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News from the Dog House

Volunteer Appreciation month

News from the
Dog House

By Jane Galvin

Big Canoe Animal Rescue would not run as well as it does without the incredible kindness of people in the community. Our volunteers are the best and I thank them on a weekly basis, but others come along that really make a difference to our organization.

The beginning of the year we asked Jim LaBonte to give us a quote on an addition to our kennel. We, and I'm sure Jim, never realized what it would entail. Jim drew up plans and presented them to the ACC for approval. Being a real animal lover and all round nice guy he convinced the ACC to drop the architect's fee. He argued that BCAR is a non-profit performing a community service. They agreed.

BCAR dog Sandy endorsing any candidate who pledges more dog biscuits for the hounds.

Long-time resident Lester thoroughly enjoys a ball, the grass and all the attetion at Oktoberfest. Lester did not enjoy his "Adopt Me" tee shirt. Not a formal type of guy.

Doris Dressler, BCAR volunteer and professional dog trainer, working with brand new kennel dog Precious. Doris's training has made our dogs so much more adoptable.

Then I received a call from Roger Klask. He was the first GM who actually read our original agreement with the POA. He advised me that it was quite outdated from when it was first drawn up 10 years ago. Especially the part where a dog would not be kept in the kennel for more than 6 months before it was "removed." Chilling thought. A new agreement would have to be written and approved by Roger, the lawyers and the POA board before building could begin.

The BCAR board rewrote an agreement and with some fine tuning by Roger and the lawyers and approval by the POA board BCAR is set for another 10 years in our present location. And it is stated in the agreement that we are a no kill shelter. (You could hear a real sigh of relief coming from Judy's kennel, our longest BCAR resident.)

August and September saw Jim LaBonte and his crew busy adding to the back of the kennel. This enlarged area now holds our water heater, counter space for food bins and preparing the meals for the dogs. Our refrigerator is there for storing meds and open cans of food. An auxiliary heating unit was put in the main kennel with an extra propane tank outside for when power is lost in the winter. The dogs will stay warm. This has freed up space so volunteers aren't bumping into one another.

Work was finished in September and Jim presented us with the bill. He had knocked off 60 percent of the original quote. He and 13 of his subcontractors donated their time and materials. He told us that they wanted us to use the extra money for the dogs care. Their generosity overwhelmed us, and will insure that the dogs will get the quality care they have always received. As with so many non-profits, our contributions are down so this October "surprise" was a godsend.

BCAR Open House is the last weekend of every month; come visit the dogs and see what Jim and crew did for us.

Oktoberfest
BCAR always has fun at Oktoberfest. This year was especially good for us as we got two dogs adopted and one kitten. Thanks to Eberhard Noll and Palmer Howard for giving us such a great spot and all of you who came by and visited. And, of course, to all the volunteers who helped out with the dogs and booth.

What makes our dogs so adoptable
BCAR is very lucky to have Doris Dressler as a volunteer. Doris was a trainer for Canine Assistance for years.

Doris has retired from C.A. but is still running training programs for dog owners. Just about every day Doris is at the kennel training our dogs to be good citizens for their prospective new owners. We have all seen a huge difference in the behavior of the dogs. You know Doris has been at work when you open the kennel door and a dog offers you their paw, or sits at the front door before going out. And though they haven't all mastered this yet, all of them have mastered sitting at attention in front of the biscuit bin when they come in from a walk.

Doris has generously offered -- free of charge! -- an hour of training to any Big Canoe resident who adopts a dog from us. How great is that?!

Paws For Thought

For all of you who are blessed with owning a dog, or two, or three ---
He is your friend, you partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

Author unknown, but sent to me by Sandy Lipkowitz who knows a thing or two about dogs!

If you would like to be a BCAR volunteer please call our shelter and leave a message--706-268-1346.

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