Christmas in Dog Rescue- Intake Day

Recently we were posting pictures of the dogs that would be coming to Good Karma on the next transport.  Foster mom Greta exclaimed it's like Christmas to see all the pictures of the new dogs.  We agree!  

These were the new dogs we posted and were excited to bring into rescue: 

So much goes into the intake process behind the scenes.  We first have to find out which of our foster families are ready for a new foster dog.  Then we have to make sure we have an accurate number of dogs we are bringing in and make sure we are bringing in the right size dogs that will fit those foster homes.

EVERY SINGLE DOG that comes to Good Karma goes into a foster home.  We do not put dogs into boarding so we can only bring what we have room for in foster homes.  What is hard is looking at all the dogs in the shelter and deciding who we can save...and who we have to leave behind.

Transport is the other piece we need to look at.  Many rescues do not transport their own dogs, but Good Karma does our own transports as much as we can.  We then don't take the transport services away from the shelter and they can use their transport to send more dogs elsewhere in turn..saving more dogs.  Babs is our regular rescue rover.  She has made many trips for us saving a lot of dogs.  Sometimes we get vans loaned to us so we can transport even more dogs.  We also need the volunteers that will drive.  Depending on where we pick up the dogs, it can be a 2 day or a 6 day trip.

Intake day has arrived!  Everyone is excited when we know transport is on the road coming home. 

This time we came back with 2 bonus puppies that need a home!

Back at our new administrative space (that is still under construction!) we were busy getting everything ready for the new dogs' arrival.  Supply bags had previously been stuffed with toys, treats and a blanket for each dog.  Dog food was stacked to go home with the dogs.  Medical station was set up to look at each dog, go over their paperwork and made sure they get their intake medicine of dewormer as well as flea and tick prevention.  Collars, leashes and harnesses were waiting to be matched up to each dog.

Foster families came and greeted their new foster dogs with love and patience.  They know that some dogs may come scared... but with love, time and patience they will be just fine.  

Fostering is exciting, but it can also have it's challenges.  Here are some thoughts from some of the foster families picking up their dogs on this day.

Heather:

How do you feel knowing you are getting a new dog soon? 

-I AM SO EXCITED! It's all I talk about for the days leading up to arrival! Most of all, I feel hopeful! I hope I make the list. I hope I am the best foster for them. I hope my love makes them feel safe. I hope I can help them trust again. I hope we have the best toys and treats, laps to lay in, and comfiest couch to snuggle on!

What are you most excited for? 

-Saving lives! Having one more pup find his family to love and spoil him!

What are your concerns? 

-Are my resident dogs going to overwhelm him?  Will he understand friendship, everyone is just so excited when new pups come to our house! 

Any other thoughts?  

-How lucky am I to be part of this group!?!? Everyone is so helpful and kind. Having a group to support each other.  All of us love these pups and all of us want to see them loved like they deserve to be!

 

Tari:

Tonight, I am getting Martina, my sixth foster dog. As always, I am excited and anxious about meeting her. I am most excited that she will be in a warm home, well loved and fed. Like humans, each dog is so different in personality, I love learning each dog's quirks and traits. Will she be a more serious dog or a comedian? As usual, I have little information about her. I do know she was injured and is recovering from those injuries when a big dog attacked her. Will she be anxious around other dogs? How will this affect the transition of meeting my pups? I am concerned about getting her to go outside in this really cold weather which she has never experienced. My own dogs are setting speed records for peeing outside, how do I explain this to her?

I am anxious because I want to do this fostering thing right, to do everything to get her home. But there really isn't a right way, there are lots of good ways and together we will stumble upon some sort of solution. We always have.

Vanessa:

How do you feel knowing you are getting a new dog soon?  EXCITED!  The anticipation of the transport team arriving with the rescued dogs and knowing that these dogs were saved is so awesome! 

What are you most excited for?  Getting to know the personality of the foster dog and spending time caring for the dog until it finds its adoptive home.

 What are your concerns?  Hoping that our resident dog gets along with the foster dog and ensuring we find the right home for the foster dog.

Any other thoughts?  It's rewarding being able to save a life!    

  

 Intake Excitement

Here is a video taken at intake.  This shows a bit of the excitement that happens!  Sorry for the abrupt cut off..we are definitely not professional videographers  :)

 

Intake Day is a very exciting day.  A day we can make a difference in many dogs' lives.  

As one last thought, we want to go back to  the not so happy thought of who we need to leave behind.  There are always dogs we have to leave behind.  There are soooo many dogs that are abandoned or found and living in shelters.  Shelters like the one we got these dogs from.  We don't blame the shelter workers...they do their very best and love these dogs.  However, there are so many dogs they easily get overwhelmed with them and there is only so much they can do.  

Amy, one of our foster moms that did this transport said it best:

"This was such an exciting trip, our first of 2018, our first intake in our new space (AMAZING!), Babs' first trip in a while, Debbie's first trip as a co-pilot. We got 6 deserving, beautiful dogs and 2 cuter than I can almost stand it puppies. We got big dogs, small dogs, scared to death dogs...but they made it out. They are guaranteed a life now. As I crossed into Minnesota on I-35 and saw our state sign as the sun was setting, I had goosebumps. They made it. They hit the lottery. They have gone from the most UNLUCKY to the LUCKIEST.

But I could barely sleep last night. Why? Because as Deb and I were loading these precious souls into Babs, the dogs who had to stay in the shelter were walking by us and watching. The dogs who get out of their cages for about a 5 minute walk (MAX) and then have to go back inside. I can barely breathe in the shelter and you can't hear yourself think (the barking is so loud). I heard the dog walkers telling these babies "maybe next time buddy, you can't go this time". The shelter does its best, but it is overloaded.  As I type this, I have tears streaming down my face. One little dog was so frail and thin. One has been there for months. One is a senior likely dumped by his owner. We do good work, but we have to do more. PLEASE share our cause, ask around and recruit fosters. Each open home is a precious life saved, literally. 

Be proud. We do amazing work, we are an amazing ARMY. But we can do MORE."

And with that... we can do more, but we need YOU to sign up to foster.  The more foster families we have, the more dogs we can take in and save.  Learn about and apply to foster at  http://www.goodkarmamn.org/foster.html