The Safe Hands Rescue team departed last Thursday for Harlan, van loaded full of dog and puppy food, blankets, towels and more. Thanks to everyone who worked hard on short notice, collected donations and dropped them off. Thanks to Fetch Delivers for donating over 500 pounds of dog food!
We arrived Friday afternoon and went directly to the shelter to assess the situation and see the dogs and pups. We were surprised at the number of puppies that had arrived in the last week. The shelter was overflowing, in part because they delayed euthanasia knowing we were on the way. There were so many great dogs and puppies and it was disheartening not to be able to put them all on the van headed for safety and new lives. In the puppy room we found a single, tiny pup of about 4 1/2 pounds looking very down and out. She was curled in a ball and looked very sad. She was dehydrated and we gave her sub Q fluids and decided to take her back to our hotel to see what we could do for her. We named her Sunshine and she stole our hearts.
Saturday we arrived at the shelter to help Mandy clean and disinfect the puppy room, cages, bowls, toys and all. I took photos of the dogs we were not able to take so that we could work on getting them to rescue and took notes. We dewormed all the puppies in the shelter. Finally we had to load the van and go. With precious cargo on board - many little lives (and some big ones too!) we made our way home. We had decided to detour in Wisconsin in order to get 18 additional pups to a rescue there that was able to make room. What we didn’t know then was that roads in parts of Wisconsin had become treacherous, covered with stretches of black ice.
After a chilly food, water and potty break for all the dogs just north of Indy we hit gusty winds, the traffic and tolls of Chicago and then the roads turned bad as we entered Wisconsin. We made our way slowly and carefully and delivered the first dogs to rescue. After we resumed the trip the unthinkable happened. We hit black ice, the van went skidding, I woke up to feel the van sliding and thought there was no way we would really crash, but crash we did. The van hit a cement pillar holding up an overpass so hard it cracked, we spun around and impacted a second time and then went crashing into the guardrail. The whole thing took seconds but a million thoughts flashed through all our minds which really only involved one thing - all the dogs and puppies on our van and what was going to happen and how they would make it through. Most of the bungees held but tiny 2 pound Trixiebell’s crate came flying and landed on the center console. Sunshine had been up front with us and went flying and we could not locate her. Janine hit her head and was not doing well. Terrilea had hurt her knee, I was just in shock. Passerbys stopped and called rescue crews. I started making calls to alert people back home to our situation so they could start working on a plan to save the dogs but my cell phone went dead and the charger was nowhere to be found.
Do you wonder what it’s like to be a rescue worker and happen upon an accident to discover 56 dogs and puppies on board?? They took it in stride better than I expected and to their credit never thought about not saving the dogs or leaving them there. Janine and Terrilea were taken to the hospital and I stayed with the van and dogs and within minutes I had First Responder Adam at my window telling me his parents owned a farm with a heated kennel building and we’d have the van towed there and load all the dogs in the building if that was alright with me. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Minutes later he was back asking me where I was staying that night. I told him we were going home to Minneapolis and was informed that within 10 minutes of our accident three more accidents had occurred on the same stretch of hiway and it was now closed. There was no way home. His parents had offered to not only host all of our dogs and pups but to put me up as well. Angels here on earth.
Everything happened so fast. I was looking for Sunshine, I couldn’t find her, I was told to get out of the van, I protested that there were tiny puppies on board that I couldn’t leave but I was told I had too. I was given a moment alone in the van and peered into tiny Trixiebell’s crate to see her shivering and I quickly hid her in my sweatshirt. I was frantic to find Sunshine, I tried to grab two more tiny pups but was busted mid-act and made to exit the van, without my other tinies and with Sunshine still missing. I was frantic and devastated. They put me in the tow truck to ride to our safe location. The ride seemed to take forever, the entire time I kept thinking, “they are going to die, they are going to be frozen, they are going to die” and I was trying to steel myself for what we would find upon arrival.
We pulled up to the kennel building at Hillside Springs and there was a crew of people already waiting to help. They started pulling crates and dogs off the van. People kept showing up with crates for us to use, jumped in to help, the dogs kept getting loaded in. I met the owner of the facility, Andy and his wife Judy. They told me they had called their vet and he was on his way to offer assistance. Then my world turned again, Adam walked in and I heard him saying, “this one is going to need serious attention” and I turned to see Sunshine in his arms, nearly frozen, crying, eyes closed, so cold her limbs would not bend. I took her and put her next to my stomach under my sweatshirt and began rubbing her body to work on her circulation. Judy ushered me inside, we got a heating pad and had her between my warm skin and the heating pad, my sweatshirt over it all. Vet Teri Johnson showed up and came to my aide. Angels here on earth.
