The amount of time, effort , resources, volunteers and organizations required to rescue and adopt out just one animal is quite extraordinary. CAAR (Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue) is just one of the many organizations the CCB works with on a daily basis.
Blog post by Carol Clay – Adopter and now CAAR volunteer/advocate:
Blog post by Carol Clay – Adopter and now CAAR volunteer/advocate:
About a year ago, I rescued a puppy from a busy road in the Brevard area. That's when I first learned about our county animal shelter and the abandoned and abused animal population here in Transylvania County.
Our shelter is an old, sad building with extremely limited space for all the dogs that wind up there. When a dog is brought to the shelter, there is a 5 day grace period to allow the owner to claim the animal. If the dog is not claimed, and the shelter fills up (which is practically every day), that dog can be euthanized for no other reason than a lack of space. Dogs that have been surrendered by their owners aren't that lucky. They do not get that 5 day grace period and can be put down at any time.
Every single day of the year dogs end up at the Transylvania County Animal Shelter and the scenario is played out again and again. While other counties in our area have recognized the need and created modern new shelters and facilities, our county has been stuck in neutral, despite a plan for a new shelter that was approved and funded.
That's why organizations like Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue are so important. Charlie's Angels is a non-profit organization whose only mission is to rescue dogs and cats from the shelter so the string of senseless deaths
is stopped....
is stopped.......Meet Ace. His 5 day grace period was over and he was on the list to be killed. That was December of 2009. Ace is now a beloved member of our family and every time I look at his sweet face, I think about how close he came to being killed for only one reason - there just wasn't room for him at the shelter. What a tragic waste of a life that would have been. Read Full Text of Carol's Blog Post >
Thanks to the work of CAAR volunteers, Oliver, Sugar Bear, Mitzi, and Happy were pulled from the shelter, transferred to CCB and now have new families of their own. Without CAAR involvement, these great dogs most likely would have been euthanized for no other reason than a lack of space.
Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue is dedicated to rescuing dogs and cats who are brought in to the high-kill Transylvania County Animal Shelter. In 2008, 81% of all dogs brought to the shelter were euthanized at the shelter. In that year alone, 432 dogs were killed. In 2009 after CAAR got involved, 82% of the dogs were rescued. So far this year CAAR has rescued 370 dogs - 500 since Sept 2009.
They have also helped with the transport of Tipsy (now Izzy), Buddy, and Pickles. The next pittie from CAAR on the CCB wait list is Betty but she needs a foster (she has been boarding with them for months). If you’re interested in fostering Betty, contact CCB! And they currently have 4 other pitties that need foster and/or rescue too..They are Rocky, Patsy, Shadow, and Peaches.
North Carolina has numerous shelters just like this one – located all over the state in rural areas without resources or public awareness of the problem. Where animals are euthanized every day simply because of space. Charlie’s Angels has proven that community involvement can save an overwhelming majority of these companion animals. Get involved locally and we can decrease the euthanasia rate by leaps and bounds all across the state.
Do you have any suggestions for people that want to organize a group like CAAR in their own community? We started off running with little organization due to animals dying daily at our shelter and the urgent need to save them immediately. If possible, more ground work should be laid before starting actual rescue work. But every community is different and they may have the luxury of time that we do not have in Transylvania county.
How did you decide that being a “triage” for other rescues was the answer? Other local rescue groups were focusing on helping with dogs and cats that needed help and adopting them locally. One group works mostly with elderly and special needs animals. No one group was consistently saving the animals from our high kill shelter. Until we made that our primary purpose, their kill rate was over 80%. It is now turned around and less than 20% are killed due to our rescue efforts and that of others who we have asked to help by letting them know about our animals at the shelter.
How does the relationship work with the shelter – do they call you or do the volunteers have to make daily visits. Our relationship with the shelter workers has become a close one throughout the past year. They now provide us with a daily Shelter Update email with list of all strays/owner surrenders. I try to get to the shelter 4 to 5 times a week to assess the animals, talk to the workers, take pictures and let other volunteers know what is there. The shelter workers are much more proactive now and make great efforts to work with us and help save the animals. Just 2 months ago, they started vaccinating the animals. Prior to that, Charlie's Angels paid for the vaccines and paid a retired vet to go to shelter and vaccinate all. They are now open and actively seeking programs to have all spayed/neutered too. That is something we do for all the ones we pull from the shelter.
What was your biggest challenge and/or the one success you can’t forget. Oh, there have been so many...Sweet Hope, older beagle, who was malnourished, infected teeth, and Heartworm positive who was in our system for over 3 months and had extensive dental surgery, treated for heartworm and then spayed. Another beagle, Sally, who had a huge tumor dragging the ground which when she had surgery, was determined to be a hernia and all her intestines were in it. Took weeks and weeks for her to recuperate. Brooke, the German Shepherd, who had been hit by a car and had to have surgery on her leg. Violet, the husky, who had been shot and then caught in barb wired around all 4 legs when running to get away. Shadow, the female pit, who had been bred almost to point of death...They all now have loving homes except for sweet Shadow who is still being boarded at great kennel and waiting for a rescue.
What do you think is important for people to know about your organization, your specific issues and/or the reason CAAR is necessary? Not only do we advocate saving our shelter animals but we are strong advocates of spay/neuter programs. We believe that is the major answer to preventing so many, many homeless, neglected, abused animals. We try to educate the public about the wonderful animals that end up at shelter through no fault of their own and what wonderful pets they make. Until there are no more homeless pets in Transylvania county, CAAR and other rescues will be necessaryl.
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