Bear's fee has been paid so he is techincally speaking "sprung". Lizzy was a sad, sad case. She was so scared I had to drag her kicking and screaming out of her kennel. Once in the open she freaked out and it took another 20 minutes for her to calm down enough to where we could pet her on her back. She had never been on a leash before and I really don't think anyone had touched her in a long time. The shelter workers said that no one went in the cages. Ever. So she never got any love at the shelter. If it gives you an idea of how bad this place is, they spray the cage with Bleach while the dog is still in the cage. I saw it with my own eyes and I have never seen anything so terrible in my life. The dogs were cowaring in the corner just trying to escape the place the people call "safety".

My co-workers Emily (who is fostering Lizzy), Beth (she rides along and donates money for vet bills) and I are going to not stop till we make a huge improvment on this shelter. We started by pulling Lizzy. Tomorrow we are going back for Bear who is extremly skinny but as happy as can be and an extremly skinny lab puppy that looks like no one has fed him in a long time. I have found a foster home for the female pitt they have and she will also be leaving tomorrow with us. After we get the dogs that we really don't feel have a shot out we are going to try to change the way they do things. We are going to help them set up a safe way to clean the cages and a volunteer program so that maybe the dogs could feel loved while waiting for a new home. It's going to be tough, but it HAS to be done. Lizzy and Bear weren't brought into my life just be saved. They were brought into my life so that by witnessing the horrors of there everyday life in this rural GA shelter I can help save the dogs who will enter the shelter after them and make there lives a bit easier while they wait for there new homes.

Wish us luck. We already have 15 to 20 people who have said they would pack up and go scrub the shelter top to bottom one Saturday. The worst part is that I live 2 hours away from the shelter so my personal involvment in the change will end up being limited by distance.

I will update when the next 3 kids are in safety and any progress we make after that. I have a few more possible foster homes lined up for dogs who need to get out now (like 2 stir crazy huskies).

Ashley