1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,520 Hello friends, welcome to Rough Life. We are now three weeks into our five-week break, 2 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:26,160 and it is truly a rough life down here. We cannot wait for our April transports. But 3 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:31,600 even though there wasn't a transport today, I am going to tell you the backstories of our airplane 4 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:38,880 transport pups from February 11th. It has been the most requested podcast episode. 5 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:46,640 Two whole people asked for these stories. Before I start though, I want to tell you a little bit 6 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:53,040 about how this whole plane transport works. So you know, typically we use cargo bands to transport 7 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:59,120 our critters, but this time we partnered with a group called Amelia Air, and it's completely free. 8 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:05,680 Well, we bought them lunch. But that's only because our airport is literally just a metal 9 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:12,000 building, and there are no restaurants nearby. It's in a totally rural area, and there's not 10 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:17,040 exactly a drive-through that they can take their plane to. But the fact that they partnered with us 11 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:22,960 is huge. It is such an honor. They have a group on the west coast of the country, and then a group 12 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:29,440 on the east coast. These are full-time pilots that just volunteer their time in their planes on the 13 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:35,760 weekends to go pick up animals from one state and fly them to another. Again, this is completely free 14 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:42,960 for the rescues. But they are reimbursed $100 per animal that they fly. I don't know where the money 15 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:51,520 comes from, I guess, through grants and donors. They are a 501c3 non-profit, so maybe that's where? 16 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:59,760 I don't know. But they flew 52 puppies for us that day, so they got $5,200 for it. But that doesn't 17 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:06,560 even cover the cost of gas and the wear and tear on the planes. I don't know how much it costs, 18 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:12,960 actually, to keep a plane in shape, but I do know it's a heck of a lot more than $100 a pup. 19 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:20,880 So these pilots make $0 doing this. It's all just for the animals. It was super amazing because 20 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:26,480 they also found out the week of this transport that because we had so many small puppies, 21 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,640 like all the moms with newborn puppies that we were needing to get to Virginia, 22 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:36,960 they were actually able to come with two planes instead of one. So two pilots and two co-pilots 23 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:45,120 gave up their entire Saturday to make this happen for us. For free. It was amazing. So if you listen 24 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:51,440 to the March 8th episode, you'll remember from Mumbo Jumbo story that the airplane transport 25 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:57,840 morning started at 2am for me when I had to rush her to the emergency vet. So I'm just going to 26 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:04,000 pick up from there. I left my house in Alabama early that morning and drove the hour and a half to 27 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:10,320 the dog house in Mississippi where we do our transports. My mom was already there and because 28 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:16,640 she had been fostering the bee litter of nine rat terrier mixes, they were there too. We got the 29 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:21,600 bee litter from our rescue partners in another town. They reached out to us when someone contacted 30 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:27,280 them about a dog that had been left behind when the owners moved off and she had become feral. 31 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:32,880 She had the puppies sometime around New Year's Eve under a pile of wood in the neighbor's yard. 32 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:38,160 By the time the puppies were almost three weeks old, he still couldn't get anywhere near the mama, 33 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,400 but when the temperatures dropped to single digits, he was so worried that the puppies were going to 34 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:47,840 freeze to death. He brought the puppies in and started feeding them formula and gruel. We were 35 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:53,120 able to take the puppies for him a few days later. Unfortunately, we have not been able to catch this 36 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:59,200 mama yet. He still sees her around, but it's very infrequent. So it's hard when you can't figure 37 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:04,400 out a feral dog's routine to be able to sedate them or trap them. We won't stop trying though, 38 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:11,920 obviously, but at this point, I'm not sure exactly how feral she is. If she is just someone's pet that 39 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:17,280 was left behind and is doing what she has to to survive, we'll spay her and work with her until 40 00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:23,280 she's adoptable, but if she's truly just feral, she'll be spayed and then taken back to where she's 41 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:30,640 living. My mother also had some overnight guests that were staying with her, their owner, and I 42 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:36,560 used that term lightly because she was really more like a hotel manager instead of their owner. 