In Memoriam - Sophia
Volunteers and foster parents Karen and Jay McLucas wanted to share their story of Sophia, a border collie who came into their lives just 9 months ago and whose quality of life, even in the face of serious health problems, was improved to the point where she ended her days in comfort - much loved and receiving the very best of care. Sophia was only seven years old, but her last months more than made up for the uncaring treatment she had received in the past.
Thank you, Karen and Jay, for all you did for this loving and very special dog, who finally received the love she deserved.
Sophia
"Today is a very sad day for us. We have decided to put Sophia down due to her condition getting worse over the weekend. It seems that the other side of her heart went into failure, and she has suffered long enough. We will miss her dearly.
"When I first met Sophia I fell in love with her from the very first moment. However, we did not think she would stay with us for long, since she had a home lined up for her. We had only had a few minutes at our house when she fell in our pool and collapsed. Karen brought her into to UT where they found a very serious heart problem and at that moment her life changed. It seems her potential new family did not want her due to her health problem, but it was also a blessing for us and we decided to adopt her into our family. Months earlier we lost our dog, Spike, due to cancer. I felt that Spike was telling us to take care of Sophia and make sure that she was given the life she deserved even if she was only going to be with us for a short period of time.
"At first, I thought we were destined to care for her, but I later came to realize that she was here to care for us and let us be a part of this wonderful dogs life. It was from the very first moment that she became part of our family that she had and will always have a very special place in our hearts. We feel so blessed to have spent these last few months with her. She was such a loving dog who just wanted to be loved and cared for, since she had so much love to give. I hope that she was able to know how much it meant to us to have her in our lives during this time. We love her and will miss her tremendously."
Jay McLucas
Senior Dog Foster Program
East TN Border Collie rescue is starting a foster program for Senior Dogs and we are looking for very special foster homes to help us.
We have found that many nice, housetrained, loving family dogs, over the age of 8, are being turned into shelters: the reasons given may vary, but the bottom line is that it is usually because people do not want to deal with the health problems and costs associated with older dogs.
The majority of them do not get adopted, because families are often unwilling to make the emotional commitment to a dog with a relatively short remaining lifespan.
Our rescue group has already taken in several seniors, and although it takes longer to find them a permanent, loving home, we have, in the end, been extremely successful in finding the right situation for these older dogs.
PLEASE NOTE : Our foster homes are nearly always full with a waiting list, and we are not able to take owner-release seniors except in cases of extreme hardship, which will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Often, there will be a waiting period before we can help.
At this time, we are seeking FOSTER HOMES, who, when the need arises, would be willing to commit months, or even a year to their care, while we continue to seek an adoptive home. If you feel that fostering a senior dog would be right for your lifestyle (and most of these dogs are housetrained, mellow and happy with gentle exercise), please Contact Us.
The Carolyn Stansberry Memorial Fund was set up specifically to help special needs and senior dogs, so the rescue program will be able to provide financial help as needed for routine age-related problems. Catastrophic illness issues will be dealt with if and when they arise.
Our first senior dog that needs help is Drake on our website. His owner is no longer in a position to take care of him, and he is urgently in need of foster care. Drake is healthy and hopefully has many years to give to a new owner.
2009 Calendar Contest
Break out those cameras -- it's calendar time again! We are again accepting photos for next year's ETBCR calendar. Next time your adopted pup does something cute, snap his photo and send it to us! Entry details and submission guidelines are available on the ETBCR 2009 Calendar Contest page.
Calendar contest deadline is October 1, 2008.
Carolyn Stansberry Memorial Fund
The world of Border Collie Rescue has lost a great champion and devoted volunteer in the passing of Carolyn Stansberry on Sunday, November 18th, 2007, after a long illness.
Carolyn was one of the founding members of East TN Border Collie Rescue, a cause she was passionate about.
In order to honor and continue Carolyn's work to help special needs and senior border collies, we have established the CAROLYN STANSBERRY MEMORIAL FUND.
See the Carolyn Stansberry Memorial Fund page to find out how you can donate to the fund in Carolyn's memory.
How do we end euthanasia?
Please read this article titled How Do We End Animal Euthanasia? by Michelle Williams, DVM.
FOSTER HOMES NEEDED!!
For the past year or so we have had an urgent plea on our main page for foster homes. We are very grateful to everyone who has helped by fostering a border collie for ETBCR, but we can say without uncertainty that we are still in desperate need of foster homes. We still have to turn dogs down because we have so few foster home spaces available. While we do have kennel options available, because of their very nature, Border Collies do not do well in a kennel situation where it is hard to evaluate and exercise them, and we rely very heavily on our foster program. So our plea remains..
Won't you consider giving a temporary home to a Border Collie in need? We provide total support to all foster families, including all expenses incurred (apart from food, and this can be arranged if necessary), a daily back up support to help with problems and questions, and continued advice and help through the adoption process.
Fostering a Border Collie is both a rewarding and learning experience. We have an excellent section on fostering on our FAQ page. It means a commitment of anything from a few weeks to a few months, and almost always results in an adoption to a permanent home. Foster homes are expected to commit to their foster dog for their entire period in foster care, both because it is unsettling for the dog to be moved to a different location, and because we rarely have immediate space to relocate a dog. Please email Suzanne or Karen if you are able to help. We really need you!
Do you have questions for which you can't find answers on our web site? Please check out our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page.
Join the ETNAnimalChat email list, for East Tennessee animal rescuers, and others involved and interested in animal welfare, to network, chat and share information.
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