Thank you to everyone who came out to the Christmas Stroll and Lighted Parade last night! TBAR received honorable mention for “Best Overall” float! All of our volunteers had a blast decorating and walking in the parade, and little Moose is demonstrating how exhausted everyone was after the night of fun!
Our Throwback Success Story is Moose, affectionally known as a foster failure.
His foster mother had to bottle feed him when his mom was hit by a car. After many long nights feeding baby Moose, his foster mother and family fell in love with him and he fit right in with the other dogs in his new family.
Congrats to Moose and his new family!
Our most recent success stories include our three newest Maltese Mix dogs as well as Smokey Lonesome, who had been in TBAR waiting for his forever home for a while!
Smokey Lonesome wandered up to a family’s home in Chappell Hill and decided that he would just live with the kind people who would feed him. But this family was unable to give him a home due to their extensive traveling and didn’t want to leave him homeless. They could tell from his behavior that he had very likely been abused so they contacted TBAR who ended up having a foster home step up for Smokey.
Smokey was approximately born on November 1, 2012 and is an Australian Shepherd. When he was with the family who found him, he was very fearful of new people and things, especially the leash. He was being fostered by a dog trainer who has been able to work with Smokey on his fears to help him find a perfect forever home. He adjusted well and loved his foster parents very much. Smokey Lonesome was adopted by the Ratchfords who also adopted Ciara and the two are getting along wonderfully!
Here’s the before picture of the little maltese dogs. They were abandoned and left in a house with no food and water. they lived in filth and their hair was overgrown.
If you are interested in adopting a TBAR dog, please view our adoptable dogs page, and download the forms here. You can also email [email protected] or call (936) 878-2349 and leave a voicemail. TBAR is volunteer run and will respond to your message at the volunteer’s earliest convenience.
The beautiful Luna has been enjoying the pasture life at T-Bar but would be very happy to have a family who could train her and help her reach her true potential. I know she would love to have her very own home. When you adopt somehow the animals know they are in a special home and they become life long companions to you and you to them. Luna is just waiting for that perfect home. I know it is out there, somewhere, we just need to find it. T-BAR is a no-kill rescue. Not only do we like having our animals adopted out, we also are in dire need of foster homes. That way we can help more animals out there, especially with winter coming. Please save a life by adopting a pet, instead of buying a pet and please have all your pets spayed and neutered. It is the right thing to do. If you are interested in Luna or any other horse, dog or cat, please go to www.t-bar.org and see all the animals that deserve a second chance and fulfilled life full of love, email [email protected] or call(936)878-2349 and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Adoption Fee: Please email [email protected] for Luna’s adoption fee!
True Blue Animal Rescue is pleased to begin offering Educational Riding Experiences at our Foster Homes! For $20 an experienced rider and TBAR volunteer will help you with the riding basics while you ride for an hour. Donations go toward food and health care for the TBAR and ABLE horses. Email [email protected] for more info!
Today’s foster feature is Honey. Written by Shellie Bellinghausen.
I got tagged in a Facebook post for a dachshund and a chiweenie (chijuajua/dachshund mix) one Friday evening recently. Yes, I’m THAT dachshund lady that everybody tags. A shelter in a town two hours away had an emergency situation and had to find homes for some of their dogs ASAP, or they would be put down Monday morning.
I replied to the post and started emailing with the shelter that evening. Their sheriff’s office had seized a large number of dogs that day in a cruelty case, and it took up half the shelter’s kennels. The kennel these two dogs were in was tagged for euthanasia. The dachshund was a year or two old, and the chiweenie about five months old. Two young and healthy dogs, perfectly adoptable.
Thankfully the owner of the dachshund claimed him on Saturday, but the chiweenie was still there. So TBAR pulled her from the shelter, and since we had an event all day Saturday, I met a transporter half way on Sunday to get her.
Turns out, the “chiweenie” hasn’t got a lick of dachshund in her, but is probably a corgi mix (shorter legs/longer body also). She showered me with kisses from the moment I first held her. Adorable hardly describes it. I named her Honey since her fur and her eyes are honey-colored.
The sad thing is this precious little puppy would have had her life ended prematurely because this shelter, as do many across the country, had limited space and was greatly over capacity. Some of
these shelters have kill rates as high as 85%. Let that sink in. 85% of the animals that come in to some shelters die there.
