 With that said, there are the occasional few who fall through the cracks like finding Christmas 57 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:26,040 who should have been named finding the first day of school because that's when we committed 58 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:27,840 to her. 59 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:32,840 I don't think it's any secret that I do not prioritize single adult dogs. 60 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:38,440 Mamas and the few daddies we have come up with their babies, except in situations like 61 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:43,400 TBD who needed some extra time to acclimate to being an indoor dog and the wrong missy 62 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:48,800 who stayed behind to nurse another litter of puppies before going on transport. 63 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:55,120 We prioritize mamas and puppies and puppies have to go as soon as possible. 64 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,480 One, for their safety, get them out of the environment that they're in before they're 65 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,280 eaten or given away. 66 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:05,320 And two, because the longer they wait, the bigger they are to transport. 67 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:10,720 Obviously, I can fit more eight week old puppies than I can five month old puppies and therefore 68 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,920 can save more dogs in the long run. 69 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,760 So single dogs are often bumped because they don't have a litter of puppies that are going 70 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,720 that they need to be with and they're as big as they're going to get so there's no rush. 71 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:25,720 There's a lot of other factors that go into it too. 72 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,040 Of course, it's not as simple as I'm making it sound. 73 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:34,960 But the point I'm getting at here is Jessica and I committed to this dog in August. 74 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:39,360 She wandered up to someone's yard all beaten up in pitiful and they were looking for a 75 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,320 rescue to take her so they reached out to us. 76 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:47,000 Automatically, I love these people because they're looking for a rescue and not just 77 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,880 trying to re-home free on Facebook. 78 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,800 They were so sweet and they were like, she can stay here as long as she needs to and 79 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:55,680 we will take care of her. 80 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:03,760 So on the back burner, she went, then a couple weeks ago, I tell Jacqueline, our foster coordinator, 81 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:07,040 all the dogs that we have in our system down here that I'm hoping to send before the end 82 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:08,120 of the year. 83 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:13,720 These are our like skips and kool-aids that I'm talking about, not our mama dogs. 84 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:20,960 So I do a post and like magic, all of our random adult dogs get fosters by last transport. 85 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,600 It was a true Thanksgiving miracle. 86 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:24,960 Jessica and I do a happy dance. 87 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,760 We think all is well in the world. 88 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:32,240 And then we get a message from the sweetest lady ever explaining that she's going to 89 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,800 have to board her stray dog at the vet for the next few weeks because she is leaving 90 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:40,600 in the morning to travel a few states away to get a newborn. 91 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:42,200 Immediately I'm annoyed. 92 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:47,760 Like you couldn't even keep this dog, but you're going to go buy a newborn puppy from 93 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:49,760 a puppy mill several states away. 94 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:51,480 Like come on. 95 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:57,680 Luckily Jessica answered before I did and apparently understood it a lot better than 96 00:06:57,680 --> 00:06:58,680 I did. 97 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:04,280 This precious couple was leaving in the morning to travel states away to adopt their brand 98 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:07,780 new human newborn. 99 00:07:07,780 --> 00:07:10,840 She wasn't sure how long they would have to stay there and I'm not sure if that's just 100 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,080 like legal stuff or if the baby was in the NICU. 101 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:15,080 I don't know. 102 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:18,720 But regardless, she wanted to make sure that the dog was safe and cared for no matter how 103 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,800 long they were gone. 104 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:27,120 After profusely apologizing for 100% forgetting about this dog, we told her we will come and 105 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:31,040 get her the next morning and save them from the boarding fees. 106 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:35,380 Since all of our other adult foster homes were empty, it was literally no problem. 107 00:07:35,380 --> 00:07:39,840 We were just bummed that she was going to have to stay with us over the Christmas break. 108 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:45,480 So I confessed my mix up to Jacqueline and she let me make a post about her and like 109 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:50,840 the dad gum angels that y'all are, she had a foster literally within minutes. 110 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,320 It was just so funny that I made such a big deal to Jacqueline about getting everyone 111 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:59,820 moved out of here before the end of the year, only to forget one and have to ask for another 112 00:07:59,820 --> 00:08:02,320 spot on the last transport. 113 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,680 I don't know a ton about this dog actually. 