It starts with a dream, a visualization, an idea… and a belief in that idea.

You take a step… and another step… and another.

Then people with the same dream step into the journey with you… and you build a community of people driven by this shared passion.

I rescue one, you rescue two, we re-home three and start again. More people join. More people rescue and more people re-home. It’s a dream coming true.

Here are some of our successes… thanks to our many dreamers.

“When we are dreaming,
alone it is only a dream.
When we are dreaming
with others, it is the
beginning of reality.”
~ Dom Helder Camara

This is but the beginning of our dream to empty all the shelters and all the rescues of their animals. With your help, we can get this done sooner than later.

Join us!
Global: Blog

Let’s Adopt! (Canada): Facebook | Blog

Let’s Adopt (USA): Facebook | Blog

Let’s Adopt! (France): Facebook | Blog

Let’s Adopt (Germany): Facebook | Blog

Note: The title of this post comes from a quote by Carl Sandburg.

See more of Nick Brandt’s photos from Africa.

Want to see wild animals? Check this amazing gallery by photographer Nick Brandt.

This is what wild animals look like.

A couple of days ago we reported on the campaign started in Bonavista against Cirque Estival. Well.. sometimes it takes just a little sparkle to ignite a fire.

Protest is spreading all over Facebook and people have taken notice.

Mayor Betty Fitzgerald is having a meeting with the SPCA, I am confident drastic measures will be taken.

The world has changed, there is no place for the traditional circus in it any longer.

Canada is the birthplace of the world’s leading entertaining company, Le Cirque du Soleil. A circus act that has completely redefined the very meaning of the word.

Here is our suggestion for the town of Bonavista. Invite a circus, but a humane circus that places all its emphasis on human performance, not on poor animals having to dance motivated by fear and pain.

Here is a tongue-in-cheek example… a new kind of circus…

For the past few days, I have been watching a rescue effort via Facebook of a pit/mix in a Tennessee shelter. Her name is Sasha. She and her four puppies were brought to the shelter in March. Her puppies were adopted, but she remained sheltered.

One faithful trooper kept posting her info on Facebook. He started posting her in March when she arrived at the shelter. Recently a new campaign was started for Sasha and this time, it crossed the right paths at the right time and a fire was ignited. The rescue effort took many twists and turns and often felt like a roller coaster ride. My own fingernails grew weary from hanging by them as I watched.

One note yesterday said, “I will call [rescuer] again after 12:30…” The reply that came back said, “Won’t the dog be PTS at noon?” It was time stamped 11:55 am.

Several quick notes later came word that she has been put on “hold” from being killed and would be pulled out of the shelter on Saturday, heading to a rescue. A bit ago came a message that someone was on their way to pull Sasha today! Forgive me, but I continue to hold my breath and cross my fingers until I see photos of her “on the outside.”

While my heart relishes the victory of this save, my mind goes to the dog that took Sasha’s place yesterday on the death list. We did not see a photo of him or her. Or did we, but we did not respond? That dog was just as undeserving of death as Sasha.

Perusing the posts on my Facebook wall, I saw the news that Robeson County has changed their laws regarding the killing of animals in their shelter. They will not longer empty a needle full of barbituates into the chest cavity of an animal hoping to strike their heart and end their lives. The heart is difficult to find and if missed, the drugs cause great pain to the animal before they finally die. Instead, Robeson County will use a more humane method… intravenous euthanasia.

I am struck by the sad reality that we even discuss “humane killing.” What is humane about killing voiceless, innocent creatures?

Another post protested the use of gas chambers to kill cats and dogs. I should have not watched the video because certain images will be forever seared in my mind. They bring me to tears even now as I write this. The dogs already lifted into the metal gassing box are wagging their tails completely trusting the people who have placed them there. And their trust was violated; they were betrayed.

We have to stop the killing!

While we make statements about how spay/neuter will reduce the many cats and dogs brought to shelters, that idea is for the future, the next generation of animals. Spay/neuter does not address the pets in urgent need at this very moment. And sadly, “at this very moment” applies whether you read this post as soon as I publish it or if you read it tomorrow… or even next week. There is a huge need to adopt right now.

The Three Brothers are available for adoption. Contact v.larkhill@googlemail.com.

If you have a cat or dog, consider adopting a companion for them. Dogs are pack animals and operate very well within a group. Cats love company, too. In my household, the cats all pair up and are always found napping with their “best friend.”

If you already have two, consider a third… or maybe even a fourth one, too.

Please adopt a rescue or shelter pet.

If you aren’t ready to adopt, consider fostering a cat or dog. Call your local rescue groups and shelters. There is always a need for foster homes.

Save a life today! And help us empty all the shelters and all the rescues.

Ciao, Holly

Update: Sasha is safely out of the shelter.

I have to admit that I am always smitten by the underdog rescues. The ones that can test your meddle, but heap you with such passionate rewards.

The first time I saw photos of Gülümser*, I was in love with her.

The first words I said were, “She’s beautiful!”

They just came from somewhere inside my heart as I looked at her on my computer screen from thousands of miles away. The damages she suffered on the outside were extraordinary, but the message in her eyes transcended them.

