December Boarding

Every month, Reunion Rescue raises over $2,000 to board the wonderful dogs in our care.

This month, we've created a chip in to try and raise the money to board our dogs.





Due to bad media and pet over-population, adoptions have been slow. Reunion Rescue believes in our dogs and will make sure they have sanctuary until their perfect forever homes finally arrive.

Here are our beautiful dogs. We wish we could save them all.

Please share and ask about our sponsor program. Every penny goes 100% to the dogs.

California Dogs:

	Spuds	American Bulldog Young, Male	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Hazel	American Staffordshire Terrier Cattle Dog Young, Female	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Jasmine	American Staffordshire Terrier Chesapeake Bay Retriever Adult, Female	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Cleopatra	American Staffordshire Terrier German Shepherd Dog Adult, Female	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	William	American Staffordshire Terrier Rhodesian Ridgeback Young, Male	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Bella	American Staffordshire Terrier Adult, Female	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Patch	American Staffordshire Terrier Adult, Male	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Sweet P	American Staffordshire Terrier Baby, Male	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Bliss	American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Female	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Pearlie Girl	American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Female	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Diesel	Cattle Dog American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Male	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA
	Guido	Staffordshire Bull Terrier American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Male	Reunion Rescue San Francisco, CA

	Gibson	Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) Adult, Male	Animals First San Francisco, CA
	Arthur	English Bulldog American Bulldog Young, Male	Animals First San Francisco, CA
	Darla	German Shepherd Dog Young, Female	Animals First San Francisco, CA
	Jesse	Hovawart Corgi Adult, Male	Animals First San Francisco, CA
	Cooper, Duke, Rory, Jess	Labrador Retriever American Staffordshire Terrier Baby, Male	Animals First San Francisco, CA
	Dixie	Welsh Terrier Young, Female	Animals First San Francisco, CA

Texas dogs:

	Izzy	American Staffordshire Terrier American Bulldog Young, Female	Animals First Rescue Austin, TX
	Pip	Belgian Shepherd Malinois Doberman Pinscher Young, Female	Animals First Rescue Austin, TX
	Teddy	Bernese Mountain Dog Australian Shepherd Young, Male	Animals First Rescue Austin, TX
	Dexter a.k.a. Dexie	Great Dane Pointer Young, Male	Animals First Rescue Austin, TX
	Journey	Great Pyrenees Young, Female	Animals First Rescue Austin, TX
	Angel	Rhodesian Ridgeback American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Male	Animals First Rescue Austin, TX
	Mr. Sweets	American Bulldog American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Male	Reunion Rescue Austin, TX
	Izzy	American Staffordshire Terrier American Bulldog Young, Female	Reunion Rescue Austin, TX
	Robbie	American Staffordshire Terrier Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) Young, Male	Reunion Rescue Austin, TX
	Batgirl	American Staffordshire Terrier Pit Bull Terrier Adult, Female	Reunion Rescue Austin, TX
	Stella	American Staffordshire Terrier Pit Bull Terrier Young, Female	Reunion Rescue Austin, TX
	Holly Berry	American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Female	Reunion Rescue Austin, TX
	Amber	Staffordshire Bull Terrier American Staffordshire Terrier Young, Female	Reunion Rescue Austin, TX

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Hate Blogs

Until recently, I was unaware of some of the hate filled blogs which take up cyber space. Without trying to defend my own sources and position, I wrote an article which quoted neighbors of the Pacifica woman who was recently killed. Rather than attempt to find the sources I quoted, one of the bloggers lashed out with violent intensity at the quote.

For someone who is so against the bull breeds...as there is no actual pit bull breed...I was astounded by her absolute rage. This woman goes on to attack me personally and in a libelous sense, who calls me a 'pathological liar' and accuses me of suffering from 'dementia'. Wow. This person, so adverse to violent behavior in animals, is literally frothing at the mouth, much like the photoshopped images which populate her blogspot.

When she attacked me and my article much like a chained beast in heat, I was hard pressed to become angry. I see her as so consumed by her own fears, her own rage and so full of bad information gained from sensational and lurid top 40 radio talk shows that to be angry would be counterproductive.

My own practice has been to try and find solutions to problems, not to extinguish them. This practice has won its share of enemies, most of whom feed off the same propaganda as our blogger. The inclination is to snuff out the perpetrator, hence breed bans and hate blogs.

Why not search for a cure for the problem? That, to me, is a no brainer. Rather than kill every single pit bull, look for the panacea? When I personally experienced violent behavior in a bully girl, I embarked on a year long journey to find the answer.

