Freedom ride from Bakersfield - Day 1

"...there was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars."                                        Jack Kerouac from On the Road

 
Our four refugees from Bakersfield KCAS Animal Services spent their first day being loved and listening to the lull of the highway as they began to put their awful past behind them. It was bittersweet for them to say goodbye to Cole, Tahairah, Caty, Kimberly, Danny and the others at KCAS who went way above and beyond to show these wonderful dogs kindness and for the first time in their lives, a little love.

The first night, Ruben our incredible dog-loving transporter bought them all Jack-in-the-Box hamburgers. A first for them. We don't think they've ever been given treats, not even a drive-thru hamburger. The most reticent with new people Dorothy who is now Rza prononced Rizza sat next to Ruben to eat her burger. She's riding in the same crate with Indica (now Sza pronounced Sizza - either her sister or her mother - Chinatown, Jake? They are so bonded and we can tell it's made their transition easier to be able to cozy up together.

Their protector Apollo...now Apollo tha' Dog! - keeps his beautiful eyes on the road making sure his sisters are watched over. He is a good brother, and boy, is he ready to be a dog and play. It will be wonderful to watch him get to learn fetch and ball and Kong and really come out of his abusive past and his shell.

Ruben stopped and got new girly-girl collars and leashes for the girls and bright blue for our boy Apollo tha Dog! It was a side trip in Hesperia CA with a side story. Here's the review I left for Petco. They asked and I love to write so here goes.

PETCO: I've been a rescue partner for over 20 years and had a transport bringing four dogs from a horrible cruelty case here to Texas. They needed collars, leashes, food, treats and bowls. I spent 1.5 hours on your site trying to order but everything I ordered was unavailable for pick up at your Hesperia location. Finally just paypalled the money to the transport driver who tried to physically go inside the store in Hesperia to find they had next to nothing we needed so desperately while these poor dogs had to sit in the car. 

Luckily we were able to find a tractor supply which furnished my rescue with the much needed items. Thumbs way down to Petco. And you consistently raise tons of money to supposedly help animals yet there is no support for emergency situations like this. Animals are dying in shelters because Petco rediverts the money to who knows where. Shameful. 

I am always a voice for the animals anytime anywhere. Word. Add the story of the poor dog last week taken to local Austin Petco for grooming. She was inherited by the owner's son when his mother passed away. She was so horribly matted, the store groomer quoted him $360 and when he didn't have that kind of cash, was told to put the dog down. Petco, you need to step up your game.

Ruben is taking his time and stopping for bathroom breaks and leg-stretching more often than not. He is very tuned in tot these four and listens for any slight whine to let him know if they need to pull over and find a pet-friendly The trip back to Austin will be a little slower than the breakneck two day straight through drive Ruben did to get to the shelter before they closed for the weekend. Shout out to Tahairah and Cole for making that happen. Bakersfield KCAS is way lucky to have ya'll and Caty and Kimberly. Danny, too. Takes a village.

We expect to see this healing happy transport arrive sometime Tuesday. I picked up some food donations from Healthy Pet, Petsmart and Tomlinson's yesterday. Amazing good food like the rich peoples' dogs eat!! Our four are going to eat high on the hog and get real good and healthy. I order Emergency Australian Bush Flower Essences which I make up in bottles and add a dropperful daily to the water bowl. The stuff is like Rescue Remedy but a lot stronger and cheaper. Plus those Rescue Remedy bottles break so easily. Every time they lap the water up, the essences are re-energized and calm the body. Also, when I get the boarding paid, I'm ordering a couple of bottles of Robert McDowell's Animal Botanical which used to be Nervous Rehab. I've used it for years on incoming dogs from horrible cruelty. Just squirt into the food daily and watch them grow past fear, shaking and anxiety into healthy happy dogs. The cool thing is, even though it's expensive, the product is just given a month or two until the animal recovers.
Enjoy the photos of yesterday's ride and share the Bakersfield 4 Facebook page with your friends. We are all on this ride together. 

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We can sure use boarding $$ as the promised pledges are not coming through...donate at Reunion Rescue Donate button or the Gofundme set up for the Bakersfield 4.

And please sign up for the new Reunion Rescue newsletter - organizing to #savelives just like the Bakersfield 4.