Honoring All of Col. Potter's Unsung Heros!

CP Gloves seeking comfort from her 1st Volunteer Foster Mom

An unsung hero is defined as:  “a person who makes a substantive yet unrecognized contribution; a person whose bravery is unknown or unacknowledged.”  Sometimes these brave people are unknown because they simply do what they believe is right and simply draw no attention to themselves.  At other times, these wonderful people deliberately choose to remain in the shadows, unseen and without recognition, because that anonymity is what is imperative for the success of their many efforts.  The cause is simply more important than accolades of any kind.

It is with this in mind that I have chosen as my Unsung Hero every Anonymous Volunteer from Everytown, USA & Canada, for the tireless work they do as Volunteers for Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network (CPCRN).   CPCRN is an all-volunteer organization.  Since its inception in 2001, CPCRN has rescued 3,577 plus dogs in need.  Col. Potter (CP) Transport Volunteers alone have traveled a combined average of 15,000+ miles each month, 187,064 miles each year, totaling 2, 244,768 miles and counting.   It takes hundreds of Volunteers to do this work!  A single transport can take 10+ drivers and cover more than 800 miles.

How do I choose between the group in Vancouver who did valet parking for a weekend to raise funds, or Volunteers who make bellybands, bandannas, and dog blankets to sell for CP?  I believe our Rescued Cairns would nominate our Volunteers who make and send each Foster their own blanket!  Should I honor the Volunteers working on our web site, or those who stock, process, and ship items sold from the CP on-line store? 

Should I select CP Volunteers who drop everything to save a dog that has only a few hours to live?  Maybe I should choose Volunteers who search on-line, each day, for Cairns needing rescue, making calls to shelters, asking to hold that Cairn until a CP Volunteer can pick it up?  I could pick CP Volunteers that respond to calls for help from other rescue groups when Cairns are saved from a bad environment.  These CP Volunteers see dogs in horrific condition and are the first to welcome them to the safety of Col. Potter.

I could choose each CP Foster Volunteer for the care they give to every Foster, but how would I choose?  Should I pick the Foster home who took in three young puppies, all with CMO, a potentially deadly genetic condition?  They showed these babies love and structure, while monitoring pain cycles, preparing liquefied meals to be licked, not chewed, and feeding by syringe, as needed, to ensure the pups got enough nutrition.  What about the Volunteer who Fostered a young Cairn who screamed in pain with every bowel movement, suffering a condition so complex, her specialist had never seen a case like it?   Should I give the nod to the Foster Home that worked through many nights to  save the life of a pregnant Cairn with life threatening infections, helping her deliver and care for eight live puppies?

There are many wonderful Volunteers who do great work for CPCRN, each one in their own special way.  Not for the glory, but because it’s the right thing to do.  It takes a special person to put their own needs aside to do what is right for a helpless little dog, and I am so proud to say that I personally know so many such special people.

Contributed by Marie S.

CP Foster Mom, Transport Volunteer, Home Safety Visit Volunteer,
and Mom to Ella and Gigi
July, 2013

Please feel free to cross-post!

Col. Potter Needs a Few More Unsung Heros!

Please Volunteer to Foster and help us help every Cairn in need!

Please  Consider being a CP Volunteer!

CP Foster Home Application form:

http://www.cairnrescue.com/rescue/foster.htm

CP Transport Volunteer Driver form:

http://cairnrescue.com/rescue/transport.htm 

CPCRN Volunteer form:

http://cairnrescue.com/rescue/volunteer.htm

Senior Moments with Tink: An Adopted Senior Foster!

Contributed by a CP Volunteer

Let’s shine the light a bit brighter on Tink and her Senior CP Foster Cousins! 
   

Tink, fka CP’s Lebkuchen, celebrates her 19^th year! 

The Lovely Lady Tink is Not available for adoption, but she has many Senior Cairn cousins currently in Col. Potter Foster Care, who may be right for you!  Lebkuchen was the eldest member of CP’s Holiday Confections, the dozen Cairns rescued in late November, 2008, and she was barely settled into her Foster Home when her Adoptive Mom put in her application and brought her home!  Rescued and Adopted into a loving home after 15 years at a commercial breeding facility Lebkuchen, aka Lovely Lady, nka Tink might be said to be a Lucky Lady, but her Mom believes it is the other way around!  Says Mom, “She is so much more than I could have wished for!  Yes, she has her faults, but I would never trade her for the world!”

And now she is celebrating her 19^th year, with special Thanksgiving for the last four!

November 29, 2008, Lebkuchen

You see, Tink came into the Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network (CPCRN) with a group of eleven others who were released by a commercial breeding facility.  Unfortunately, many animals at commercial breeding facilities do not receive the same good nutrition, veterinary care and loving affection that they would as pets and companion animals.  She had dry eye when she came into CP and the top of one ear was missing.

Tink was extremely shy and fearful when she was first adopted, but her Forever Mom gave her all the love and consideration she needed to adjust to a life of freedom.  “Now she rules the house and the rest of the herd respects her and defers to her,” Mom says.  “She spends her days on a special doggie bed, supposedly supervising the goings on in the house.  She loves to empty the water bowl on the back porch in the Summer, treating it as her personal swimming pool!  She has adapted extremely well, and I have no fear of taking her with me.  She is a total sweetheart, and I have never, ever, regretted adopting her!” 

