All is quiet here.

Pups in the back must be sleeping, except for a few squeaks when we go around curves, and the JRT is sleeping peacefully in the sun. I may call her Pixie.

GPS says we have 5 hours and 40 minutes to go but we'll need a gas stop somewhere along the way.
Liz

And we have...

23 total saves for Rogers' Rescues and 1 cute pup for another rescue: Chico, Magnum, Aries, Autumn, Pumpkin, Trixie, Bonnie, Anastasia, Rodeo, Zena, Kent, Dusty, Twi-la, Vanessa, Averie, Winnie, Tyson, Mason, Janie, Daisy, Lola, Knight, Yukon and Bear.

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow and delivering your 4 pawed presents to you. Go dogs!
RobynM

Anderson had a different feel and, for this first time shelter tripper, it was very welcome.

Beautiful scenery on the way, including a bridge that feels like it couldn't possibly hold up a car. Donna is a long time friend of the rescue, and was at the shelter to greet us with her huge smile. All of us immediately raid her t-shirt bins and buy our trip souvenirs.

We spent the afternoon playing. I didn't feel the urgency I had felt the last 2 days, perhaps because as of this morning 20 dogs would be making the trip with us back to NJ. We had been hoping to take home an older lab boy we had spotted online but he is not so good with other dogs. We discover a Chihuahua boy that has been signed over by his owners just that morning. They had hoped to breed their female and so got a male-the 2 didn't get along and so he is tossed in the shelter. A Cairn terrier mix new to the shelter doesn't pan out. A handsome Bassett boy gets tested but not approved. Tyson wins us all over with his freckled body, soulful eyes, and goofy ears. He rolls over for belly rubs and sits like such a gentleman.

Another pooch we meet, Sheila, has also just been turned in that day. She is so scared near us, other dogs, and doorways. We keep her out a long time and she warms up and begins to seek us out to ask for scratches. She actually begins to play with the other dogs and it is so nice to see the reservation melt from her little body. We are starting to run out of possible foster families but she will probably make the trip up to us when she gets some more socialization in a couple weeks.

We confirm only 2 and have about 20 minutes to get them to the vet. Then we remember Lola. Split second last minute decision, 2 becomes 3 and they are off to be cleared for transport. We will see them early tomorrow for our trek back home. We get presents from Donna and then hit the road.

Several miles down the road we in the passenger van are phoned by the cargo van behind us, full of giggles, and say we must pull over. We discover a stuffed animal dog toy tied to our bumper "going for a ride". Anderson has played a little joke on us and we soon discover another stow away on the back of the cargo van. Anderson Animal Control`s truck rolls up and they pour from the truck in peels of laughter. It seems we've been punked! and it feels good to laugh and know that tomorrow we will make our way home-and so will 23 dogs.

RobynM

It was our first time visiting Powell and what an eye opener.

They have to make do with what little the county allows them to have. The county dump workers (they share a lot with the dump!) were watching us like we were some kind of side show in a circus.

The Powell people were wonderful. We were warned that Randall, the man who runs the shelter, was very nervous about our impending visit, thinking we were going to tell him how to run the shelter. Of course he was pleasantly surprised when we were nothing but our friendly and crazy selves. I got an email from him last night saying he enjoyed meeting us.

Powell had such a huge variety of dogs we found ourselves pulling dogs out of kennels right and left and bringing them out in to the parking lot to get to know them. Taking dogs out of kennels was a task that took more then 1 person to accomplish because it involved moving cinder blocks, makeshift barriers and holding back 4 or 5 dogs when you were trying to get only 1 out.

Between the dogs we are bringing home from Powell and Clark, we have overwhelmed the local vet. So Shannon started making phone calls, worked her magic and managed to get a few more in at another vet. There were a couple of dogs we could not confirm until last evening because we did not have a commitment yet and those dogs will not be spayed or neutered once we get back to NJ.

We were about the leave when the local news paper called and wanted to do a story about our visit. So we waited for the reporter to arrive, gave a little statement and he took a group picture.

Claire

We pull up to Powell County Pound -- which shares a lot with the garbage dump.

The lot is scattered with trash and several open air dog kennels. We had been "warned" by the manager before we even arrived that they were a poor shelter with very little resources. They didn't want us to be shocked. But they are doing the best they can with what they have, but geez they have it hard.

I am determined to find my dog here. Winnie, the chocolate "short and long" I saw online is the first dog I see and I take her for a walk. Before I even slip the lead onto her neck I know she will be my foster. There is no outdoor fenced yard so the dogs have no place to go and stretch their legs. They are all being a bit hyper but this may just be the very first time in awhile that they have been out of those kennels and leash walked.

We spend more time then we planned, taking out and testing as many dogs as we can. Coach, Autumn, Pumpkin, Trixie, Zena, Vanessa, Snowbelles, Jennie May, Hemi, Twila, Knight, Anastasia, Avery, Meagan, Paisley, Hemi, Sparkle, Kandy Korn, Cream Pie – we frantically begin temperament testing them all and posting to the group back home to see who is willing to take whom. Our location is so remote that our messages are not going through.

This shelter is just beginning to develope rescue relationships and they say that the dogs we have been pulling have made such a difference in their euthanization rate. They used to have to put down dogs in a room on site (where they now house some cats and the dogs all put the brakes on when we even approach the doorway) because there were too many to go back and forth to the vet.

I am very proud to have pulled all 4 of my previous fosters from this shelter that has so little. We confirm 7 rescues and will be eagerly awaiting emails on 3 more!

Off to PAWS. We are greeted by the shelter workers and Magnum, a little Doxie boy who will be coming back to NJ with us. (They knew what they were doing when they made sure he was the first one we saw!) We find some lovely dogs and wonderful company, easing the stress we were all carrying from the morning's frenzied visit. After some temperament tests, Jen P's heart is broken when she cannot take a pittie girl who's had a hard life, and we are struck by the harsh reality that these babies have seen more than they should have and we really can't save them all, even if we want to.

We focus on the 16 that will be making the trip to NJ on Saturday and the others that we will find tomorrow.

RobynM