In the past, when I'd encounter a dog with aggression issues, I would react as does most of the population. I would take the dog to training. Some of the dogs were able to be worked with, but others were beyond my help. Looking back, I see exactly what the problem had been. Each of these dogs had recently been vaccinated as are all dogs coming out of the shelter system.

This was long before I began to feed raw and study homeopathy and to learn about the ill effects of chemicals and metals on the body. Even though I fed the dogs and cats a raw diet, I was still vaccinating. Why? Because they told me to....because it was the law.

Then I met Raspberry. Raspberry was a little staffie bull who'd been found running stray. The finder had her for about three months and would let her free roam along with his own dog, took her to the dog park and virtually had no issues. She was a good natured wiggly butt. He and his girlfriend were scheduled to go on vacation and I offered to foster Raspberry in their absence.

She immediately went into heat and I scheduled her for a spay the next day. She was inoculated for rabies upon admittance. I picked up an entirely different dog that night than I had dropped off that morning.

Here is Raspberry's story:

http://www.thebodycodetohealth.info/Raspberry.html

What happened with Raspberry was important for me to share with others. Knowing that I'd put dogs to sleep for suffering from rabies vaccinosis was a hard truth to admit. Again, here was my opportunity to try and make things right by sharing Raspberry's story with other pet owners and animal lovers.

When I wrote the article about dog aggression and vaccinosis, our blogger reared her angry head. It was then I realized that some people do not want a solution. These people do not want an answer, the same who write hate blogs and form extremist groups.

These same people would have killed Raspberry. They would kill Tex, my deaf pittie who doesn't have a mean bone in his body. The blogger's hero, Kory "Cowboy" Nelson, got to live his dream when  3497 family pets were murdered in Denver. Once hate gets going, there just ain't no stopping it.

The kind of fear and hatred that fuel this person's blogs are terrifying and the same brand of hatred that spawned  'Mein Kampf'. I can't fight these zealots, nor do I wish to. I can only hope they find some peace and happiness in their lives. I can protect the animals in my own care and keep them safe from harm's way.

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What attracts us to rescue?

On nights like tonight, I wonder what ever compelled me to enter the world of rescuing animals. It certainly wasn't a conscious decision. I remember carrying home near dead pigeons as a child, praying over them as they passed away, begging God to breathe life back into them.

I grew up with a schnauzer, Schnuppy. She was my dog. She was by my side as Girl is today, as soulful as a soulmate could ever be. This was way back during the 60's. I knew nothing about animals other than my own instinct, perhaps knowing then more than I do now. Then I communicated with my simple child's mind with them, one on one.

It's sad for me to remember Schnuppy. I remember she was lost once, seemingly for about a month. I recall the day I found her. I could see her way down the street nearly two blocks away. I screeched her name as loud as I could and she beat a path to my arms faster than a lightning streak. I wish I could hold her right now. That was one of those best moments I ever experienced in my life. That was as good as it would ever get.

All that time, she'd only been a couple of blocks away and we had no idea. My mother was always drunk and/or on some sort of medication as fifties women were. My sister and I were left on our own most of the time. I was about fourteen during this period in my life. We moved away mid school year. I do not know what happened to Schnuppy. I blame myself for this. I do not know what happened to her.

Did my mother give her away? I pushed the feelings down and refused to think about it for a long long time. I only take out this memory on nights like this when I'm questioning why things happen to us and to the animals we love.

I don't even have a photograph of her. That is another story.

Willis

Willis is one of the rescue dogs. He came from Sonoma County. He is a beautiful chocolaty red boy. He was boarded with Cyndi where all the California dogs are. He had a good time there. She is all about the dogs, much more than I could ever be. She never meets a bad dog.

He was adopted to a young man in San Francisco. I happened to write the other day to check on Willis and received an email saying Willis had either run away or had been stolen. The guy didn't want to contact me, because he thought Willis might return.

I am terrified. So is Cyndi. We've had four animal communicators on it, two of which believe he is at a park and near water. The other two believe he is with some homeless people in an encampment. He's communicated most with Patti. She believes he is at Golden Gate Park. A Craigslist posting claimed to have seen a boy looking much like Willis at the park yesterday.

Cyndi drove all the way from Lodi in the middle of the night to look for him, but couldn't get him to wake up. We were all tired and Patti began to doubt herself. I could see it in her emails. Finally, Cyndi had to turn around and return home empty handed.

We are all sad. Mostly, we are so fearful of Willis winding up in the wrong hands. I've contacted every dogwalker I could find to be on the lookout, posted on Craigslist over and over, announced on every single Facebook page I can find...I just don't know what else to do to find Willis.

I can only hope and know there is a greater power than me at work here, a power that is responsible for the dogs and all animals everywhere. I can only hope and try to think positively.

