1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,360 Hello friends, welcome to Rough Life. 2 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:15,600 There's no transport again this week, but make sure you hit that subscribe button so 3 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,960 you're notified when next week's episode drops. 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:24,160 We still don't have a transport next week, but I am going to tell you the backstory on 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,320 all the puppies that we sent on our airplane transport last month. 6 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:33,200 A few of them have been adopted, but the majority of them were so young and tiny that they've 7 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,520 still been with their nursing mamas. 8 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,440 So they're finally being split up and sent into regular foster homes next week, so I 9 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:43,360 thought that would be a good time to talk about all of their stories. 10 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,480 But today I want to tell you about Sadie's story. 11 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:51,640 This is a story I've shared before, but for the sake of time I didn't go into all the 12 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:56,360 crazy details because I figured people wouldn't read the post. 13 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:01,240 But now that y'all get to listen to me tell my stories, I'm going to tell this one so 14 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:05,040 that I can do it the justice it deserves. 15 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:12,520 For any adopters out there, Sadie was WTAR Suleimura, and her puppies were the 4S puppies 16 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:19,720 from the September 19th 2020 cheese transport, so that was smoked cheese, soy cheese, string 17 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,360 cheese, and Swiss cheese. 18 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:30,240 So it was Tuesday after Labor Day in 2020 and I got a frantic call from one of my friends. 19 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:35,240 Her son and daughter-in-law had gone on vacation over the long weekend and came home to their 20 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:36,560 dog missing. 21 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:42,160 They had checked their ring doorbell camera and saw on Saturday an older woman came up 22 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:48,880 to their door, knocked, and when no one answered she walked back to her car, got a dog leash, 23 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:54,280 unclipped their dog from its chain, and put her in her car. 24 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:59,200 I want to make two things very clear before we get this story rolling. 25 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:06,240 Number one, this was 100% without a doubt a well-meaning lady. 26 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,880 Sadie was tied up outside in the heat with no visible food or water. 27 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,560 She absolutely wanted what was best for Sadie. 28 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:21,200 However, there are rules and procedures for this, you cannot, unfortunately, just go into 29 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:24,000 someone's yard and take their dog. 30 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:31,280 Number two, the owner's 100% realized how stupid and irresponsible it was to leave Sadie 31 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,160 tied up outside while they were gone for so long. 32 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,280 They said they had someone coming by once a day to give her food and water. 33 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,120 I don't know if that's the truth because why didn't that person notice she was gone 34 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,480 Sunday and Monday, but either way, once a day is not good enough. 35 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:52,120 And they of course realize that now, but it is technically legal to feed your dog once 36 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,560 a day. 37 00:02:54,560 --> 00:03:00,880 So because this well-meaning older lady probably realized she was stealing a dog, she didn't 38 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,400 take the time to look inside Sadie's dog house. 39 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,680 She just grabbed Sadie and left. 40 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:11,320 If she would've, she would've seen four 10-day old puppies inside. 41 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:16,200 By some miracle, all four puppies survived until Tuesday morning when the owner got home 42 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,320 and realized Sadie was gone. 43 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,200 They brought them in and they started to bottle feed them, but they were not taking a bottle 44 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:23,400 well at all. 45 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,840 Okay, so back to the phone call. 46 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,440 My friend was asking if I could take the puppies for them because they weren't able to get 47 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:30,520 them to eat. 48 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,240 Of course I was willing, but that's not what was best for these puppies. 49 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:38,120 They needed their mama and we needed to find out who took her. 50 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,320 After some digging, we realized the woman who took Sadie was a board member of a local 51 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,640 shelter, not my local shelter. 52 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,280 Just a shelter a few towns over. 53 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,480 The owners said that they had already called the shelter and were told that there was no 54 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,560 female German shepherds up there. 55 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,320 Unfortunately, this is very common. 56 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,840 I don't know if it's just the people who answer the phone at shelters not realizing 57 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:08,000 what all animals are there and they're just innocently telling people the wrong information. 58 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:15,160 Or, especially in this case, since they knew they obtained the dog illegally, if they just 59 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,440 thought if they told the owners they didn't have a dog there matching that description, 60 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:21,040 nothing would come of it. 61 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,920 I told the owners to go to the shelter and look around just to be sure. 62 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:28,240 And sure enough, they walked in and saw Sadie. 