Volunteers – the heart of rescue!

It occurred to me today how integral our volunteers are to the mission of our organization.  Today it was a revelation as I thought of how much is going on in the background at this very moment in time that nobody even knows about!  All of our volunteers are dedicated, fun, wonderful and precious.  There are a few that come to mind at this moment.

Mara, Jimmy & Hazel:

Right now, as I am writing, two of our long time volunteers/fosters/3 time adopers, Mara & Jimmy B. of upstate NY, are in their Suburban with 8 CBR dogs.  They made the trek from NY all the way to West Virginia to hook up with Hazel Vance, another long time CBR foster, to pick up Carrie and her pups…visit for 3 hours…then turn right around and head back to NY.  Beagles on Board.  How on earth could we be so lucky as to have such loving, dedicated people to call our volunteers?  These beagles really have their paws wrapped tightly around our hearts, don’t they!  We needed to move the beagles so they could be closer to their final adoption region..whether east or west.  With Hazel still in the throws of trying to put her life and soul back together from the recent loss of her beloved Ed, this move needed to happen.  When all other options didn’t work out, Mara and Jimmy jumped right in.  No matter that it’s a 22 hour round trip.  Wow.  Another wonderous thing is that CBR has volunteers all over the country, but it’s also interesting that most have never met.  Sometimes there are instances, like this one, where they do…and an instant bond occurs.  Already there is something in common, but to actually meet and have a chance to see a window into the life of the other is an amazing thing.  Mara and Jimmy got to meet Hazel’s baby colt,  the donkeys, chickens, dogs…everybody! Nobody knows that yesterday Hazel took all 8 of the dogs to the vet for flea meds, health certificates, and a last kiss goodbye.   Mara and Jimmy have adopted 3 special needs beagles from us; two blind dogs included!  Remember Betty?  Thank  you Mara & Jimmy and Hazel for your stronghold to CBR.

Roger:

Also today was Bear’s adoption.  This sweet dog was in foster with Roger P. of Aumsville, OR for almost a full year waiting for that special person to find him.  He did today and these are the adoptions that bring the tears.  Tears of joy for Bear.  It was his day and his tail was wagging as he was kissing his new dad.  Love it.  Roger, his foster dad, showed up with Bear and also his new foster beagle, Georgie, who just arrived May 1st.   I noticed that Bear’s rabies vaccine was due, so Roger hopped in the car and took care of it yesterday so it would be done prior to the adoption.When I let Roger know we had a potential home for Bear, he was estatic for him and said, “just tell me when and where to be and I’ll be there.”  I did and he was there.  He is always there.  For us, for the beagles, for the cause.  Thank you Roger for your dedication.

Sandi:

Meanwhile, in Lincoln City, OR, Sandi P. took Chardonnay to our vet there to be spayed and get her pearly whites cleaned.  As it turns out, a tooth had to be pulled at the same time.  Sandi is also fostering Merlot, who got spayed and many teeth pulled just a couple weeks ago.  Nobody knows that Sandi had to make a few trips back and forth to the vet to get all this done and manage the post-op pain too.  Nobody knows that she has fostered and then adopted 4 CBR beagles who have all passed from various medical complications.  Nobody knows she opened her heart once more to these two sweet beagles who needed a warm bed to rest.  Bless you, Sandi, for saying “yes.”

Stephanie & Gary:

Administration and records is a huge part of making this rescue organization rock and roll.  Stephanie collects and inputs every dog record into our database, resizes pictures, makes sure all of the info is accurate and that nothing is missing.  It’s a huge job and you’d be surprised at how time consuming it is!  Every time a dog moves from one place to another, goes to the vet, gets adopted, or arrives at CBR, there is a record created.  Thanks to Stephanie we can pull a complete history of every dog.   She and her husband Gary have also helped do other major things like delivering stuff to our storage unit, home checks for adoption, transporting dogs to/from vets and fostering.  Thank you Steph and Gary for being there when nobody else can.

Amy A.

A thankless job presented itself and Amy A. was the first to volunteer for it.  Moving CBR “stuff” from my mom’s garage to our storage unit and getting it all organized.  We had no idea how much stuff we had to move until we started packing the U-haul (driven by our treasurer, Lowell).  Boxes, crates, dog supplies, tables, canopies (broken, at that!) and of course Trella, the giant beagle that Keith and Joni made for us for use on our float for the Starlight Parade.  Trella is now our mascot at events too!  Thank you Amy A.  for your tireless effort!

Thank you so much to all of our volunteers who deserve a gold star!  You are all fantastic!  And don’t think because you aren’t mentioned here that you are forgotten…these are just those who popped into the mix this week for special projects.   Hooray for all of you!

To become a volunteer for us, check out:  VOLUNTEER

Volunteer today,