114 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:10,360 She went to doggy daycare when we picked her up and they fostered her for us, but the family 115 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,920 that had her for the last few months took great care of her. 116 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:19,040 She was kept outside the whole time, but they took her for all her vaccines and her boosters. 117 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,800 They kept her up to date on monthly prevention and they even got her spayed with their own 118 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:27,160 money to ensure that she didn't get pregnant by any other strays. 119 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,520 Okay, dog named Christmas. 120 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:37,000 If your dog's foster and you're listening to finding Christmas's story like a dog is 121 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,960 a random adult too, you're not wrong, but you kind of are. 122 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,840 I wasn't asked to take dog until after the last transport had left. 123 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:51,520 So we told the Wolf Trap team we would only commit to him down here if they wanted him 124 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,840 for this transport and of course they said yes. 125 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:59,320 So dogs owner left him at a friend's house that he was staying at when he was between 126 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:00,380 houses. 127 00:09:00,380 --> 00:09:07,000 When he moved out, he just left the dog behind without telling his quote unquote friend. 128 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,120 So the friend reached out to us and asked if we thought he should keep him because he 129 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:15,840 really, really loved him and he was a great little dog, but he would have to be kept outside 130 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,560 24 seven or if he should just surrender him to our rescue. 131 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:25,080 And I am certain that you can guess what my response was. 132 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:31,200 Built More Christmas is actually the sister to Hawaiian Punch from the November 11th transport. 133 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:36,480 These sisters were all set to go on the 11th together when just three days prior, Built 134 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,200 More broke her own leg. 135 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:40,440 Literally. 136 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,440 I was down at UAB overnight. 137 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,920 So my mom was staying at my house to take care of my animals and fosters and she brought 138 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:48,880 her two fosters with her. 139 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:56,120 I actually have the actual incident on camera from my nanny cams built more jumped up on 140 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:03,240 the playpen like they the cloth pack and play playpen while my mom was setting it up and 141 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:08,240 just fell over backwards completely breaking her leg. 142 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,680 Of course the rest of the night was spent telling my mother over face time. 143 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:12,920 She's fine. 144 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:13,920 She's fine. 145 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:18,480 There's literally no way it could have broken that easily. 146 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:19,480 She's fine. 147 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,440 Turns out she was indeed not fine. 148 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:28,400 She went to the vet the next morning and he was shocked that it was such a clean perfect 149 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:29,800 break. 150 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:34,040 But luckily because it was such a clean break, she only needed to be in a cast for a few 151 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:35,040 weeks. 152 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:40,200 We took her back this week for follow up X-rays and she has healed perfectly. 153 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,320 Kiss Mitt Christmas was the last minute add on this morning. 154 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:47,800 We had a cancellation and you know there is nothing I hate more than an empty spot on 155 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,840 the van, especially when it's the last transport of the year. 156 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,800 And Kismet Christmas was already picked out to be the name for the dog who had backed 157 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:56,800 out. 158 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,960 So it was Kismet for this Kismet. 159 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:04,440 She was picked up by animal control in a nearby town after renters left her behind when they 160 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,080 moved out of the apartment. 161 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:10,800 She was there for quite a long time before anyone noticed and she almost died of dehydration 162 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:12,080 and starvation. 163 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:17,000 She had to stay at the vet clinic over over a week to get healthy again before going to 164 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,360 a foster home. 165 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,120 The U-liter of two were found all alone in the middle of the woods. 166 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,520 The finders first thought that they were squirrels but then realized they were actually 167 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:28,120 itty bitty puppies. 168 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,920 The finders were actually our rescue partners, son and father-in-law. 169 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:37,040 When her son picked them up he told them, well y'all just hit the jackpot because my 170 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,480 mom is going to make sure you get out of here and go to Virginia. 171 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,120 They were so skinny and malnourished there is no telling how long they were out there 172 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,200 on their own. 173 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,200 The L-liter of five is another last minute add-on. 174 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:54,680 It was supposed to be a litter of four healers who were taking the place of the shelter 20 175 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:58,760 but they woke up this morning and they could not find any of them. 176 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:03,680 They actually think that they were eaten by coyotes last night and again, they never 177 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,880 leave a spot empty. 