While I was transporting the other dogs to Irvine I received a call that they were having a big kill at the Camarillo shelter on Friday. To save who we could, it was decided that we needed to pull 3 from the shelter that day. Since I was in Irvine and not available, Kelly, our wonderful volunteer, raced to the shelter and did the pull. Since all three were sick she took 2 to the vet hospital for an overnight stay and one stayed at the shelter till I could go by on Saturday afternoon, pull that one out, go to the vet hospital, pull those 2 from there and transport all 3 to the Blue Cross Vet Clinic in North Hollywood so we could begin treatment of kennel cough.
This is the type of pressure we have on us all the time. It seems that the shelter is always issuing ultimatums to pull now or they will die today. Then of course we have to scramble to place these guys wherever we can on very short notice. It truly is amazing that we can pull this off as often as we do. But the price these volunteers pay is high, both in their personal and professional lives. The stress is unrelenting and it seems that it doesn’t get any easier for any of us. We have all seen so many good dogs die, it really can be so heartbreaking.