63 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,640 When they told the employees that that was their dog and they needed her back because 64 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:36,040 she had puppies, they were told they couldn't have Sadie back because the shelter was going 65 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,480 to press animal neglect charges on them. 66 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:47,800 So in Mississippi, and probably 99% of animal neglect cases, there really is no punishment 67 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,120 for the owner. 68 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:54,320 Really the main goal is just to get legal ownership of the animal or animals. 69 00:04:54,320 --> 00:05:00,840 I'd be willing to bet 9 out of 10 cases or at least the vast majority of them are settled 70 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:05,920 when the owners just say, if I surrender the animal to you will you drop the charges? 71 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:11,080 Because the animal laws down here are so loose, it's not really worth spending the time and 72 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,920 money going through most cases. 73 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,600 Especially in this specific case where technically no one knows whether or not the dog was given 74 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,680 food and water every day and there's no way to prove she wasn't. 75 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:28,080 The chances of the shelter winning this case if it actually went to court was very slim. 76 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:33,640 Now the owners were 100% in the wrong here. 77 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:38,600 But they really could have had someone coming by taking care of Sadie and maybe that person 78 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,600 just thought Sadie was in the dog house Sunday and Monday. 79 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:42,800 We don't know. 80 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:46,080 But the shelter especially didn't know that. 81 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:51,600 So the owners were well within their rights to go up there and raise Cain demanding their 82 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:52,880 dog back. 83 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:58,240 They probably could have even pressed charges and won against the shelter. 84 00:05:58,240 --> 00:05:59,240 But they didn't. 85 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,360 They were very embarrassed that this had happened. 86 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:02,840 They felt awful. 87 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:06,640 They offered to just surrender Sadie to the shelter so they wouldn't have to go through 88 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,520 any legal troubles. 89 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,920 They just wanted them to take the puppies too so that they would be able to eat since 90 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,520 they weren't able to get them to and they were so worried about them. 91 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,080 The shelter told them they would not be taking the puppies but that they could bring them 92 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:24,800 back when they were 6 to 8 weeks old and they would probably take them then. 93 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,680 When the owners told them they had no idea how to bottle feed puppies, they were told 94 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:32,720 to have some friends help and just pass them around. 95 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:36,400 So when they called me and told me this, I couldn't believe it. 96 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:41,080 I had a great working relationship with the director of the shelter and we actually had 97 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,080 a good partnership with them. 98 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:48,840 I assumed this had to be just a misunderstanding or a lack of communication so I sent the director 99 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:51,000 a text explaining everything. 100 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,640 I told her that the owners were already surrendering the puppies but that I completely understood 101 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,080 if she still wanted to press charges on them for the mama dog. 102 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:03,720 I also offered to just foster the mama dog for the duration of the court case until everything 103 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,080 was settled just so she could be with her babies. 104 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:09,520 Then she could go on transport to Virginia. 105 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:14,760 Again we had sent numerous dogs for them before so they knew we were a great rescue and they 106 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,120 liked partnering with us. 107 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:18,680 But I got no response. 108 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:20,840 I tried calling, no answer. 109 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,360 I called the shelter and was told she'd call me right back. 110 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:25,360 Never did. 111 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:26,460 Called again. 112 00:07:26,460 --> 00:07:27,600 And again. 113 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:28,600 And nothing. 114 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,040 Finally towards the end of the day I just decided to go up there. 115 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:38,160 In my mind there was no way this wasn't just some big miscommunication. 116 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:42,160 Because this was in the height of COVID you couldn't just go into the building without 117 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,480 them coming to the door and letting you in first. 118 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,920 I can't remember if you rang a doorbell or called a number listed on the door but I 119 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:53,560 cheerfully told one of the volunteers that came to the door that I was just there to 120 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:56,360 talk to the director about fostering a dog. 121 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:01,960 I was completely shocked when the volunteer left and an employee came to the door and 122 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,880 immediately told me to leave or that the cops would be called on me. 123 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,960 I mean I was absolutely shocked. 124 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:13,400 I don't think anyone had ever threatened to call the cops on me before and definitely 125 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,240 never have since then. 126 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,720 She told me the police had already been there and knew all about the situation. 127 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,960 That turned out to be not true whatsoever. 128 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:27,680 But I told her go ahead, ask them to come back because you're in possession of a stolen 129 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:29,480 dog anyways. 