Most of you may not have met or even known about Tinker. Tinker was a little elderly Cocker Spaniel abandoned in the parking lot of a shelter up in Tennessee this past month.  Her little body showed she had lived a life of cruelty & neglect.  Despite immediate care & urgent medical intervention, she only lived a short week after one of our wonderful friends & fellow rescuer adopted her.  Thank you Leslie for giving her that week where she finally knew love & care. For sure she touched all our hearts in the Rescue family from all across the country, and  we will never forget little Tinker or her story. Rest in peace sweet little angel till we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge. ♥♥♥
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Hello to all of Tinker’s angels,
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It is with more sadness and tears that words can ever describe that precious Tinker has gone peacefully to the Rainbow Bridge. Her pain and suffering became too much for her to take as she began the early stages of cardiac and respiratory distress. On her big, fluffy bed and blanket, with myself and my husband cradling her precious head and me kissing her face while telling her over and over how much we loved her…she went to sleep, with the aid of my vet, in complete peace. It was if I felt her little soul go with the angels.Â
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Tinker’s little body just could not recover from the horrible cruelty and neglect that she endured all of her life. She experienced more love, happiness and kindness in her last few days than she ever experienced in her entire cruel life. Tinker slept in the bed with us covered up with a baby blanket; ate wonderful mushy food and homemade meals; went on short strolls with the wind in her face; stretched out in the sun, rode in the car; met lots of people that greeted her with soft strokes on her head; watched movies on the couch with us and got non-stop hugs, belly rubs and kisses. Her eye that she could see out of was bright with excitement and contentment as she cherished every kindness bestowed on her. She knew she was loved and she gave unconditional love back with her soft kisses and nudging you with her nose. She always wanted to have her head in your lap and she would get as close to you as she possibly could. She wanted to take in every bit of love that she could feel from us.Â
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Our hearts are broken, but with the pain…..we are so blessed to have had precious Tinker in our lives. Even knowing the outcome, I would do every second of it all over again. I’m so thankful that Tinker entered our lives and she will live in our hearts forever. I believe that Tinker was a little doggie angel that came into this world to offer unconditional love and bring kind animal lovers all over the country together. I know she is here with us and even though I cannot stop my tears from rolling right now, I am at peace knowing that she took every bit of our love with her and we will be with her again someday.
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Please say a little prayer for Tinker. She no longer suffers, but is happy, healthy and sharing her love at the Rainbow Bridge. And…if you get really quiet and look at the last picture taken of Tinker (the one titled “Tinker looking up”) you may just feel those soft kisses and that little nose nudging you with her unconditional love….as you ALL were her angels!Â
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God Bless you all for loving her.Â
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In love for Tinker,
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Leslie Morrison
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One by One, they pass by my cage,
They say, “Too worn, too broken, too old of age.
Way past his time, he can’t run and play.”
Then they shake their heads and go on their way.
A little old man, arthritic and sore,
It seems I am not wanted anymore.
I once had a home, I once had a bed,
A place that was warm, and where I was fed.
Now my muzzle is gray, and my eyes slowly fail.
Who wants a dog so old and so frail?
My family decided I didn’t belong,
I got in their way, my attitude was wrong.
Whatever excuse they made in their head,
Can’t justify how they left me for dead.
Now I sit in this cage, where day after day,
The younger dogs get adopted away.
When I had almost come to the end of my rope,
You saw my face, and I finally had hope.
You saw through the gray, and the legs bent with age,
And felt I still had life beyond this cage.
You took me home, gave me food and a bed,
And shared your own pillow with my poor tired head.
We snuggle and play, and you talk to me low,
You love me so dearly, you want me to know.
I may have lived most of my life with another,
But you outshine them with a love so much stronger.
And I promise to return all the love I can give,
To you, my dear person, as long as I live.
I may be with you for a week, or for years
We will share many smiles, you will no doubt shed tears.
And when the time comes that I must leave,
I know you will cry and your heart, it will grieve.
And when I arrive at the Bridge, all brand new,
My thoughts and my heart will still be with you.
And I will brag to all who will hear,
Of the person who made my last daysso dear.
**Special thanks to everyone that has sent in memorials for Tinker towards building our Senior Dog Home, Shadow’s Rest.
I will never bring about world peace. I will not save the rain forest.
