Pet Haven weekend at Red Lake Rosie's

I spent a recent weekend up at RLRR with 4 other volunteers helping Karen at the shelter. I posted the following update on the Pet Haven blog:
On Friday, 3 Pet Haven volunteers and 2 other dog rescue supporters drove 5 hours north to Red Lake Rosie's. People who have been following this blog for a while probably know that Pet Haven gets quite a few dogs from Red Lake. We were there to be put to work and do some projects for Karen Good, who runs the organization up there on her own. And boy, did we work! The second we arrived there was a list of things to do and we jumped into it right away. Over the the weekend, we were able to chip away at some tasks that would have been way too much for Karen to do by herself, although I think all of us don't doubt that she would have found some way to get it done regardless!

It was a great weekend. It was humid, hot, rainy, stormy, and windy. The mosquitos were out in full force and we worked from the time we woke up to where it was basically too dark to do anything else. And none of us would have reconsidered the trip at all. Why? Because of the dogs and cats Karen has at the shelter.The dogs and cats that Karen has at Red Lake all have a story of how they got there. But because of what she does, their futures are 100% brighter than if they hadn't found their way to her somehow. Every dog there is friendly, happy, and healthy after Karen gets them. We worked with the dogs every day, doing daily chores of feeding, exercising, and cleaning their living areas and got to know all of them. Many of the dogs and cats were coming back with us on Sunday to go to rescues and humane societies to be adopted out.
By the time Sunday rolled around, we had crossed off some projects and all of us knew that we would be back up there again someday, and soon, to work with Red Lake Rosie's. The whole trip was a reminder to everyone of how the work we do in rescue can really mean something, especially to the dogs. Dogs who were mistreated, neglected, or had their lives threatened are given another chance every day when they come to Karen's. 14 dogs and cats headed out with us to start their new lives, join a family, and have their own Happy Ending. And as we were leaving, Karen was getting ready for another dog to arrive minutes later. All of us were affected by Karen's devotion to the animals who come to her care.

Kelly