130 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:36,320 Y'all, I acted so big and bad saying stuff like yeah go ahead call the cops. 131 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:38,360 I didn't actually really appreciate that. 132 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:44,320 And as soon as she walked inside to call them I got my phone out with my shaking hands and 133 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,160 called one of our rescue partners who lived in that town. 134 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,680 She was a court reporter and she has a lawyer for a father. 135 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:57,600 I begged her to come up there with me because A, I needed legal advice, B, she knew all 136 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:02,120 the people that I knew there, plus more that are in the court system that could help us, 137 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:06,000 and C, I was absolutely terrified. 138 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,840 She must also have a lot of cop friends and not be afraid of speeding tickets because 139 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:16,600 she picked up the owner of the puppies, the puppies, a judge's wife and still got to me 140 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,080 faster than the cops did. 141 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,120 From the moment the cops got there, they were on our side. 142 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:27,720 They 100% agreed there was no reason the puppies shouldn't have at least been taken to just 143 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,680 so they could be with the mama. 144 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:34,080 But unfortunately it wasn't up to them and they couldn't legally make them give us the 145 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,720 mama dog or make them take the puppies. 146 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,480 While the police were taking the statements of the owners, I got to see the puppies for 147 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:46,600 the first time and I was absolutely horrified to see the condition they were in. 148 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:53,720 I mean, obviously, to go 48 to 72 hours with almost zero water, I guess I should have expected 149 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,680 what I saw, but it was just so shocking. 150 00:09:57,680 --> 00:10:01,600 The runt especially was on death's door. 151 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:05,400 This particular shelter also has a vet clinic attached to it. 152 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,120 I don't fully understand the ins and outs of it. 153 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:13,240 I know they are open to the public for certain things, but I don't think it's just a regular 154 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:15,280 vet's office either. 155 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:19,640 Like I think they'll do low cost spay and neuter surgeries and vaccinations for the 156 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:24,800 public, but I don't think you can just go there just for regular vet care if that makes 157 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:26,040 sense. 158 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:30,160 But because it was in a separate building and because I was desperate for anything I could 159 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:34,640 do to help these puppies, I went in to see if I could buy a bag of fluids. 160 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,200 Heck, even a glass of water. 161 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:38,520 Anything for these puppies. 162 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,480 I had syringes in my car to administer the fluids. 163 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,560 I just needed the actual fluids. 164 00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:49,200 The lady there was so kind to me and told me she would go and ask if that was allowed. 165 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:54,240 And a few minutes later, the employee I had talked to earlier came in flipping out. 166 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,760 We went around and around in circles with her saying her only concern was the well-being 167 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,840 of the mama dog and me saying, well, how do you think her mental state is right now after 168 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,720 being ripped away from her 10 day old puppies? 169 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:12,000 To her saying, I don't have anyone here that can even administer fluids and me saying, I 170 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,760 can administer the fluids. 171 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,120 I just need to buy them from you. 172 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:18,360 And here's the thing. 173 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,520 She may be totally right. 174 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,560 Maybe they couldn't legally sell me fluids. 175 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:24,680 I get that. 176 00:11:24,680 --> 00:11:26,040 She never said that. 177 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:27,840 But that could be the case. 178 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:34,760 But if you are truly interested in the welfare of animals, these animals specifically, then 179 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:40,040 why would you not just say, I'm so sorry, I wish I could sell them to you, but I can't. 180 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:44,080 However, there is a vet's office here, here, and here. 181 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:45,640 Maybe they can help you. 182 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:50,680 I ended up googling vet's offices anyways in the area and they were all closed. 183 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:58,440 Luckily, for me though, I have a veterinarian at my disposal 24 seven and unluckily for 184 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,760 her, I use and abuse that privilege way too much. 185 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,160 I call Dr. Burton. 186 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:11,400 Y'all, let me just tell you the amount of times I have called her totally frazzled, 187 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:17,080 completely out of breath and just fired off random symptoms or ailments without even telling 188 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,080 her the full story. 189 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:25,000 She deserves a medal for the five star advice she gives me without even knowing what's going 190 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:26,000 on. 191 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:31,560 I think I literally just called and said, 10 day old puppies, no food for three days in 192 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:32,560 my car. 193 00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:34,800 What's that a gas station? 194 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,120 She said, do you have syringes? 195 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:42,840 I mean, what kind of animal rescuer would I be if I didn't keep an entire case of three 196 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:46,080 milliliter syringes with me at all times? 197 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:47,400 Of course I do. 198 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:52,520 She said, you could go buy Gatorade just to get them some electrolytes for the time being. 