I’m not a brain surgeon and I’ll never transplant an organ to save a life.
I don’t have the ear of a powerful politician or world power.
I can’t end world hunger.
I’m not a celebrity, and God knows I’m not glamorous!
I’m not looked up to by millions around the world. Very few people even recognize my name.
I’ll never win the Nobel prize.
I’ll never save the rain forest or end global warming.
There are a lot of things that I’ll never do or become.
But today I placed a dog!
It was a small, scared, bundle of flesh and bones that was dropped off in a shelter by unfeeling people that didn’t care what happened to it, but yet who were responsible for it even having existence in the first place.
I found it a home.
It now has contentment and an abundance of love. A warm place to sleep and plenty to eat. A child has a warm fuzzy new friend who will give them unquestioning devotion and teach them about responsibility and love.
A wife and mother has a new spirit to nurture and care for. A husband and a father has a companion to sit at his feet at the end of a hard day of work and help him relax and enjoy life. And a sense of security, that when he is gone all day at work, that there is a protector and a guardian in his home to keep watch over his family.
No, I’m not a rocket scientist but today I saved one of God’s precious creatures. Today, I made a difference!        Â
How would you like to have one of these beautiful Shadow’s Rest T Shirts? For all of you that come out and help us,  we want you to have one. If you would like to make a donation of $25.00 or more and would like one, please let us know what size.
They are in a ‘Natural’ Color, sizes – Small, Medium, Large, X-Large & 2X
We’d like to take just a moment to thank each one of you for your financial support and helping us with this most important project, building this home for our elderly and special need residents of Rescue K911. We can’t tell you how important and dear to our hearts this project is to us.Â
 Our first thoughts go to Goldie (age 13) and her daughter, Natalie, (age 11) They are among our most beloved and most elderly residents of Rescue K911 and will be among the ones residing here at Shadow’s Rest.  We just found out today from the vet’s that Goldie’s cornea’s are failing and she is going blind. We wept when we heard the news, but it has given us even more determination and more resolve to get this project done as quickly as we can for her and others that need it so badly.Â
                        “ Thank you each one for all your help towards Shadow’s Rest.”
So much work has gotten done on this old farmhouse in only a months time. Special thanks to Larry and several of our wonderful volunteers, Jenny, Phyllis,(who drives all the way from Birmingham), Kim, Christina, Donna, Patti, Angela & Emily who have been working so hard, finding extra time to come and work on this project, helping to accomplish so much!
So far we have filled over three construction dumpsters with debris and one large Pod with items to save. The back laundry and mud room have been removed. The old 40′ well has been filled. The Front Porch has been removed, and many room inside have been cleaned out.
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Alabama Foundation Specialists began their work today.
      8/23/2010
 Today, Alabama Foundation Specialists arrived to begin restoring the foundaiton. Today they worked on shoring up the house in preperation to begin jacking up the house in order to pour the new foundation. The whole project will take almost two weeks to complete. A tough job we for sure needed experts to handle.
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The dogs kept a watchful eye making sure the job was being done right!
Miss Beasley  is one of Rescue K911′s most beloved residents.
A special little blind girl who loves it when you talk to her, pet her, feed her, but she sure draws the line when it comes to grooming her.
 But grooming we must – as this Chow Chow can sure grow some thick hair. Miss Beasley is not a kind customer when it comes to brushing & grooming her, and will only tolerate about 5 minutes of grooming at a time.   There are more important things that she would rather be doing than sit still for a groomer, and many groomers have dreaded the major task of dealing with Miss Beasley.
 Patti, a  most brave volunteer, took it upon herself the summer challenge of… Miss Beasley. It was not easy - but eight hours later –  a gorgeous and feeling & looking much better Miss Beasley emerged. - Patti did such a great  job, and Miss Beasley says “THANK-YOU!”
