The Life Of A Dog Rescuer

Last night was eventful, my best friend called to tell me she found a dog and didnt know what to do with him, naturally when people do not know what to do with a dog they have or found they call us (ha). So we took him to the emergency vet had him scanned for a chip, which of course he had none and I ended up with a beautiful long haired German shepherd boy on my floor all night. This is the life of a dog rescuer. Whether I am sick or not sick a homeless dog needs somewhere to go and when animal control gives you the options of letting him go or keeping him until they get in tomorrow morning, you keep him, especially a pretty boy like him. When I called animal control this morning, what do you know his owners were looking for him. I knew it because this boy had a healthy coat, meat on his ribs, a high prey drive, was very toy driven, knew commands, loved affection, gave kisses, and pawed you when you stopped petting him. He tracked with his nose like he should be a police K9. I even checked with one of my K9 officers I used to work with to make sure it was not his K9 because he looked and acted so much like him. So here I am living on four hours of sleep waiting for his owners to get here. This is the life of a dog rescuer and you do not do it for a reward you do it for the tail wag when you call the dog the right name not the 500 cliche names you have gone through looking for a reaction while the dog stares at you like you are an idiot. I.E. the white Samoyed you called Snowball, Angel, Whitey, Snowy only to find out her name was Mitzy. And you do it for the reaction the dog has when reunited with his owner, IF he ever is, if not you do it because you saved a helpless animal from being killed in a shelter due to overpopulation. I love being a dog rescuer and it is reunions with happy owners like today that make it worth it. Even though I am sick there is still a dog out there that needs me and I will never turn it away no matter what. Everytime I get attached to a foster I remember what my Uncle Mike taught me, he is a vet, if I keep this foster who I have already loved and nurtured and fixed then a dog being born right now who needs me has no chance because my foster dog would be taking up his or her spot. Every minute of everyday dogs are being born who need me or you to rescue them and that is the only way I can separate myself from my fosters because they all make a home in my heart and they always stay there. This is the life of a dog rescuer and it is messy, and tiring, and sad, and happy, and expensive, and gross, and funny, and rewarding, and enraging and hopeless at times and beautiful at others but I would not stop doing it no matter what. UPDATE: Tanis, not King or Bear as I wanted to name him (Justin wanted to name him Optimus or Megatron), got picked up and his owners couldn\\\'t have been happier he was OK. His human mom said she hadn\\\'t slept and was driving around all night looking for him, she doesn\\\'t even know how he got out. Tanis was quite excited when he saw her too. She told me he was 8, not 4 or 5 like the vet said, and was a. Purebred with a police canine bloodline (I\\\'m good huh? I knew with the high prey drive and being toy driven), she said he even knows some commands in German. She said he\\\'s really spoiled at home and her husband wanted to come home from work early because he was so excited they got their dog back. This is why I rescue, the good, bad or ugly. This is the life of a dog rescuer.