The Faces Of Rescue
On Dogster people post through their pup, that’s how most get to know each other. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know some of the people behind the dogs, and the stories they have shared are both inspirational and motivational.
I recently sent Manny , a cute German Shepherd/Collie mix, a message to let him know he had won a prize in a contest he entered. When I got a response back I met David Burnette, the man behind the dog. I don’t recall exactly how we started talking about rescues, but we did, and the more he shared with me about the rescue work he’s involved in the more I wanted to hear.
While I’ve always adopted rescues, I never really knew the behind the scenes story of what it takes to save just one dog. It’s sort of like the saying about it taking a village to raise a child. Saving rescues happens when a group of individuals who don’t know each other, may even live in different states, possibly have never spoken, put all else aside and come together for one cause. Saving the lives of innocent dogs.
I asked David if he would mind sharing some of his stories with us, he said yes. Before I begin I’d like to give you a little background information on him, he’s no different than anyone out there, except that he took that first step to get started, to become a rescuer. He became involved in rescue shortly after adopting his first dog from AARF, a home based rescue group.
It started out some five years ago as “Just one afternoon holding out dogs at the adoption stand,” launching a journey through rescue that is still evolving. Along the way, I have come across amazing people that make such effort to save just one, or over forty lives, that I can only shake my head in wonder. There are fabulous dogs needing rescue, some with stories that make you want to scream in frustration! I am honored to have a small role in rescue miracles others pull off weekly.
I am hoping that this will be the first of many articles to come sharing the stories and people behind the scenes of rescue. It would be great to have David share more of his stories to hopefully inspire others into action. I would also like to hear from other Dogsters who participate in rescue, be it working at a shelter or transport, to possibly initiate the butterfly effect. Our first story begins on a recent visit to the Nelson County SPCA.
Nelson is a rural county in Virginia that had only two claims to fame I was aware of. One, major flooding almost wiped it off the map during Hurricane Camille back in 1969. And two, Highway 29 which goes from other more important places, to other more important places, passes through it. That was all I could say about Nelson County until recently.