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. Â I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. Â I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn’t be afraid.Â
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. Â I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t been walked today. Â Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them.Â
As she read my kennel card I hoped th at she wouldn’t feel sad about my past. Â I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life.Â
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. Â I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.Â
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well  Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.  I would promise to keep her safe.  I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.  I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.  So many more are out there who haven’t walked the corridors.  So many more to be saved.  At least I could save one.Â
Written by Janine Allen CPDT, Rescue Me Dog’s professional dog trainer. Janine’s passion is working with people and their dogs. She provides demonstrations for those who have adopted shelter dogs, lends email support to adopted dog owners that need information beyond our Training Support Pages, and aids shelter staff and volunteers in understanding dog behavior to increase their adoptability. Copyright 2010 Rescue Me Dog; www.rescuemedog.org
There is nothing…and  I mean nothing that encourages us more here at Rescue K911 than to hear about any of our adopted dogs  from their new families. Any word at all is so very precious to us,  whether it be by email, or pictures, a phone call, or best yet –  a visit, nothing brightens our day more!
Such was the case just last Saturday, when we received a surprise visit from Megan and her adopted K911 little one, Sugar.
Sugar kisses for Kim
It was so wonderful to see Sugar again and what a great time we had receiving kisses and spending time with one our precious rescues. Kim especially was touched,  as she had been Sugar’s Foster Mom and it was evident that Sugar remembered her, and all the love she had received in her care.
Sugar came to us, a homeless girl so in need, back in July 2009. A starving abandoned abused Pitt Mix with a bad case of Demadex, but such a sweet loving nature. Of course Rescue K911 saw beyond the outside and knew that she would recover with some time, love & medical care, and sure enough she turned into a beautiful dog. Though her little body will always bear some scars, you won’t even notice them now. We are so thankful to Megan and Ashley for opening their heart & home to one special loving little girl! ” Thank you for choosing Rescue K911!”
Along with food, water, shelter & medical care, it is one of the first things given to every rescued dog upon arrival at Rescue K911…a name of their own.Â
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 Please meet Chewaka, Moonshine, Roundup & Shiner (we must be running low on names…ha) Four little three month old mix breed pups,  found abandoned at a dumpster location in Opelika by a kind hearted lady who reached out to help them. It is always so heartbreaking when we learn of dogs & cats so easily discarded and thrown out with the trash, and our heart went out to them.  However, at the time Rescue K911 was contacted to help we were at maximum capacity, and did not have an empty space anywhere.   We are so thankful to Anna & Marian for not giving up, and going the extra mile finding them a temporary place, and  Dr. Kukendahl for allowing them to board at his vet office until we had space available. These pups are so precious, loving & playful we are so happy that we had some adoptions & eventually could help them.
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Their arrival though finds us at the end of a very long busy summer where donations are always at their lowest and the needs at the highest & at times can be overwhelming. To be honest, we sure could use help towards their medical needs (Shiner has a broken leg, and all have had bouts with Ringworm) and their upcoming spay & neuter surgeries. If you would like to sponsor (or adopt)  Chewaka, Moonshine, Roundup or Shiner – we sure could use your help and would be most thankful. Please contact us.Â
♥♥♥Special thanks to our wonderful volunteers, Kim & Patti for helping the puppies feel at home and get settled in their new rescue home today. As you can see from the video, the pups are so very loving and sweet and now they finally have a most important thing – a name of their own.♥♥♥
It was a month long fundraising event for us -   BingoNights at Niffers on the Lake Restaurant. It is always a fun time where we can get out and meet some of our friends & supporters and have a good time raising funds for the rescued dogs of Rescue K911. In this case, the funds were to go to GiGi, an abused Great Dane that had just come into our care. Gigi had a lengthy stay at the vets office recovering from her many wounds, and this event was for her to help with her medical bills.  Every Tuesday night for four weeks the crowds gathered, and our wonderful volunteers, Patti, Karen, Kim, Jenny & Myra worked hard at selling tickets, t shirts and to tell everyone about Rescue K911.  On each of the four nights the jackpot was never won, causing the funds to carry forward until the next week. After our four weeks there, the Jackpot was still not won. In talking with Jenny, she told us that she and Myra were planning on going back the next Tuesday night and try to win the Jackpot for Gigi & Rescue K911…and sure enough they did WIN!!! That night Myra, so excited,  called us to let us know
GiGi sends her love & thanks!
she had  won the Jackpot and was giving the funds to help Rescue K911 – How wonderful is that!!!
We’d like to thank everyone that came out to support us, Special thanks to Myra, Jenny, Patti, Karen & Kim for working so hard at  this event for us. Each one is such a wondeful friend & help to our rescue, and we appreciate them so very much! And thank you Niffer’s Restaurant for reaching out to help the community and homeless dogs!