Summer, 2012, Tink is ready to turn heads! 

We wanted to tell you Tink’s story because we have had the privilege of rescuing many older Cairns, and we want you to know how much love and companionship they have to give when someone finds it in their heart to offer one of these Senior Cairns a loving Forever Home!

No, perhaps they will not want to play ball or jump around frantically whenever they see a squirrel, but they are loyal, and they do cuddle very nicely on the sofa or bed, and they are always ready to listen to your thoughts, happy or sad, or to simply keep you company while you read a book or take a nap.  With their eyes, they tell you how they feel, and in their eyes, you feel like the whole world.

If you have time plus some room in your heart and home, one of our wonderful Seniors is ready for you, and they will return your Love and Devotion every day, but if you are not ready to adopt, perhaps you could Volunteer and help in our rescue efforts?  Without our dedicated volunteers who are ready to pick up and transport into Foster Care the needy Cairns, wherever they are, who very often are facing a life or death situation, we would never have saved Tink and the other Holiday Confections.  In fact, the volunteers who rescued this group also saved a group of 20 Bassett Hounds who were at the same breeding facility!  Every volunteer counts…

Cairns for Adoption

 

The Heart of Col. Potter - Our volunteers!

Today is Labor Day and Col. Potter would like to take the time to thank all of our tireless volunteers who have donated their time, talents and treasures in a variety of ways to help in our mission of rescuing, rehoming and rehabilitating cairn terriers.

If you would like to join this group which numbers in the hundreds in the United States and Canada, please follow this link. Opportunites abound in areas from intakes, transport, matching our cairns with forever homes to checking references and searching ads for cairns in need. We would love to have you join our ranks and you don't need to have a cairn to help!

A Life Saved ...

Please welcome Garner to Col. Potter. He boarded that jet airplane to take him to a new life Saturday. Garner has issues with some dogs, and CP found a place to hopefully help him. He's a wonderful, handsome and very smart little guy (can we say ALL CAIRN?). HUGE thanks to Valerie and the Board for making this happen. Garner was scheduled to be put to sleep, but thanks to CP, that didn't happen.

Col. Potter is able to help save cairns like Garner because of our wonderful volunteers who give so much. Would you like to make a difference in the life of a Cairn? Check out our volunteer opportunities and join us!

An Article Featuring Two CPCRN Volunteers!

Women Provide Home For Abused Dogs

Ten lucky terriers get temporary shelter while they await permanent adoption
By Megan King Staff Writer

Sheryl, has saved more than 25 dogs from abuse and neglect since she started volunteering for the Col. Potter Cairn Terrier Rescue organization. The California-based national nonprofit recruits volunteers in communities across the country to find homes for terriers that have been rescued from abuse or neglect, or from owners no longer able to care for them.

The group was named after Col. Potter, a Cairn terrier who was struck by a car and killed in 1999. The dog had been well known on an online chat group devoted to Cairns, and the organization was founded a year later and named after the canine.

Sheryl helps transport dogs from rescue sites to their adoptive homes, and visits people who have adopted dogs. Sheryl and her friend, Judith, who share the same home, use their home as a temporary shelter. The women said they are motivated by their common concern for innocent dogs that are abused or neglected. ‘‘A dog is totally helpless,” Sheryl said.

Their home now has 10 dogs, the maximum their license allows. They have a hobby license from the city that allows them to keep the animals in their home. Of the 10 dogs at home, some were purchased and some were rescued. A few are foster dogs, which they’ll keep until permanent homes are found. The women originally bought several dogs from a pet store, and got involved with the rescue organization after they began researching information about dogs on the Internet. They discovered that some dogs on sale in pet stores came from puppy mills — where animals are mass-produced and often neglected.

Three of their rescued dogs are part of the ‘‘Pets on Wheels” program, which allows owners to make visits with their dogs to senior centers and other facilities. One Cairn terrier, Rosie, participates in the county library system’s ‘‘Read to Rover” program, in which children can practice their reading skills by reading to dogs. ‘‘She was rescued and she’s giving back to society,” Sheryl said.

The volunteers have a variety of methods for rescuing dogs, mainly through buying dogs at auctions. Puppy mills also occasionally call in rescue groups to take dogs the mill owners no longer want.

A native of Ontario, Sheryl moved to the U.S. 10 years ago. The home’s living room features a Canadian flag hanging on the wall in the middle of the dogs’ crates and beds. Judith is a native of Takoma Park and works for the federal government. Danielle, president of Col. Potter Cairn Terrier Rescue, praised the women’s efforts. She said Sheryl and Judith are ‘‘always willing” to take any dog that needs a foster home. ‘‘Their work is exceptional; they’re always so willing to help out,” she said.

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.

How to help:
The Col. Potter Cairn Terrier Rescue network is in need of temporary and permanent homes for rescued terriers. For more information, visit http://www.cairnrescue.com/.