A Place to Bark and Meow -- Animal Rescue Blog by Bernie Berlin

Friday, May 29, 2009

Crazy Busy...

"Dogs are our link to paradise.

They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent.

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace."

- Milan Kundera

First: I am excited to announce, we have met our matching grant!!!

So we have been able to pay down some of our vet bills...

There is still much, much, more to pay, but at least we are on our way:)

We just have to keep the FAITH and continue on!!!

Second: If you have wondered.. Where in the world have I disappeared to???

Well... I've been busy beyond words!!! Dogs, lots of dogs!!!

Cats & kittens & real work that pays the bills.

Thank goodness I can work at nite, while the critters sleep. Non stop more so than usual, truly not sleeping much, working harder than I ever had before, but all for a great cause with our vision is coming to fruition!!!

In addition to our regular amount of incoming dogs from animal control, we are also caring for 11 litters too.

Our journey of three and a half months with them is almost at an end...

Bitter/sweet, but sooooo, soooo, worth all the hard work!!!

The 11 litters of puppies we have been fostering are from the puppymill confiscation done by the ASPCA back in February. They are all healthy & of perfect weight to be fixed and will be up for adoption at Anti Cruelty Society in Chicago.

I leave to transport next week...

So off I will go, on the road again!!!

A few really cute pics of them to grown up!!!

More pictures of the pups & their moms in earlier posts of my blog..

Below are some of our new intakes from animal control.

I am so Thankful for the Sheriff's Department being so cooperative with getting the animals to me.

They deliver many of them, so that I don't have to leave the house.

We really have a great relationship with them and can't say enough good things about them!

"Auggie" is a male Beagle, approximately 1-2 years of age. Super friendly and loving!!! Of course loud talker as most Beagles are:)

"Bitsy" is beside him. A real ham for the camera. She is a Terrier/mix. Approximately 4-6 months old. Found under a house with her sister.

"Brownie" is a Beagle/mix. Busy, Busy, puppy!!! Approximately 12 weeks old.

"Sunshine" is a female Boxer/Pit mix. The BEST dog you will ever have. Approximately 2-3 year of age. Social with everyone and just the Biggest Love you will ever find!!!

"Hobbs" is a male Beagle/mix, approximately 10-12 weeks old. Full of personality.

"Simba" is a trickster as you can tell:) He is a very small Husky/mix, about 35lbs. Approximately 2-3 year of age. Very Busy guy, loves to run!

He also has two other siblings that came in with him. All just beautiful dogs.

"Tallulah" is a female Foxhound. Approximately 3-5 years old.

The laziest most LOVING dog I have ever met!!! Perfect with other dogs.

For anyone who is waiting for an e-mail response, please be patient with me.

I've been struggling with catching up on my e-mails.

I have been without Internet for almost 2 months and have to rely on going to town.

I do have my iPhone, which has kept me linked to my social networks, such as FaceBook and Twitter. I hope to be caught up with everything by early July.

So please, I haven't forgotten you!!!

Just as always am taking care of large amount of animals and their care must & does come first.. Many, Many, new and exciting things to share with you on the horizon.

So stay tuned!!!

Soooo, do you think the dogs are getting too comfortable at our house:) (((giggles)))

Giveaways coming in the next blog post for commenting...

:: posted @ 10:40 PM by Bernie Berlin:: 19 comments :: permalink

Monday, May 04, 2009

"Signs from Above"

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement

that something else is more important than fear"
—Ambrose Redmoon

Do you BELIEVE in Miracles? I do!!! I always have & always will..

Faith, Hope & Belief, is the only way we can create change, towards a better tomorrow.

My emotions lately have been tested to the extreme..

Nothing unusual for those of us who do rescue.

We all know it wears on your heart, mind & pocketbook.

This year especially has been a test of Faith and on this day, I was asking for answers and praying that we would not have to decrease our intake numbers due to our lack of donation funds.

But on this day, I asked for an answer from above and this is what I got...

It's really a bit crazy the way my life is, running all the time, between running this program and my professional life.

But this journey, is my life's passion, something I never planned...

Life sometimes takes you places you never thought and it has in my case:)

The rainbows arch went from the shelter to my Angel statue, then to the front of my house, before it disappeared.

There is actually a double rainbow if you look real hard.

So I will continue on and put doubt out of my mind... Work on plan B and BELIEVE:)

Everything will all work out, it has to!!!

I have been without internet for almost a month, so that is part of the reason I have been delayed to update the blog.

I've actually been more active on my FaceBook account, just because I can update it daily from my mobile phone.

These are many of the dogs that have been placed for adoption thru our shelter partnering program and some of the new faces.

It is almost impossible for me to keep up with their care, the photos, updates, transports, etc.

So if you are looking for a special dog, just send me an e-mail with what you are looking for and I can tell you what I have.

Enjoy the photos, these are the precious lives saved because of your donations:)

These are a few, of the many moms that were confiscated in a puppymill raid done by the ASPCA earlier this year.

All of the 11 mothers have been adopted out thru Anti Cruelty Society in Chicago and the babies will follow in early June.

We loved caring for them, but WOW what alot of work!!!

It took several months of round the clock veterinary care and lots of socialization and exposure to new things.

Despite the hardship they went thru, they have blossomed into the most loving, trusting dogs:)

Here is a video of one of our Fun Days with all of them!!!

I have to say with a heavy heart we will be closing up for about 3 months, starting June 2nd.

Unless by some miracle, we can raise the needed funds to continue on, taking in the 30-50 dogs each month. We are full to capacity with no more room to take in any more, even though the calls & pleas for help come in daily.

In the upcoming months we will focus on catching up on past due vet bills, raising money for the shelter, writing for grants and just getting a better plan together for the future of "A Place To BArk".

No matter what, it won't be for good, just for a short while to regroup & recharge our batteries so to speak, so that we can come back stronger than ever:)

Because the animals need us...

Together we make a difference!!!

P.S. Our matching grant for $10,000 will only be matched if we can raise $10,000 in donations. We are short about $2,500.00 as of this post. Any amount is appreciated, it all adds up!!!

***If you are a store owner and are interested in having me teach, please contact me at: aplacetobark@mac.com I will be looking to hit the road to raise money for the pooches!!!

Will be announcing teaching schedule for California, Massachusetts & Indiana in a week or two.

Edit: Eeeek!!!! Sorry some of the comments were rejected by accident:( Please forgive me!!!

I am without internet & trying to do this from my iphone, hit the wrong tiny button....

I'm hoping to have my internet back up by the end of May, have transports & animal care that come first. Note to self: Never accept a free modem upgrade it is NEVER free:(

:: posted @ 1:11 PM by Bernie Berlin:: 15 comments :: permalink