I could see such strength in her character and a curious, gentle personality glowing through her horribly disfigured face. She had been devoured by worms when she was just four weeks old. The vets treating her decided that if SHE wanted to fight back, she would be given every chance to survive. And survive she did!

I featured her in a post a few days ago.

Today, I received new photos of Gülümser and I wanted to share with you this beautiful little girl’s photo gallery. The first photo is so funny… she loves water!

Though I have never met Gülümser, I am thankful to the rescuers — from Let’s Adopt! and the vet’s clinic to her new family — for giving her the support she needed to show all of us what she is truly made of. She really is beautiful!

Here’s a link to her photo album, but be forewarned, there are some graphic images in this album.

Hugs to YOU, Gülümser! You look mah-velous!!!

And a shout out to Let’s Adopt! USA for their excellent post on the care and feeding of orphaned kittens.

Ciao, Holly

*Gülümser means “one who always smiles.”

The first time I met Rocket, he was laying in a ditch on the side of the road with three people standing around him. As I approached, he made eye contact and wagged his tail a bit. A good sign.

It was a Sunday afternoon. Andi, a fellow animal rescuer and her husband had been out on their motorcycle when they drove past a woman pulled to the side of the road and standing outside her vehicle. Thinking she might need some help, they pulled over. What they found was that the woman was from out-of-town; she was just passing through. As she was driving, she noticed a small movement out the corner of her eye in the ditch. In a quick glance, she realized it was a brown dog. He was lifting his head. Being a dog lover, she pulled over to see what she could do.

Andi and Kenneth saw her… and pulled over to see what they could do.

Because they were on a motorcycle, there wasn’t much they could do, so they called me. I loaded some emergency supplies and a backboard into my car and headed out.

We gently moved the dog onto the backboard and loaded him into my car. I drove him to a vet tech’s house where she did a preliminary exam. She administered some meds to stabilize him until we could get him into one of the clinics in the morning that works with us on our rescues.

Long story short and a few months later, Rocket was returned to his original home some 50 miles away where he has been reunited with his other doggie playmates. His broken leg is healing, he is regaining motion in his foot and he is a rocket man zooming around his yard once again.

The simple beauty of the story is the ripple effect a few people had on this gentle soul. Had the first woman not spotted Rocket in the ditch and stopped, he may well have eventually died there. The vets working on him thought he had already been there for a few days.

This is the spirit of volunteerism and community that can make the difference in the lives of our companion animals. It is work that is done one-by-one. While this may seem like slow progress, to the animals saved, it’s more than they had. So it is a good place to start.

A few years ago, rescuers and shelters counted on people coming to them to adopt. But the internet has changed all that. We now create websites to introduce people to our adoptable animals. And with social media, we can now GO OUT TO THE PEOPLE with our messages and their stories. We can share our adoptees with many more people in many more places. In turn, those people can share the messages with their friends and their friends can pass it along still further.

We are able to extend our reach until we find that forever home whether it is down the road, across the country or on another continent. We are no longer limited to our immediate community.

Statistics for the United States show that there are currently 20 million households. On average, the US kills about 4 million cats and dogs a year. There are homes out there for our companion animals. We just need to move beyond the borders we have known in the past and grasp all the opportunities available to us to find homes.

The key to this is people and participation.

People that work in whatever capacity is comfortable for them: rescuer, foster, adopter, other. Let’s Adopt! Canada is looking for these people as we expand our reach throughout Canada and redefine what “community” is. Let us know what talents you have to offer. We’re listening.

Join us! on Facebook.

Let’s not stop until all shelters are empty and every dog and cat has a loving home!

Ciao, Holly

That’s about all she was to anyone… except someone gave her the name Petra. Her photo was taken to put on the internet with the others.

She appeared on my Facebook page last Friday evening. She and the others in the post were from a shelter in the Dallas area. Their time was nearing an end; they were the “urgents.” As are so many by the time they hit Facebook.

Always my first thought is that I want to take them all. But how would that be possible? I already have several.

So what can I do to help them?

I hit the SHARE button at the bottom of the post and added their info to my network of friends. It’s the least I can do… and maybe someone will adopt one.

Within a few minutes, someone messages me. She has seen Petra’s photo and wants to adopt her. How can she do it? Is it even possible? She lives in San Antonio — five hours from Dallas.

My first response is YES! Because I KNOW this can be done.

On her fifth try, Karrie reaches someone at the shelter who verifies that Petra is still there. She takes Karrie’s info and puts a hold on Petra. Over the next few hours, a rescue group steps up and arranges to pull the little dog on Sunday. A foster comes forward who will foster her overnight Sunday night. And at noon on Monday, transport starts for Petra’s trip from Dallas to San Antonio.

At 3 pm Monday, Petra — renamed Vimba which means “Hope” in Shona — arrives at her new home.

The power of sharing via social media saved this pup’s life… a happenstance connection on Facebook.

But there are more in need in all areas.

Do these pets a favor and share messages about animals in need. You never know when your message might save a life! And it costs you nothing… just a few minutes of your time.

Here are just a few of the faces saved in the past few weeks through sharing.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
reprinted from Let’s Adopt! US as it appeared a few weeks ago. It’s a true story.

We can save them… we just have to try.

Please join us! Let’s Adopt! Canada.

Ciao, Holly