43 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:41,040 Wasn't able to bring them to transport that morning, so we got them the night before just 44 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:46,640 so that we knew they were going to be there for transport. Beagle mama Sally Ride and her nine 45 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:53,200 Beagle Healer Mix puppies were just about the cutest things ever. This probably makes me a 46 00:04:53,200 --> 00:05:02,640 terrible animal rescuer, but I love their story. Sally Ride was just a stray dog, but once she 47 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:10,000 came into heat, there was a dog in the neighborhood like someone's pet and someone's fenced in backyard 48 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:17,920 that wanted to get to Sally so bad, but him's a chunky boy and he knew that it would take a lot 49 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:22,960 of work for him to dig a hole big enough for him to get out and get to her and he had a good life 50 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:31,200 with a good family. So like why would he leave? So instead he dug a little hole and little bitty 51 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:40,000 Sally Ride would just squeeze through that hole every day and come uh visit him. She would leave 52 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,200 and he would stay home and just wait for her to come back. She ended up having puppies I think on 53 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:50,320 their front porch or maybe it was even in their back porch in their in their fenced in yard. I'm 54 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,880 not sure, but they kept them there and they kept all nine puppies safe until they were old enough 55 00:05:54,880 --> 00:06:01,200 to go on transport. I actually just found out yesterday that Sally Ride officially found her 56 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:06,720 forever home. Otherwise I was going to be hitting y'all with my She's the Best Dog spiel to get her 57 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:13,600 adopted, so you're welcome. You won't have to listen to that. So after we got those litters loaded, 58 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:19,680 we loaded the P-Litter of five. They were the Brittany Jack Russell Terrier mixes. They had 59 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:26,000 been staying at the doghouse. I actually just realized how perfect this is. Their mama is 60 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:32,160 Peanut Butter. I talked about her in an earlier episode. She was absolutely completely feral 61 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:37,440 when I got her the night before this transport. I just called her mama for the first three or four 62 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:42,960 days she was with me, but when I saw her wag her tail for the first time ever, it was when I was 63 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:49,040 giving her a spoonful of peanut butter. Thus she became peanut butter. So what a coincidence though 64 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:54,960 that her pups are the P-Litter pups. Anyways, we didn't have these puppies in our foster care for 65 00:06:54,960 --> 00:07:00,480 long. They had been staying in another rescue's foster care, so when we went to load them, they 66 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:07,520 seemed off. Obviously on transport days, especially our parvo senses are heightened, 67 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:14,640 and we were worried that these weren't acting like typical healthy happy puppies. So we did a 68 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:21,120 parvo test and held our breath waiting for the results. Luckily they weren't negative. Hallelujah. 69 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:26,720 We actually talked to the foster that had had them and she said no, they're actually just super 70 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:32,880 lazy puppies. They also had the beginning signs of mange, so we went ahead and got them treated as 71 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:39,680 soon as we had gotten them earlier that week. Peanut butter also had full-blown mange and a nasty 72 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:47,360 case of mastitis from nursing. So the puppy's story is not that crazy, but peas kind of is. 73 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:56,320 She technically belonged to someone who had peanut, her litter mates, peanut's mom, and peanut siblings 74 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:02,960 from another litter. He does not take care of them and they survive by eating scraps out of 75 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:08,800 garbage cans and just hoping neighbors will throw some food out for them. Of course it seemed like 76 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:14,480 every day there was one less dog because they were all getting run over in the street. Peanut and her 77 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:21,440 mom were actually the only females that were left. A lot of times when stray dogs get close to 78 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:26,880 delivering puppies, it's like instinct takes over and they know they need to be near humans. 79 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:33,040 Like they know I'm not going to be able to go out and find food, so I need to find someone who will 80 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:41,280 bring the food to me. So as terrified as Peanut was, and believe me, it has taken weeks for her to 81 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:47,360 not be petrified of me, she moved herself over to a neighbor's porch and had her babies there. 82 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:54,400 I think the lady was even able to move the puppies inside and lure Peanut inside on some super, 83 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:59,200 super cold nights just so they didn't freeze to death. When the puppies were weaned, they were 84 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:05,200 easy to catch, but Peanut still wouldn't come to anyone. Another rescuer actually went out there for 85 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:12,240 us and set up a trap and put one of Pea's puppies inside so that she would go in it. Once they got 86 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:18,800 her, they took her straight to the vet to get checked out and we took her the next day. And I 87 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:26,560 do have reason to believe, hypothetically of course, that Pea's mom was also picked up by a 88 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:34,080 hypothetical neighbor and possibly taken to the vet to be spayed and brought back home a few days 89 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:42,960 later. Hypothetically. But let me go ahead and hit you with my Peanut pitch. She is still down here 90 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:50,240 with me, but I would absolutely love to send her on an April transport. We would typically send 91 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:56,560 dogs like Peanut to be a barn dog somewhere where she would have limited human interaction and live 92 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:03,920 outside with plenty of room to roam safely. But Peanut is too bougie for that. This hussey has 93 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:10,880 discovered indoor dog life and she says she ain't ever going back to being an outside dog. My dream 94 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:16,560 for her is that she would go straight into a foster to adopt home. The thought of her being 95 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:22,560 bounced around foster homes breaks my heart and I just I can't do that to her. Peanut's perfect 96 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:29,200 home would have a fenced in yard. She loves squirrels. So I'm positive she would run away chasing one 97 