178 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,440 So we replaced the four with a litter of five. 179 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,480 They thought they were going to have to wait and send them in January so they were very 180 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,880 excited when they found out that not only were they leaving today but we were actually 181 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,200 on our way to get them right then. 182 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:25,520 This litter comes from the same home as the A-liter from November 11th, the B-liter from 183 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,600 October 5th, and the S-liter from August 23rd. 184 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:34,680 You can listen to any of those episodes for more details but to sum up, these people take 185 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:39,040 in strays, dump to their neighborhood, all of these litters are from different moms, 186 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:45,000 they wanted to keep all of the moms, and all of the moms are now spayed. 187 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:50,800 The H-liter of five have been with us for several weeks now going through ringworm treatment. 188 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,160 It's not often that my mama Becky gets to do her own pulls. 189 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,280 Usually me and Jessica just tell her what she's going to foster for us. 190 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:02,920 But a few weeks ago, someone reached out to her and asked if she could take them and spay 191 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,320 the mom for them. 192 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:08,360 They were little bitty and we were going to have room on that next transport so I told 193 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:10,480 her, yeah, go ahead. 194 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,960 When she got them, she was shocked at how much bigger and older they were than what 195 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:18,920 the owners had said, and even more shocked to see that they were covered in ringworm 196 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,080 with completely bald tails. 197 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,640 So instead of sending eight week old puppies several transports ago, y'all are getting 198 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:30,080 almost three months old that have been with us forever. 199 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:34,120 And mama Becky is grounded. 200 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,360 The A-liter of five are another replacement for the shelter 20. 201 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,880 We were asked to take them a few days ago when they were a litter of seven. 202 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,360 We told them our transports were full and we could get them in January if we ended up 203 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:46,800 with room. 204 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,800 Then the whole debacle with the shelter, we were left with empty spots, so we reached 205 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:51,800 back out. 206 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:56,320 She had already given two away but agreed to hold the other five for us until transport. 207 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:01,080 They are keeping both the mom and the dad and got spayed vouchers for both of them. 208 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,360 And when her son was dropping the puppies off, he told us that he has a litter of Doberman 209 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:10,160 puppies that are two weeks old and he would like us to take them in January. 210 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:15,920 So I keep telling myself this is even more puppies that are being saved that wouldn't 211 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:18,920 have been saved if we pulled the 20 from the shelter. 212 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,800 But I'm still sad. 213 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,720 The C-liter of six have been with us for a while too. 214 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,600 We actually got them when they were just barely five weeks old. 215 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:34,400 And a pregnant girl almost had to fight another pregnant girl for them. 216 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:40,440 A super young girl, seriously like 16 or 17 years old and super pregnant, contacted us 217 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,040 about these puppies. 218 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:45,680 Jessica told her it would be a few weeks but we would be in touch. 219 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:50,160 A few days later she sent us a video of one of the puppies seizing and foaming at the 220 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:51,160 mouth. 221 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,560 Classic distemper. 222 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:58,040 I don't know what the technical right thing to do was in this situation but because we 223 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:02,640 were all full of our own fosters, we told her we couldn't help. 224 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,040 I did instruct her to give it some honey while it was seizing just in case it was hypoglycemia 225 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:08,920 instead of distemper. 226 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:15,680 And then the next day we paid for it and Jessica actually had to go pick it up and take it 227 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,840 either because she's too young to drive or she just doesn't have a car and she took 228 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,360 it to the vet for a distemper test. 229 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:26,120 We were all shocked when it came back negative. 230 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:31,360 Unfortunately, after Jessica had been to the house to pick them up, we were dead set on 231 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:32,720 getting them out of that home. 232 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:34,800 It was horrific. 233 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:39,600 One of the puppies was dead when she got there and it wasn't even the seizing puppy. 