Happy New Year!
It all started so innocently. I bought my first house, built a fence and got a dog.
Shortly thereafter, I realized that I had the perfect situation and the perfect dog, so I started fostering for the golden retriever rescue. About that same time, a friend and I signed up to walk dogs at an area shelter (you see where this is going…). It only took 6 months before I had adopted 2 more dogs, my friend ended up with 3 and before long my family, friends and neighbors, many of whom had never expressed any real interest in owning a dog, all had dogs. I had found my calling. Unfortunately, not one that I could make a living doing, but one that would become my life… for better or worse.
My “pack” of 3 was a potpourri of pooches and collectively covered probably no less than 50 assorted breeds. Our first Christmas, I was so excited to send out cards showing my dogs perfectly posed in holiday outfits, but just getting them in the same general area and calm, much less outfitted and posed, proved to be more than my dogs or I was capable of, so I waited until they were asleep, took a picture and superimposed their “visions of sugarplums” theme. That was my last Christmas card and the last time I saw that furniture in the picture.
Once Atlanta Lab Rescue came to fruition, 3 dogs became 5 and then 8 and sometimes as many as 10 dogs inhabited my intown home. My Pottery Barn couches and coffee tables gave way to dog beds and crates and my organized and fastidious world was no more. I had “drank the Kool-aid.”
Over the years, ALR has taken on much more and become much more than we ever envisioned. Who could have imagined in 2007 when a handful of volunteers showed up at Pet Supplies Plus for Adoption Day with 12 dogs, that 8 years later we would have rescued close to 4000? And who would’ve thought that this handful of volunteers would turn into a network of dedicated people willing to sacrifice their time and money to fulfill a mission that is sometimes as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. We can be proud that take the dogs that everyone passes on, and against all odds and with a lot of financial help we’ve healed them and sent them on to better lives.
As 2015 comes to a close, I’d like to personally thank all of the volunteers and financial supporters that have stepped up and helped make every life we’ve saved possible. Those of you that didn’t have the time, helped out with the money. Many of you signed up for monthly pledges and whether it was $5 or $500, it all added up and gave us resources we could count on. Others of you supported our $5 Fridays when we got in over our heads, which was often. Then there were the sponsors like Cobb County Toyota, Southern Proper, Peachtree Tents and Events and Jamie Coyle with Keller Williams who were always first in line to help out with every event.
For all the volunteers who took time away from family, friends and busy work schedules to pick up dogs, drive dogs, show dogs and adopt dogs out, a huge THANK YOU! Sometimes it took all day and a tank of gas, but you showed up and got the job done! For the fosters who open their homes to these battered and shell-shocked dogs, understanding that you’re their “bridge” to a better life, all I can say is you ROCK! The unsung heroes are the volunteers who do the accounting, website and social media, as well as the communications. You are the conduit to everyone and everything that makes it all possible. Finally, for the board members and those of you who are in the “trenches” every day, you have allowed me to catch my breath and have pushed us to another level. The bigger and better Bark for Art and the Inaugural ALR 5k, which was a huge success and far exceeded our expectations, took a lot of time and effort on the part of several people and the whole organization owes you a debt of gratitude.
Moving into 2016, we’re hoping to get more people more involved to accomplish even bigger and better things. The ALR volunteers are family and everyone plays a critical role, but we have fun while accomplishing truly great things. What could be better than that?
Even though we want to highlight the volunteers, we’d also like to ask everyone to remember us for end of the year (or beginning of the year) donations. Your continued financial support is critical to continue to help more dogs.
We hope the New Year brings peace, prosperity and MORE PUPS!
Becky Cross
Director
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