Robin Solitro from Crossing Paths Animal Rescue tells Cassidy’s story.

First, how Robin became involved with Crossing Paths 

I moved to my current home in Blount County AL in 2002 and also took a new job as an inspector for our state.  It wasn’t for a few years before I kept noticing the overpopulation problem. Animals getting dumped at my residence which is in a very wooded area in the country.  My paths crossed with Mary Ellen Tidwell, the Director of Crossing Paths Animal Rescue and it was fate!  I had been wanted to make a difference and through the rescue, I have.

I began fostering in July 2007 and my first group of dogs were a mixture of puppies and adults. There were 8 of them.  I was hooked after the first one got adopted – my first official “save”.  I also adopted one of the dogs, a generic black dog that was a cocker spaniel mix and lab mix and named her Starla.  She has the sweetest disposition and went from being a thin stray on the streets to a much adored indoor pet.

Cassidy’s Story

On Sept. 25th, 2012, I went to my Director’s [Ms. Tidwell’s] home to pick up supplies and noticed a kennel with several puppies in it. They were all picking on this one puppy that was not of their litter.  This poor baby touched my heart. I got her out and picked her up. I knew I had a place at my foster home where she wouldn’t have to deal with other puppies.

Ms. Tidwell told me she had just gotten her out of our high kill shelter earlier that morning, despite not having any room for her, because she not only had the dreaded “TU” on her card, which meant “Times UP” but she also had a red check, which meant she would be put down (euthanized) later that day.  Ms. Tidwell recognized what a gorgeous and wonderful puppy she was and brought her into our rescue.

I brought her home, named her Sabrina (Cassidy) and found her a nice friend to play with.  Sabrina immediately showed her playful side and frolicked all day and every day after that.  She is very friendly and likes to put her feet up on you in hopes she can give you special dog sugar! I started the routine our rescue follows of giving her all her required shots and deworming her on a schedule.  On 10/23/12, she was spayed and given a rabies shot. After that, she was posted on PetFinder in hopes she would find her forever home.

Cassidy Today.

As of today, 12/5/12, Cassidy has been in rescue for 10 weeks.  For the most part, she was in quarentine receiving her vetting until she was healthy and ready to be posted in hopes of finding a home. And she has!

Cassidy is the type of puppy that is friendly and loving to everyone she meets. She will show no hesitation towards her new family when she steps off the transport truck on December 8th, 2012.  Her biggest challenge will be learning to use the bathroom outside and house rules.  She is so lucky to have been one of the 32% that makes it out of shelter.

What about the other dogs?

For the rest of them, they stay on what I call “death row” for 7 days. Then their time is up.  We continue to offer free or low cost spays for female cats and dogs in our county to try and lower the number of puppies and kittens being dumped in our shelter on a daily basis.  Currently, we are the only 501c3 rescue group pulling dogs/puppies from the shelter and we save about 900 a year.  We are all volunteers and many of us have full time jobs but we cannot stop saving these beautiful, loving animals.  Having a NO KILL shelter seems to be an unattainable goal down here but for each [animal] we save, we have the strength to keep on trying.

by

Robin Solitro

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