234 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:43,120 When we got the negative results, we told the girl and then we also told her we have 235 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,440 a foster spot open for them now. 236 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,360 She then told us she was going to keep a few of them. 237 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,960 When we told her she had to surrender the whole litter in order to get a spay voucher 238 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:57,040 for the mom, she told us, ain't nobody going to spay any of my dogs without me approving 239 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:58,040 it. 240 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:04,920 I'm not, that's obviously not how a spay voucher works, but you're 16 and you know nothing. 241 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:09,400 That's when I told Jessica me and my baby would throw down with her and her baby over 242 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,240 these puppies if she wanted us to. 243 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:15,760 But for some reason, Jessica didn't want me to and thought it would be best to handle 244 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:17,800 it properly. 245 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:23,880 And because they were in the city limits with literally 500 dogs, Jessica had Animal Control 246 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,440 go over to the house with her. 247 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:32,200 Legally, her options were to re-home some of the dogs either with us or find her own 248 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,280 homes, or be written up by Animal Control. 249 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:40,720 And every time he comes back to write her up, the fine is higher and she technically is 250 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:44,960 at risk of jail time, but no one in the history of ever has been sent to jail for having too 251 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,520 many dogs in Boom Bowl. 252 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:52,120 So Jessica told the girl that she and Animal Control were coming that day and she told 253 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:56,240 her it didn't matter and she was only going to give us a couple anyways. 254 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:02,160 But when Jessica got there, the girl's grandmother told Jessica and Animal Control that it was 255 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:08,080 actually her dog and her dog's puppies and we could absolutely take them all and she 256 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:11,120 was so grateful and would love a spay voucher. 257 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:15,320 Oh, and there was another one dead in the yard when Jessica got there that day. 258 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:20,680 So she took all seven of the puppies home, but one was clearly not well. 259 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:24,320 It wasn't even one third of the size of the others and despite Jessica staying up with 260 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,280 it all night, it died that same night. 261 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:33,000 Most likely from intestinal parasites, anemia from the thousands of fleas they had, and 262 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,960 or just basic malnutrition. 263 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,760 Jess kept the litter mates for three weeks before sending them so we could make sure everyone 264 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:41,480 was good and healthy. 265 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:47,360 And I mark our spay vouchers with codes like just numbers. 266 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:52,000 So we are definitely going to be following up and make sure that that mama gets spayed. 267 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,920 The W litter of four were another litter that got added because of the shelter 20. 268 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,840 I got a call from one of my rescue partners who said she had just gotten a call from the 269 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,460 sheriff's department and that six puppies were dropped off at their door. 270 00:18:05,460 --> 00:18:08,440 She said she would go get them if I would take them in January. 271 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:12,760 I told her how about you go get them and I take them in three days. 272 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,320 They don't have a shelter in their town and their animal control officer would much rather 273 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,080 euthanize than have to take care of them. 274 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,520 So the sheriff's department knew that they needed to find a rescue for them. 275 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:27,240 Unfortunately, by the time our rescue partner got there, which was literally less than one 276 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,800 hour, I have the time stamps from our texts. 277 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,000 One of the officers had given two away. 278 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,320 So frustrating. 279 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,840 The sheriff was furious and he told her no one had even checked with him to make sure 280 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:42,840 it was okay to give any away and he was very sorry. 281 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,100 The teal of six are from that same rescue partner. 282 00:18:46,100 --> 00:18:49,600 One of her good friends found them tossed out on a back road in their town a few weeks 283 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:50,600 ago. 284 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,280 They were scattered all over the road somewhere in the ditch. 285 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,040 Some were just laying on the gravel road. 286 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:01,080 She went and got them and she fostered them until transport for us. 287 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,520 And now for the cats. 288 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:08,240 You me and the Christmas tree came from an older man who was just going to drop him off 289 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:13,920 somewhere when one of our fosters intervened and got him before anything bad could happen. 290 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,840 Good morning Christmas is from one of our veterinary partners. 291 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,800 He was surrendered to her clinic by one of her clients. 292 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,720 I'm not sure why, but I'd be willing to bet that he was just a stray. 