Please help these 6 shelter dogs become adoptable
Donation protected
There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth.
It is called Rainbow Bridge because of its many splendid colors.
Just this side of Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills,
and valleys with lush, green grass.
When beloved pets die, they go to this place.
There is always food and water and warm spring weather.
The old and frail animals are young again.
Those who are maimed are made whole again.
They play all day with each other.
There is only one thing missing.
They are not with their special person who loved
them on earth.
So each day they run and play.
Until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up!
The nose twitches.
The ears are up!
The eyes are staring.
And this one suddenly runs from the group.
You have been seen!
And when you and your special friend meet,
you take him in your arms and embrace.
Your face is kissed again and again and again,
and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...
Never again to be separated.
Cassie. Honey Bear. Rascal. Miss Pretty. Indie. Nico. Shelter dogs. At-risk shelter dogs. These dogs, like many of us, have done some bad things, sometimes through no fault of their own. Some have bitten other dogs, some have bitten people. We don’t always know why, but sometimes we do. The reason is usually some trauma they’ve suffered at the hands of an uncaring owner, and now the Rainbow Bridge may be in their future. We can offer them a chance, but it’s not without cost. One that few of us can do on our own. One that many of us can do together. Cassie, Honey Bear, Rascal, Miss Pretty, Indie and Nico need us. They need special training that will help them overcome the trauma they’ve suffered. Training that the shelter doesn’t have the extra funds to pay for.
The shelter is Your Humane Society SPCA in Lake Panasoffkee, FL, a no-kill shelter. No-kill means they do not euthanize for length of stay or lack of space, but will in cases of catastrophic injury, terminal illness, or if an animal is determined to be unadoptable, usually for behavioral reasons.
Cassie, Honey Bear, Rascal, Miss Pretty, Indie and Nico were designated as at-risk, have been evaluated by a behaviorist and can be euthanized. New shelter leadership decided to explore one last option for these six dogs at a highly specialized training facility that has worked with over 500 shelters across the country. The facility has a wonderful program where they conduct their own evaluation of the dogs. If they determine behavior modification will make the dogs adoptable, they consider if a 30, 60 or 90-day program is necessary. At the end of the program, the training facility will assist with placing the dogs with one of their successful placement partners or into specialized foster programs. The facility has an 85% success rate with challenging dogs like Cassie, Honey Bear, Miss Pretty, Indie and NIco.
Rascal and Indie have been at the facility since early April. Rascal was recommended for a 60-day program and his training will be finished in early June and he will either go into a foster situation, be directly adopted, or placed with an organization that partners with the training facility to find him his forever home. Indie was recommended for a 90-day program and she will be finished in early July and will be continuing with the facility’s professional foster program, where she will be living with a professional trainer who will reinforce her training while they find her a forever home. Right now it looks like that whenever Rascal and Indie someday cross the Rainbow Bridge, they will have someone to wait for. It will be because many generous, dog-loving people like you made a donation to pay for this lifesaving training. We need to make sure that Cassie, Honey Bear, Miss Pretty and Nico also have the opportunity to have someone to greet whenever they also cross Rainbow Bridge.
Here are the six dogs that need your help. There is also a 15-minute video compilation of them for you to watch at the end of this fundraiser:
It is called Rainbow Bridge because of its many splendid colors.
Just this side of Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills,
and valleys with lush, green grass.
When beloved pets die, they go to this place.
There is always food and water and warm spring weather.
The old and frail animals are young again.
Those who are maimed are made whole again.
They play all day with each other.
There is only one thing missing.
They are not with their special person who loved
them on earth.
So each day they run and play.
Until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up!
The nose twitches.
The ears are up!
The eyes are staring.
And this one suddenly runs from the group.
You have been seen!
And when you and your special friend meet,
you take him in your arms and embrace.
Your face is kissed again and again and again,
and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...
Never again to be separated.
Cassie. Honey Bear. Rascal. Miss Pretty. Indie. Nico. Shelter dogs. At-risk shelter dogs. These dogs, like many of us, have done some bad things, sometimes through no fault of their own. Some have bitten other dogs, some have bitten people. We don’t always know why, but sometimes we do. The reason is usually some trauma they’ve suffered at the hands of an uncaring owner, and now the Rainbow Bridge may be in their future. We can offer them a chance, but it’s not without cost. One that few of us can do on our own. One that many of us can do together. Cassie, Honey Bear, Rascal, Miss Pretty, Indie and Nico need us. They need special training that will help them overcome the trauma they’ve suffered. Training that the shelter doesn’t have the extra funds to pay for.
The shelter is Your Humane Society SPCA in Lake Panasoffkee, FL, a no-kill shelter. No-kill means they do not euthanize for length of stay or lack of space, but will in cases of catastrophic injury, terminal illness, or if an animal is determined to be unadoptable, usually for behavioral reasons.