I asked if our girl had any chance and he said he felt she did, her gums still had color. He gave her Karo syrup and her gums pinked up just slightly more. He told me to continue warming her and to give her a teaspoon of Karo syrup every five minutes. I prayed, I talked to Sunshine, I wondered how exactly I ended up at this moment in life. But sometimes prayers are answered and Sunshine quieted down, her eyes opened, she started to move and look around. Within 30 - 40 minutes she stood up on her own and wagged her tiny tail. Wrapped now in heating pad and blanket I clung to her sweet, tiny body.
Vet Teri’s wife Karen came to check in on us and took Sunshine from me so I could check in on the rest of our dogs. Word came that Janine and Terrilea were being released from the hospital and Andy went to pick them up and bring them to the farm. Teri continued to check out all the dogs and pups. Baby Alexa was limping - the rest of them, remarkably, seemed fine. Shook up and a bit dazed at first but with all the kind people helping out tails were wagging in very short order and new friends were made. Angels here on earth.
People poured in all day and set to the work of feeding, watering, pottying and cleaning crates. Doggy and puppy hugs and kisses were plentiful. Andy made a chart and numbered each crate so we could keep track of them all and no dog or pup would get forgotten. Karen asked me if it would be alright if she and Teri took Sunshine home overnight to keep a close watch on her after her ordeal. I nearly cried with gratitude. A short while later Karen asked me what would happen if she and Teri wanted to adopt Sunshine. I told her I could think of no better people to be her new parents. Karen cautioned me it was just a thought, not a for sure thing. She left with Sunshine for the night. Two hours later she was back with chilli and homemade chocolate chip cookies for us, Sunshine in tow in her new preemie shirt, wrapped in her new baby blanket. I knew Sunshine was home to stay. Angels here on earth.
Throughout the day my ability to make and receive phone calls was limited. At some point our things had been retrieved from the van and I located my cell charger. Reception in that area was bad though and animal care and well being took precedence over all else. It made for hard work for the “home team” of Stephanie and Dr. Charlie trying to coordinate a plan to rescue the rescuers. It was determined that the best chance of safe travels would be the following morning in a narrow window of opportunity between when it warmed up slightly and when the next snowstorm was projected to hit at about noon. Dr. Charlie rented a van and drove through the night to get as close as he could as did Terrilea’s husband Carl to provide a second vehicle. Angels here on earth.
The Twig Project, a Madison rescue, showed up with food for us and the dogs, a few extra crates and took back a few puppies that needed extra TLC. People continued helping us care for the dogs until all had been fed both breakfast and dinner, watered and pottyed and put to bed for the night around 11 pm. We then went to the Clubhouse on the property where we were put up for the night.
In the morning Andy showed up with groceries and breakfast. We rounded up our now sore and stiff selves and headed back to the kennel to find a bustle of activity as volunteers were already doing morning animal care duties. We were just finishing the first round when Dr. Charlie and Carl showed up and we loaded up our furry children. As we were leaving and Andy and Teri were refusing any sort of compensation Janine said to Andy, “we don’t even know your last name” and he said, “Walton”. Of course it was the Walton family! Angels here on earth…
We slowly and safely made the trek back home to be met by some of our own angels - Safe Hands volunteers extraordinaire. Big thank you to Kelly for taking care of my fur kids so I could make this trip and for preparing the place for our arrival. Thank you to everyone who changed plans at the last minute to be there for us, I don’t know that I’ve ever been so happy to see all of you.
There are no words, there truly are no words. The accident was truly a horrible thing and these folks made a horrible thing the best it could possibly be. They provided safe hands for Safe Hands to land. They took us in without a second thought, they gave tirelessly, selflessly, generously and completely of themselves. They are the best human kind has to offer. I don’t really consider myself a zealously religious person but I do believe there is a something greater than all of us and I have to say, God was watching over us.
We ended up taking just 10 puppies into Safe Hands. Feeling completey exhausted emotionally, physically and mentally we gratefully accepted the offer of other rescue groups to take in a few of our charges and allow us to lesson our work load for the moment and catch our breath. You will hear more Dolly, Emmilou, Cash, Camielle, Trixiebell, Cody, Alexa, Puppy Karen, Benji and baby Bear soon. For now know that baby Alexa, the puppy that was limping, does have a fracture to her femoral head and will be having surgery to remove a bone fragement. Dolly (Dolly Madison, Dolly Lama) is sleeping on my lap as I type this, Benji is enjoying the freedom of a house to run in at Terrilea’s and baby Bear is curling up with foster sister Domino who watches over her at Janine’s.
Our story made the Janesville Gazette and was picked up by the AP with short articles in the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press and Chicago Tribune yesterday and I really wanted you all to hear this from us.
In closing, the best I can come up with is yes, there really are Angels here on earth.