Now before you get angry at the shelters, please know that the majority of the people working at these shelters are loving, caring, giving people who genuinely care about these animals. They do their best to adopt them out or find foster homes or rescues that can take them in order to avoid having to needlessly kill them. But with so many animals coming in their doors, their hands are tied.
In Septemberr, TBAR received a request from a local shelter to network an older Red Tick Coonhound. We networked her for a few days before receiving notification from the shelter that she was on the euthanasia list that day due to overcrowding. Again, TBAR pulled her, I picked her up that evening after work, and we had a pending adoption for her the next morning. Annabelle went to her forever home that Friday after a quick trip to the vet. What a difference a day made for her!
The reason we were able to find a home for her so quickly was through social networking. Facebook has allowed us to share pictures and descriptions of these animals with lightening speed! And friends share these posts, who share these posts, and so on, and so on, and so on (anyone remember that commercial from the 70s?). And someone out there sees it and steps up to foster or adopt. Networking works!
TBAR has even created a separate networking page on Facebook for just this purpose, called RAIN Networking (Rescue Animals In Need). Anytime we receive calls or emails for help with animals, we post them here first, and often times we don’t even have to officially bring them into rescue because these animals find homes through this page.
So whenever you see the countless posts from those of us active in rescue, even if you can’t help any other way, you CAN share the post, because you never know when someone you know may find an animal they can help.
And just as important, you can foster through a local rescue. You may have to fill out a foster application, which only takes a few minutes, and when an emergency situation comes up (and they do often!), the rescue can immediately respond because they have foster homes available. (Just like shelters, rescues are limited by the space they have available.) The rescue covers all the vet care (and many provide food and crates), you provide the love and one-on-one attention, which socializes them.
Fosters are able to share additional pictures and information about these animals, such as temperament and whether the animal is good with children or other pets. When potential adopters read this information, it often seals the deal, and they know this pet is meant to be theirs. That’s what happened with Annabelle! Her adoptive family saw a picture of her that a friend had posted on Facebook. That picture reminded them of a Blue Tick Coonhound they had that was no longer with them. They knew Annabelle was theirs!
And Honey? Well, after seeing her pictures, my mom decided this little girl was for her (much to my surprise)! I’m telling you…networking works!!
Another one of our Animals Bridge Love and Educations (ABLE) days was Family fun day on Nov 1st. The kids enjoyed horse rides, a hay ride and feeding and petting animals. Nothing brings us more joy than sharing our rescue animals with children. This opportunity for a family to come out and enjoy a few hours at Tbar Ranch is one of our favorites! These pictures say it all!
True Blue Animal Rescue would like to take the time to feature two amazing members today. Thank you Amy Hemsell for donating a picnic table for our Able Camp and to Diane Deitz for donating horse feed, dog food, horse treats and dog treats. Rescue is stressful, heartbreaking and exhausting work but when members take the time to make special purchases for our animals it reminds us that we are not alone! Having the support of volunteers and members makes all the difference in the world. A great big thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
TBAR is proud of the advances our Animals Bridge Love and Education (ABLE) program. Each season we offer incentives for children to earn an animal experience through reading their choice of books. This October we hosted students from Alton Elementary (in Brenham, Texas) who read 30 picture books or 50 pages of a chapter book while they were on summer break.
In total, seventeen students met the challenge requirements by handing in their list of books, endorsed by their parents. They were all so exited to embark on their special reward: a field trip to the home of one a TBAR foster family (and a teacher at Alton), Melanie!
Melanie and her husband Dale work hard to organize these trip and ensure there are plenty of TBAR volunteers on hand to help the students meet and pet the animals while learning about care and compassion for the animals. The kids got to tour the ranch, feed animals, ride a horse, and go on a hayride!
TBAR will continue to support the ABLE program and spread love and compassion for animals throughout Washington County and beyond. Thank you to the parents and teachers who support the program, and the TBAR volunteers that make it possible!
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Today’s feature is a young lady who asked for donations of pet food and treats for rescue animals instead of presents for her Birthday! Here she is presenting some of what she received to one of our rescue dogs, Eddie. As you can see, Eddie was surprised and very happy to partake. Emily’s birthday wish came true when she got to come out and meet the animals she is helping at True Blue Animal Rescue and to give some of the treats to Eddie. I am so happy to know there are such good hearted children out there who are willing to give rather than receive! Thank you Elizabeth Price for raising such a wonderful young lady!
