So I have been unemployed for about a year. I have some health issues, specifically with short term memory, that have made getting employment a little challenging. I mean, I am still intelligent and able, but not as able as I was.
So unemployed and bored, I volunteer at a tiny local rescue charity. They (we, I guess) deal with dogs in one of the poorest suburbs in my area. And this is shanty-town poor, a mix of run down real buildings with shacks made of planks and plastic and anything that works.
Today we picked up a three to four year old brown sheepdog mix. Took her to the almost free animal clinic. I spent about 8 hours there, first waiting for service, then negotiating to get a blood donor in, in time before they closed.
Just made it, but I think poor girl is going to die tonight. Her blood haemoglobin was horribly low, 8%. She also has an unpecified large mass in or next to her liver, probably cancer.
Massive dehydration, under-fed, but at least her family - a bunch of kids between 14 and 8 loved her.
They came with me to the vet. Did not meet the parents. The kids were too young to really understand.
Same. My daughter did a summer volunteer program at our local shelter when she was young. At the end of the program, parents were invited to have their kid provide a tour of the facility. Each dog kennel had a page affixed describing the dog and it’s circumstances, and I made the mistake of reading a few of them. I could barely make it thru, and struggled hard to hold it together for my daughter’s benefit, until I got back outside where I could breathe again, and let the tears flow. Hard.
That was my curse.
I basically was in the clean up crew. But I interacted with animals almost exclusively.
I was able to foster, that scratched my itch.
Can be very fulfilling work, and yes heartbreaking.
When I was a senior in high school I volunteered on Saturdays at the local shelter. I cleaned cages, fed animals, the usual scutwork. And I wanted to take them all home. Now it’s a no kill shelter but back then there was a time limit if an animal didn’t get adopted. I remember seeing rows of blacks bags in the aisles after the vet had been there.
I remember one woman dropping off a dog and pups, and when told you had to wait three days she said she’d dump them if we didn’t take them then. One person gave up a litter of purebred Welsh Corgi’s, papers and all, because they supposedly didn’t meet her breed standards. I think those got adopted.
Bless people who do this work. I’m like all the rest of you. I would want to bring them all home. Our local animal shelter is a nice facility, and it’s a no-kill shelter (we’ve adopted three cats from them), and they often need paid employees and volunteers. I’m retired, and gave it some thought, but I know I couldn’t resist becoming attached to the animals. I have enough to be anxious about with our two cats, who both have medical issues. I couldn’t bear adding anything to it.
I never paid for a single pet, except for ones from the shelter. The others have been foundlings, with the exception of Vladimir, whose owner(for eleven years) was in danger of going to prison, and wanted him to have a sure home.
The dog survived, is still alive. Still unknown what the mass in her abdomen is. But she has a bit more life in her. Probably not a lot, but enough to enjoy a few more days or weeks, or maybe years.
Thankfully dogs all share one blood type*, so getting a donor is not that hard. My “boss” (she runs the charity as a one-person show, I just volunteer) has 3 healthy dogs. One was chosen as the donor. Poor dog was not happy about that!
But he saved her life. He tried to bite me in return, which I think is fair, under the circumstances. Imagine being kidnapped by a stranger, taken to a weird, unknown place and then having a sharp needle implanted by strangers. And then, on release, the same fucking stranger is there trying to get him into a car!
We did make up, once he got home and realised I was not the enemy.
* side note: people, go donate blood. Humans have a fucked up mix of blood types, but even mine, O+, is in demand. It is easy, mostly painless, and you get a free cookie.
Aside: I just registered for bone marrow donation too, which is fucking painfull, but can save the lives of people suffering from cancer. I used the African service, but this is an international group.
Thank you VERY much! Not just cancer; stem cell transplants can also be done for Myelodysplastic syndrome. Stem cells are what makes up bone marrow.
I am particularly grateful to the 25 yr old woman who donated the bone marrow for my husband’s stem cell transplant. She’d be 26 now since yesterday was the one year anniversary of my husband’s stem cell transplant.
My dad died of cancer, lung cancer. He never smoked. My mum had thyroid cancer, she survived.
I am fairly healthy now, seems like a good thing to do to try. Trivial even, for me, compared to the potential value to others.
ETA, Ginger, the dog in question in my OP is now home. No news of the potential cancer in her abdomen, but she did a great job. I will give her a lot of treats when I see her next.