199 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:57,520 So we raced to the gas station next to the shelter and I handed out syringes and puppies 200 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:03,520 to everyone there and showed them how to syringe feed Gatorade into puppies who could literally 201 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:05,200 barely swallow at this point. 202 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,200 They were absolutely dying. 203 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,680 And the cops showed up again. 204 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:15,320 They told us the employees had called again and asked that we be removed from the premises. 205 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:20,000 We hadn't left yet because we were all calling everyone we knew trying to figure out what 206 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,920 could be done to get that mama before they closed. 207 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:27,400 And we were so worried that they would move her to a foster or send her off somewhere 208 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,800 and we wouldn't know where she was. 209 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:36,040 They could have very easily and illegally sent her to another rescue and just pretended 210 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,480 she got loose and they lost her. 211 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,560 So we were staying in the parking lot until we knew without a doubt one way or another 212 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:44,800 who was getting Sadie that night. 213 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:48,840 The police did say we could just move our cars to the gas station parking lot that was 214 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,680 attached to the shelter parking lot and the employees wouldn't be able to do anything 215 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:56,640 about it then and we would be able to see if they tried to take Sadie out and send her 216 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:58,960 somewhere else. 217 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,320 So it's now been four hours. 218 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:06,360 Three of the puppies are starting to perk up from the Gatorade but the run is still scary 219 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:07,560 sickly. 220 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:12,120 The owners had officially surrendered the puppies to me and we were all just standing 221 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:16,460 around trying to figure out what could legally be done and how to go about it. 222 00:14:16,460 --> 00:14:22,920 It sounds easier than it really was and honestly I lived it and I still don't even fully understand 223 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:23,920 it. 224 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:29,000 It was something like we thought some court would be able to handle it but then found 225 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:34,000 out it was going to have to be a higher court and then we thought someone would be able 226 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:38,000 to just sign off on getting the dog back but then it turned out it had to be an actual 227 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,240 judge signing off on it. 228 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:44,920 The judge had to talk to the owners and me over face time to be able to legally draft 229 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,520 the court order. 230 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:52,640 Anyways at nine o'clock that night we had a judge out of bed and down at the courthouse 231 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:59,240 signing off on an emergency court order demanding the shelter hand Sadie over to me that night. 232 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:04,840 Now this was not permanent custody this was just a temporary emergency order but that's 233 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:06,680 all we needed. 234 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,680 Then the paperwork had to be sent to the police. 235 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:10,120 The police had to come back out there. 236 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,080 They had to inform the shelter director. 237 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,920 Of course the shelter was already closed and no one was there. 238 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,960 Luckily I had her cell phone number to give to the police. 239 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,320 The shelter lawyer needed a phone call to like I'm serious. 240 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:27,880 We went through so many chains of commands it was unreal. 241 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:32,720 Anyways an employee finally gets out to the shelter and tells the police she's refusing 242 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,160 to hand the dog to me directly. 243 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,560 She would hand the dog on the leash to the police. 244 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:38,840 The police would hand it to me. 245 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,520 I would load her in my car and then the police would bring the leash back to her. 246 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,120 The whole thing was so childish. 247 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:49,960 She also told the police to tell me that I was banned from ever coming on their property 248 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:50,960 again. 249 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:56,880 The police told me but uh this is public property so she can't really do that. 250 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,920 But she told me to tell you so. 251 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:05,800 The moment Sadie saw her puppies again is the moment I will never forget. 252 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:12,080 You could see her physically take a sigh of relief that they were okay and that she was 253 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:13,560 with them again. 254 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:18,800 She instantly laid down and started cleaning them up while they all nursed on her. 255 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:23,560 It was I can't even put into words how priceless that was. 256 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,560 I'm going to upload a bunch of videos and pictures of this whole story on our Instagram 257 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:30,840 so make sure you're following us so you can see it for yourself. 258 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,200 It's called Rough Life Podcast. 259 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,180 The next morning we had our emergency court hearing. 260 00:16:37,180 --> 00:16:42,040 We all met up again at the courthouse minus the owners since they had legally surrendered 261 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:43,760 the puppies and the mama to me. 262 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,600 They weren't really a part of this anymore. 