Cassie, Honey Bear, Rascal, Miss Pretty, Indie and Nico were designated as at-risk, have been evaluated by a behaviorist and can be euthanized. New shelter leadership decided to explore one last option for these six dogs at a highly specialized training facility that has worked with over 500 shelters across the country. The facility has a wonderful program where they conduct their own evaluation of the dogs. If they determine behavior modification will make the dogs adoptable, they consider if a 30, 60 or 90-day program is necessary. At the end of the program, the training facility will assist with placing the dogs with one of their successful placement partners or into specialized foster programs. The facility has an 85% success rate with challenging dogs like Cassie, Honey Bear, Miss Pretty, Indie and NIco.
Rascal and Indie have been at the facility since early April. Rascal was recommended for a 60-day program and his training will be finished in early June and he will either go into a foster situation, be directly adopted, or placed with an organization that partners with the training facility to find him his forever home. Indie was recommended for a 90-day program and she will be finished in early July and will be continuing with the facility’s professional foster program, where she will be living with a professional trainer who will reinforce her training while they find her a forever home. Right now it looks like that whenever Rascal and Indie someday cross the Rainbow Bridge, they will have someone to wait for. It will be because many generous, dog-loving people like you made a donation to pay for this lifesaving training. We need to make sure that Cassie, Honey Bear, Miss Pretty and Nico also have the opportunity to have someone to greet whenever they also cross Rainbow Bridge.
Here are the six dogs that need your help. There is also a 15-minute video compilation of them for you to watch at the end of this fundraiser:
Honey Bear is an almost 6-year-old male who has been at this shelter for over 1,000 days. He was born at a shelter and has never been adopted. You can imagine the stress he's lived with never knowing a loving owner or a stable home. He's never slept at the feet of "his person" or snuggled on the couch. It's been a while, but Honey Bear has bitten several people over the years, including a past shelter employee who teased/tormented him. The employee is no longer there. Because of this, he is wary of strangers but warms up after getting to know them. He is very smart and loves water. He was part of an exchange program with another Shelter in Florida. Ten volunteers were regularly walking and exercising Honey Bear. This guy just needs a chance to be a great dog.
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Rascal is an almost 6-year-old male who has been at the shelter for over 1,000 days. He is dog selective, gets aroused easily and can get “mouthy” and “nippy” as a result. He is friendly to people and very smart. Rascal was part of the same exchange program with the same shelter that Honey Bear was at and again has spent most of his life in shelters. Fifteen volunteers were regularly working with Rascal. Most found after he knew you, most of the mouthy behavior subsided. Rascal loves playing rope tug and chasing balls.
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Cassie is an almost 9-year-old female who has been at the shelter for over 1,000 days. She is dog aggressive, but very sweet with people and is a couch potato. She's good on a leash but can get a bit stubborn if she does not want to go back to her kennel. Coax her with a treat and she is all yours. Every one of our volunteers exercises and loves Cassie. She is a shelter favorite. Cassie came to us in very rough shape and was probably used as a fight or bait dog.
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Miss Pretty is an almost 4-year-old female who has been at the shelter for nearly 1,000 days. She is dog aggressive but full of energy, loves water and to chase a ball, very smart, and friendly to everyone after she gets to know them. Miss Pretty also has spent most of her life in a shelter. All volunteers were walking and playing with her, and she is also a favorite. She loves chasing balls, lounging in a pool, but most of all, sitting on your lap and giving you the biggest kisses.
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Indie is an almost 4-year-old female who has been at the shelter for nearly 1,000 days. She has bitten several people, but most occured due to human error and no walking/handling restrictions being put on her. She is very smart, high energy, loves water, chasing a ball, is good with people she trusts and gets along with other dogs. Nine volunteers were walking and playing with Indie regularly.
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Nico is a 2-year-old male who has been at the shelter for over 5 months. He was determined to be food aggressive upon intake, when he bit a caretaker during mealtime, but has made vast improvements once his food routine was changed. He is mouthy with a strong bite, but is overall a very friendly dog who just needs strict training and to get out of the kennel environment.
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As a former shelter volunteer, I started this fundraiser because I worked with these dogs for months, strongly believe in them and know that they can all be great pets in the right circumstance and given the opportunity. It will take many months to get all six through. The training facility is in high demand and these dogs can only go as openings become available. The shelter’s staff and volunteers are optimistic that all of them will make it through the initial evaluation and get into the program. Please help Cassie, Honey Bear, Rascal, Miss Pretty, Indie and Nico by making a donation and sharing this fundraiser so they can get what they need to have the opportunity to be placed in their forever homes so that when they finally cross the Rainbow Bridge, they will have someone to eventually cross it with.
Here is a 15-minute video I put together of these dogs:
Organizer
Tom Diss
Organizer
The Villages, FL