If Love Alone Could Feed Them

Hello from Southwest Virginia!

Spring finally sprung. . .then bounced away like a scared rabbit and left us sweltering in the full heat of summer. We broke out the fans and water hoses and cooled things down a bit, here in June almost exactly a year from our Director’s Steemit debut. Life in the rescue is exponentially better than it was in June of 2017. Bills are paid, dogs are fed and vetted, and we had enough in reserves over the winter to heat the place sufficiently. But now Steem is down and we have a full house. Time to tighten our belts and send up a few flares. We need some help.

None of us here at TARC think that anyone, no matter how prosperous, is obligated to support charity. This is particularly true when a charity isn’t operating in that person’s specific locale. Most of the Steemians who support TARC live in different regions of the country and different parts of the world. Their giving to help the animals in our care is the purest kind of generosity. It awes and humbles us, and often leaves us speechless.

If you’ve been following our account, you know we have faced some stressful circumstances lately. Because of our activism, we’ve been hassled a bit by local officials (read more about this HERE.) Our Director’s blog shared her adventure with a local grandpa who thought wrestling her over a stray dog was appropriate behavior. Read about that little fiasco HERE. And now that crypto is on the skids, ouch! Let’s just say we’ve had better days.

Our new residents were unexpected, but nonetheless welcome. Two are siblings: Xander and Dusty, dumped in the same area as others from their litter who already came through our rescue and moved on. Another pup is from a different litter but dumped in the same area, most likely by the same backyard breeder who was unable to sell their whole inventory. The fourth is the Walker Hound bestowed upon us by Angry Grandpa. And the fifth came to us just a couple days ago—a housedog found wandering through a neighborhood scrounging for scraps in various trash cans. The shelter told us this morning that no one has called to report the sweet baby missing. At least this dog is safe with us no matter what.

Four of the five need to be neutered. The housedog is already “fixed.” The two siblings are up-to-date on core vaccines now and have been dewormed. The hound and the border collie mix puppy have had their initial vaccines and one round of deworming. The housedog needs to complete stray hold before we vaccinate or deworm, but will need these things soon as well. We’re looking at roughly $600 for all of this, plus regular operating expenses that with the current price of Steem, we can’t cover. We can use all the help we can get.

People need not create a hardship for themselves by giving. We do need help, but not at a sacrifice by anyone. Find coins under the sofa cushions? A few extra SBD lying about? That’s what we hope people will send our way. Small amounts add up. Please consider giving us an extra boost right now while Steem prices skulk in the basement. We know crypto will bounce. Right now whatever you can spare would be greatly appreciated. Steem or SBD transfers can go directly to our wallet here on Steemit. We also accept FIAT donations through PayPal, using our PayPal ID rescue@tazewellarc.org .