...WideAwake Rescue...

The Animals Arrive

As we opened the door we were shocked by the lack of air space between travel kennels -- there was none! They were jammed together, front to back and side to side. There was no space for anyone to even consider getting water to them. It also became apparent that no vet tech was in attendance, as we were told there would be. Likewise, it was apparent that the drivers were not concerned about the animals as they started yanking and tugging at the travel kennels in order to get them apart -- this was nothing more than inanimate cargo for them. We could not believe that the Humane Society was paying these folks $7,000 to accomplish this shipment.

Our goal was to get the animals out of this situation and into their new enclosures as quickly as possible. We got all of the kennels out of the trailer and into the enclosure that was chosen for the animal listed on the door of the kennel.

The first kennel was weighed, in order to get an animal weight. The sheet on the kennel door listed the animal as Hammer, but we had been told that Hammer was euthanized. Once the animal came out it was obvious this was Boots, not Hammer.  So, was Hammer here or not? What was next? What should we believe and not believe?

We had tried to get a firm listing, with photos, of the animals from the Humane Society, but even that seemed to have irregularities. We had also informed the Humane Society that we would pay for blood to be drawn for testing, so we could begin immediate treatment on animals that needed medication and that had not been done either. This was going to be more difficult than we anticipated.

We then started trying to identify each animal in the kennels, before we released them into their enclosure. This was very difficult to do and slowed down the process significantly. We moved down the line, weighing and releasing and had few problems until the last two enclosures, where two paired animals were supposed to be released. The photos on the kennels did not seem to match one of the animals. It was close, but not quite right. Checking the next enclosure’s photos again was inconclusive. These were going to be the most critical as they were the only two enclosures where animals would be together. We finally decided that we would have to trust the listing on the kennel label and the groups were released.

Three of the animals were slated to go to the Sanctuary. One was totally blind and would need extra attention and care, this was Muck. Another, Jack,was missing an eye and was a fear-biter and would also be better off under tighter scrutiny. The third was suspected to be a bonded partner to Jack, this was Pride. These animals were quickly loaded into air conditioned vehicles for their trip to the Sanctuary.

All of the animals at the temporary site were now in their new homes. Many of them were running around, obviously very stressed. Others were hiding at the back of their enclosures, also scared. The release team moved away from the area and the animals were observed from a distance to insure that the stress level would be as low as possible. Although very skinny and obviously very stressed, the decision was made not to put them through any sort of immediate medical exams. Instead, they would be observed closely and allowed to settle into their new environment. Additionally, taking blood now would not give reliable test results because of the trauma they had just been through.

The animals taken to the Sanctuary were released into isolation enclosures without a problem and are also being monitored very closely. Although very scared and thin, they appear to be adjusting slowly to their new environment.

Our vet was out on Friday and performed a thorough visual exam on the animals at Wide Awake and agreed that what they needed most was to be left alone to calm down. We are currently planning on doing a physical exam and blood draw on Tuesday the 9th. We then are tentatively planning to do spays and neuters in about 3 weeks.

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