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Letting go of the past and letting go of those we love

Day before yesterday, I got an email from Ken A. Ken was the third daddy of Angel Divine, the dog who started Reunion Rescue.

Angel came into my life in 1998. We were living in San Francisco. Scott found her wandering around and would let her play with our dogs, Mookie and Rebel. I'll admit, I didn't like it. I didn't like pit bulls. I believed everything the media reported about these dogs.

One day, Angel came up to my gate. She was covered in blood and limping. I put her inside the front garden and got her some water. I began to make some calls and got my own wake up call very quickly.

San Francisco didn't have a pit bull resource at the time. I had called the big fancy no kill SFSPCA to get a load of rhetoric to the effect they pulled dogs from SFACC. SFACC, the city animal control, had a 1994 adoption pact with SFSPCA providing the SFSPCA would take any and all adoptable animals. This was false then and has not changed to date.

SFACC picked up Angel and she was at the pound for two months. To her credit, Angel was such an exemplary dog, she made it over to the adoptables side...at the time, they had a pit bull room, and sat there waiting for someone to find her and save her.

Enter Marty. Marty had lost his rottie and was coming by SFACC to visit the dogs and perhaps adopt another pet. He met Angel and despite the fact that she was a pit bull, he fell in love. It was hard sell and took him about 6 weeks, but he realized he couldn't live without her and adopted her.

I continued to call the shelter throughout Angel's incarceration. There was even a note on her computer file reading, "a woman named Cindy keeps calling." When I found out she'd been adopted, I was ecstatic.

The full story of Angel and Reunion Rescue is told in Pit Bull Nation. I went on to volunteer at SFACC photographing the cats and dogs and writing bios for the website. Angel went on to become the Sweetheart of SOMA.

Marty passed away a few years ago and his partner, Russell moved with Angel to Phoenix. Angel and Russell found a new life and new love when they met Ken. Ken's first words when he met Angel were, "that is a pit bull!" However, as she'd done with me, with Marty, with Russell and with SFACC, Angel changed his mind.

We kept in touch over the years. I'd get the most adorable photos of Angel dressed for Halloween and on a kid's airplane ride at the carnival. When I was putting the finishing touches on Pit Bull Nation, I wrote to Russell several times to let him know about Angel's chapter with the wonderful photo with Marty included. I didn't receive an answer.

After the book was published, I got an email from Ken. Russell had passed away. Losing Russell had been devastating, but he told me Angel had helped pull him through the whole experience. She had been a rock for him to cling to when there seemed to be no reason to go on.

Day before yesterday, Ken had to put Angel down. She'd become incognizant and could no longer stand up. It was her time to go.

People who don't love animals do not understand the emptiness and despair one goes through when a companion dies. To me, the worst is carrying on through life's mundane chores when a memory of a smell or habit suddenly appears. It might be something which always seemed irritating at the time, but now that they're gone, horrible to endure remembering. Like a Nina Simone song.

Day before yesterday, we also lost Sweetheart. She was senior chow chow I pulled from the Big Bear shelter near Devore. She was incontinent at the shelter, but I just knew we could fix her with herbs and homeopathy.

Sweetheart at Cyndi's in Lodi

Once she got to Bakersfield, it took a week to get her to Lodi. After she reached Cyndi's in Lodi, she began to perk up. She became Spuds' seeing eye dog, as he is blind. Sweetheart was a senior girl whose entire life had been fraught with substandard diet and substandard care. She was estimated by the vet and shelter to be about 17 when we pulled her. Sweetheart enjoyed the sunshine and making friends with the other Reunion Rescue dogs at sanctuary. She passed away in her sleep.

It's so sad to lose a pet. I know if we could have gotten to Sweetheart earlier she could have enjoyed a longer life, but have to tell myself at least she died with dignity and painlessly while enjoying a good healthy raw meat diet and friendship with other beloved dogs in our care. Sometimes that is all you can do.

What I can do is concentrate on the others. There are so many. We have Hazel and Diesel, Spuds and Guido, Holly Berry, Pearlie Girl, Bliss, Dexter, William and all the others. We're full in boarding and empty at the bank. The shelters are overcrowded and people are still bringing dogs and cats in droves.

What I can do is work hard and raise the money to start Reunion Rescue's No-Kill Refuge. That's what Sweetheart would want and what Angel Divine would want. They and all the ones before them had a paw in the effort.

I am so grateful today for being blessed to have known Sweetheart and Angel and most honor their lives with positive effort and strength. Today, I will put one foot in front of the other one and trudge forth. There might not be a Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge today or tomorrow, but I can promise you, there will be one someday.