Friday, October 3, 2014

From Wynne to Maine

Wynne to Maine is a journey. A journey that many puppies/dogs at “Wynne Friends of Animals” (Arkansas) undertake to find their forever homes.  This write up is dedicated to all elements that involve themselves and co-ordinate together to make it happen. I am amused to think that if I were a dog and I was supposed to take this journey then most probably I would see myself imagining the whole process as a tunnel, and at the end of which lies the happiness of meeting my family members. A moment in waiting that will make a family of humans complete with my addition. A happy union. A complete picture. A happy moment that would be captured and tucked safely in a snugly little corner of our hearts.

If I could only have a small part of this moment, what joy would it bring to my life! My wife and I have experienced it first hand and have seen so many others feeling the same. It’s been a little over a year and a half but the memory is still so fresh and vivid that I remember every detail of that ecstatic moment. Every time we pass by the “Drop off” point which happens to be very near to where I stay, I never fail to reminisce and say “This is where we got Bud”. That day was not only joyous but also very important. Our family grew that day.

I feel fortunate to be part of the one of the numerous such moments and I would like to thank and congratulate people for their selfless dedication to make it happen again and again.
Please allow me to introduce them good folks who are instrumental in generating so much good karma in this world. The ball is set rolling in a southern state of United States of America, Arkansas. In Arkansas, City of Wynne is home to an organization “Wynne Friends of Animals” that owns and operates “Wynne Animal Rescue Shelter”. If you can spare some time then please read through the website of WFOA. Like I felt, I am sure you too would feel that this is one shelter that is definitely one of its kind. It has been taking care of strays/surrendered dogs since the year 2007. It has been surviving on grants, charities, donations, love, care and kindness. It has been voted The Best Shelter in Arkansas every year since 2007 (year of inception). That is some serious feat. But they don’t stop here, they go far beyond this. They have been recognized among top 100 shelters in whole of USA. Producers from Animal Planet, and a film crew have visited them, filmed at their shelter, interviewed people there and while leaving they complimented on the cleanliness there. Another glorious feather. I guess, these are enough evidences to tell me about the dedication, seriousness and passion of the folks running WFOA. And, here I wish to congratulate not only the founders (co-founders) but also all the volunteers who help with the chores regularly. Really exceptional people. The animals who come here are really lucky dudes.

WFOA houses about 125-150 dogs on premises and is always full. There is always a wait list for admission. WFOA is connected by a network of good friends/rescue groups such as Fetching Hope. Friends/Partners like Fetching Hope help dogs find their forever homes. Writing this sentence seems simple enough but tons of details goes into the co-ordination activity till a lucky dog finds its forever home. As a first step, WFOA distributes a list of adoptable dogs to their friends/partners. A dog at WFOA goes through a full check both physical and psychological before it can make it to the list of adoptable pet. The folks at WFOA first make sure that they understand each and every aspect about the dog and make a profile. This profiling is very important as this helps the rescue groups in selecting the right family for the dog. After a dog makes it to this list, it can be safely assumed that he is fully updated on his vaccines, is healthy, is neutered/spayed and is mild tempered.

The volunteers at Fetching Hope then creates an online profile of every dog on that list at https://www.petfinder.com/ (great site to adopt these loyal BFF). This profile matches the profile provided by WFOA. Interested parents or prospective adopters then contacts Fetching Hope providing them with all requested details as mentioned on https://www.petfinder.com/ . The application is then reviewed in detail by a volunteer of Fetching Hope. Once the interested parent has met all the conditions and satisfactorily passed background checks/Vet checks/Reference checks then the volunteer schedules a home visit of prospective parents to ascertain and match dog’s temperament and energy level with that of the family. This is the last step and the parents are approved for adoption as soon as it is established that dog will be happy at the prospective parent’s place. This is an important step as the goal of every rescue is that the dog does not end up abandoned again. So, checks and double checks are a necessity.
You may argue here that this just one side of the coin. What about the prospective adopter’s need to meet and greet the dog? Shouldn’t prospective parents be allowed to meet and then make a decision about the dog? Absolutely yes, I agree. Consider a scenario when the adopter resides in Arkansas and likes a dog at WFOA. They can go to the shelter, meet the dog and if they are approved by WFOA they can then easily adopt the dog of their choice. This was a simple case. But consider a case where the partner rescue is in a faraway state like Maine such as Fetching Hope. Meet and greet is a challenge in such cases. In the real world, there is always a dearth of foster parents given the rate at which dogs are abandoned. As a result, the shelter (WFOA) ends up lifting most of this heavy load. Hence, most of the adoptable dogs remain in Arkansas. But technology comes to the rescue here and try to bridge the gap. WFOA or available fosters prepare a video profile of dogs and upload at https://www.petfinder.com/ or on www.youtube.com . WFOA and Fetching Hope, in this way, try to work around this logistical challenge with the hope to satisfactorily provide an insight about the dog in question to the adopter. Moreover, Fetching Hope provides a two week return policy keeping in mind the wellness of the dog. They give every opportunity to prospective adopters to make themselves fully comfortable before making a full commitment towards a dog. If there is even slightest of doubt in prospective parent’s mind then Fetching Hope does not shy away from taking the dog back and provides it with as many chances that it may take to find the perfect forever home. Fund raisers are organized, adoption events are organized and every such opportunity is provided to help a dog find its forever home. They never compromise with the wellness of any dog that they undertake. A very motivated and committed group.

Now, we have a fully approved adopter by Fetching Hope and also we have a dog ready to find its forever home. But the problem is parents are in a northern state and their “four legged companion/kid” resides in a southern state. P.E.T.S comes to our rescue here. They transport all the dogs from the shelter to destinations across the country and hence help close that important link that creates that special moment of happiness for the dog and their parents. An important link that creates that complete picture for some fortunate and kind families. P.E.T.S has some conveniently located fixed stop points in every state it drives. P.E.T.S also has stop points in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont is its last stop. Parents, approved by Fetching Hope, wait for this truck at the designated spots either in Connecticut, New Hampshire or Vermont and take possession of their dogs. At every stop that P.E.T.S makes they become a part of that moment when a parent holds the dog for first time. It is indeed a very touching moment. I have been there and I know the feeling.

This is how each lucky dog reaches the light that it saw at end of the tunnel when it started his journey. It marks a new beginning in the lives of so many families.