293 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:29,600 She neutered him, got him up to date on everything and he hung out at the clinic until transport. 294 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:35,960 I'll be home for Christmas was found as a baby and bottle fed by one of our bottle feeders. 295 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:40,400 Everything Christmas was part of a litter of four that was supposed to go last week, 296 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,280 but the morning of transport they could not find any of them. 297 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,120 A few days later they found one of them dead. 298 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:50,920 We think it was either attacked or run over by a car, but everything Christmas somehow 299 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:55,040 made it back to the house and we got him in a foster home right away. 300 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:57,400 Okay, why do I do this to myself? 301 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:01,560 There were so many other names that I could pick that I wouldn't have had to say. 302 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,320 Joy Noelle? 303 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:05,320 Is that French? 304 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:06,320 I don't know. 305 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:10,400 French fries and french toast is about as French as I get, so if I butchered that, I 306 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,720 am very sorry. 307 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,880 She was brought home by one of our fosters when one of her coworkers was telling her 308 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,800 a kitten wandered up to her house and they kept having to shoot away every time they 309 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,440 opened the door because it wanted to come inside so desperately. 310 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:30,520 They told her a few days after it showed up, it was beaten up by one of their Tom cats, 311 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:35,360 so she followed them home that day and picked it up. 312 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:39,920 The end, litter of four, were part of a litter of eight that our bottle feeder took in as 313 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:41,360 newborns. 314 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:45,360 Several died in the first few days and one of these actually remained pretty sickly for 315 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:46,360 several weeks. 316 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:50,160 We spent lots of money at the vet to figure out what was wrong with it. 317 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:55,480 I don't actually know what was wrong with it originally, but they think its biggest 318 00:20:55,480 --> 00:21:01,680 problem was all the medication it had to take caused it to become impacted and then it just 319 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:06,600 stopped eating because it didn't feel good because nothing was coming out. 320 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:11,720 But Jessica texted me Thanksgiving Day to let me know her kitten passed a nice big rock 321 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:17,000 hard turd and we had never been happier. 322 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:22,440 The R litter of three is actually supposed to be a Q litter, but there is not a single 323 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:26,240 Q Hallmark Christmas movie ever made. 324 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,840 Road to Christmas is the mama of quack and flap from last transport. 325 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,920 If you listen to that episode, you'll remember when the foster went to pick it up, the owner 326 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,480 heard what a great life it was going to have and told her she had two kittens from the 327 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,080 same litter that she would surrender to. 328 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,720 Later in the week she asked us to take the mama. 329 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:48,560 Now looking at these kittens, I am very skeptical that they are actually from the same litter 330 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:55,760 as quack, but they are from the same house regardless, so we will roll with it. 331 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:00,640 The S litter of four came from a stray mama cat that came up to a house to have her babies. 332 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:04,800 She was so sweet and friendly that they took her in and just fell in love with her. 333 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,520 They are keeping her and having her spayed. 334 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:11,480 The M litter of five are supposedly Maine Coon mixes. 335 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:16,600 They were posted on Facebook as free to a good home and we nabbed them up. 336 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:23,920 Okay, that is all 61 stories and officially the last of the critters that were sent on 337 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:25,880 transport this year. 338 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:30,160 Hopefully you will be hearing from me in a few weeks for our end of the year wrap up 339 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:31,160 episode. 340 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:36,160 Otherwise, our next transport won't be until January 2024. 341 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:42,320 Oh, and for anyone listening who's wondering about my pregnant girl, I busted her out 342 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:47,680 of the shelter the morning after last transport and I was hoping to send her today. 343 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:52,520 But a few days later, she gave birth to 11 puppies. 344 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,240 Oh my goodness, I thought like maybe five. 345 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,200 Like she was so skinny, her belly was so low, maybe five. 346 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:01,200 11. 347 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,600 All healthy, all doing great. 348 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:10,840 So she may not be home for the holidays, but she is safe, warm, loved, and most of all, 349 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,360 very well taken care of this holiday season. 350 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:18,760 They will stay with us over the break and make their Virginia debut in January. 351 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:36,720 It's a rough life, but someone's got to do it.