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:36,800 if she's not fenced in. Peanut also needs another dog. Actually, the more dogs the merrier. She loves 98 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:44,160 all dogs. She's actually a better mama to these 11 puppies that are in my dining room than their 99 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:50,800 mama is. Peanut is completely housebroken. She's fantastic on a leash. She's good in the car 100 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:57,760 and she's perfect with other dogs. She's just barely one years old. She's a jack russell terrier mix 101 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:07,040 and she weighs probably all of 20 pounds. Pee is very sweet with us, but even after having her for 102 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:13,520 over a month now, she will not come to us on her own. We can pet her, hold her, clip her nails, 103 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:20,400 kiss her all over whatever we want, but we have to go to her and get her. So she needs someone 104 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:26,960 that's going to let her take her time to find her safe space in their house and then push her to 105 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,520 come out of it. She's going to need someone that is patient with her but won't just let her hide 106 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:36,240 in the corner every day for the rest of her life. You're going to have to go sit with her in the 107 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:42,640 corner, pick her up, snuggle with her on your couch, take her for walks, take her for car rides. 108 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:50,000 She will be a fantastic dog. I have zero doubts about that. It's just not going to happen overnight. 109 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,800 You're going to have to work for her love. If you're interested in peanut, you can reach out to me 110 00:11:54,800 --> 00:12:00,480 and I will absolutely spam you with adorable pictures and videos and all of the information you 111 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:10,080 could ever need on her. Okay, so back to transport. We get all of them loaded and then mama jacklyn 112 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:17,280 and her five dashhound mixed puppies arrive. Jacqueline is mumbo jumbo's sister. They were picked 113 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:23,600 up by animal control from the same house. I actually don't know any of the details other than 114 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:28,640 there were originally seven puppies and they saw two dead when they came to pick them up. 115 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:33,840 I don't know why they were going there to pick them up, but it had to be a pretty bad situation 116 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:39,840 for them to go out of their way to go and get all of them. We pulled Jacqueline and mumbo the day 117 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:46,560 after they got to the shelter. So typically they would have had to stay for a seven day stray hold. 118 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:52,080 So the fact that we were able to take them so quickly means whoever the owner was had surrendered 119 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:58,720 them willingly. Mama says no was also staying at the doghouse. She was in the laundry room 120 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:05,120 and it has a doggie door that leads to my garage and into my fenced in backyard. So we love putting 121 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:10,640 nursing mamas there. That way they can just let themselves in and out whenever they need to. Mama 122 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:16,960 says no and her babies were actually originally supposed to come home with me, but because mumbo 123 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:24,240 jumbo got bumped from the flight, they just swapped spots. Says no was found tied to a stop sign in 124 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:31,360 a nearby town. Someone had obviously dumped her there, but they at least had the tiniest bit of 125 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:38,160 decency to dump her there with her favorite toys. And that breaks my heart. The people who found her 126 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:43,920 took her home and realized right away that she was super pregnant. And that's more than likely 127 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:48,480 the reason she was even abandoned there. They let her stay in their shop where she delivered the 128 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:56,240 puppies and we took the whole family later that week. The A litter of 11 showed up after that. 129 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:02,320 They were owner surrenders. This was the mama dog's first litter. It was just a random stray male 130 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:08,240 that got her pregnant. But we got her spayed a few days later for them so she will not be having 131 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:15,600 any more puppies now. Jessica brought the W litter of three feists with her when she came to transport. 132 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:20,880 They were found in a storage container on the side of the road when they were just over two weeks 133 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:25,680 old and they had to be bottle fed by one of our fosters for a few days. When they were finally 134 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:31,520 eating on their own, they went to another foster and they were there until transport. The whole 135 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:37,760 airplane transport was such a cool experience. Usually I'm the one that's having to play the most 136 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:43,680 intense game up tetris trying to make sure all the crates fit. So it was a really nice break 137 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:49,280 not having to worry about that this time. The co-pilot on one of the planes was actually the 138 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:55,840 director for Amelia air. So she took care of all of that. We literally just pulled our cargo van 139 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:02,320 onto the runway and loaded all of our puppies into whatever plane she told us to. She also has to 140 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:09,040 make sure that the plane's weight is distributed evenly or something like that. So her Tetris game 141 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:16,240 is a little more dangerous than mine. We are hoping to do another transport with them maybe 142 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:24,320 later in April. Well I have to go now. I have 11 screaming puppies on my deck that have finished 143 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:30,560 their lunch and are ready to get tucked in for their nap in my dining room. It's a rough life but 144 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:46,480 someone's got to do it.