263 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:52,760 It turned out the lawyer for the shelter was the director or maybe the shelter veterinarian's 264 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:54,240 husband. 265 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,520 I don't know if that counts as a conflict of interest but it should. 266 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:03,080 Anyways the judge took me and the shelter lawyer to a separate room. 267 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,800 The lawyer said I spoke to my client. 268 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:07,320 Oh you mean your wife? 269 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:08,720 Oh okay. 270 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:13,600 The shelter is prepared to let you foster Sadie and her puppies until they are weaned 271 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,880 at which time the shelter will take them. 272 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,080 Um I'm sorry what? 273 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:25,200 You want me to foster this mama dog and her puppies and then give them to you to send 274 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,240 to another rescue? 275 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:36,440 I told him um no I'm a 501c3 northern rescue so if I'm going to foster them they're going 276 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,420 to go to my rescue. 277 00:17:38,420 --> 00:17:43,520 He left to go confer with his client and then came back and said the shelter has agreed 278 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,520 to let your rescue take the puppies with the agreement that the shelter can come to your 279 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:54,320 facility which was my house to be sure the animals are receiving proper veterinary care. 280 00:17:54,320 --> 00:18:00,200 I'm sorry is this the same shelter that was going to let 10 day old puppies starve to 281 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:04,920 death because they didn't want to give back the mama dog that their board member stole? 282 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:10,640 I said something like I'm sorry but I don't trust the veterinary opinion of someone who 283 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:14,240 was so willing to let four puppies die yesterday. 284 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:19,040 I work for a veterinarian who was actually the only one to give these puppies veterinary 285 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:20,480 care yesterday. 286 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:25,080 She will be in charge of making sure the animals receive proper veterinary care. 287 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:29,400 He left to go confer and then he came back and said the shelter has agreed to allow you 288 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:31,640 to have ownership of the mama and all the puppies. 289 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:36,400 I think I even made him say and they can go to your rescue and you can use your own vet 290 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,160 and all of that too. 291 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:42,280 Then the judge actually had us wait in his chambers until the shelter people had left 292 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:47,520 because he didn't want us to be subjected to any possible harassment or bullying. 293 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:52,400 But oh man we were so excited. 294 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:57,280 I didn't think we were going to have a problem getting custody of them but just to finally 295 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:02,620 have it solidified and legal it was such a relief. 296 00:19:02,620 --> 00:19:08,240 We actually ended up sending Chick-fil-A breakfast and I think cookies or brownies to the police 297 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:13,440 station and the courthouse just to thank everyone for going so far out of their way that night 298 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,400 to make this happen for us. 299 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:22,480 Any time I tell this story, everyone's first comment is always why would the shelter not 300 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,760 just take the puppies? 301 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:26,480 And honestly I don't know. 302 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:32,360 They did say one time something about them not thinking Sadie had any milk, which she 303 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:33,440 did. 304 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:38,520 But even if she didn't, that's not a reason to take puppies away from a mama dog. 305 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:43,760 Aside from the psychological and emotional damage you do to the mom, there are so many 306 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:48,640 other benefits that the puppies get from being with their mama even if they're still having 307 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:50,360 to be bottle fed. 308 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:56,880 So I truly don't know, especially with them knowing their board member literally stole 309 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:58,240 the dog. 310 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:02,040 I can't imagine why they wouldn't have just taken the owners up on their offer to just 311 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:07,120 surrender the mama and the puppies to the shelter and avoid all legal action. 312 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:09,960 I truly just don't know y'all. 313 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,840 But anyways, that director ended up getting fired a few months later. 314 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,520 I don't know why, I don't think it had anything to do with this. 315 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:22,680 And I don't think the employee that was so hateful to me still works there anymore either. 316 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:29,040 Sadie and all four of her puppies lived, they more than lived, they thrived. 317 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,000 Sadie was the best mom. 318 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:36,520 She completed her heartworm and early key treatments in Virginia and she is so loved 319 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,000 in her new home. 320 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:43,040 Her puppies are all two and a half years old now, which is crazy. 321 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,000 And they're all in loving homes. 322 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:51,200 And best of all, I think the owners realized they weren't quite ready for the responsibility 323 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:56,160 of being dog owners because to my knowledge, they haven't gotten another dog again. 324 00:20:56,160 --> 00:21:00,560 If they did, they do at least keep it inside this time. 325 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:07,200 So yeah, that's the story on how I got myself banned from a local shelter. 326 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,360 And honestly, I would do it all again tomorrow. 327 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:15,920 I do make sure I carry fluids around in my car now at all times. 328 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:41,200 It's a rough life, but someone's got to do it.