It's Way Past The Statute of Limitations, So Here's A Story About My First Animal Rescue and I Why I Need Your Help Now...
In the early 1980's, I attended Washington State University and had my first dog with me, Stanley. He was probably the best known dog on campus because at any opportunity, he would escape and run all over town and through the wheat fields. There are photos of him in the Chinook yearbook and he belonged to clubs I had no idea about. During that same period, the City of Pullman had hired a Nazi in hiding to be their animal control officer. Stanley became his sole focus.
This Animal Control Officer, who I remembered had a swastika scar on his cheek managed to catch Stanley (an Irish Setter and not the sharpest tool in the shed) many times. Each time he was caught I had three (3) days to pay the fine or they would euthanize (kill) him. At first the $50 fine was tough, but each time he got caught the fine would double. On his sixth (6th) capture the fine had grown to $1,600. I was a college student and didn't have anything like that. I probably had $4.75 in my bank account. My parents had said enough, so we were at a dead end.
I used to borrow my roommate's car, a 1955 Buick Special and go down at night to the animal pound and sit outside and talk to Stanley through the opening between the cinder blocks and the roof. They left a gap there for the dogs to get fresh air.
And that's when I got my idea for my first animal rescue. I was part of a group of friends that included a rather petite gal from Singapore. I drove over to her dorm and got on my knees to beg her to help me. She was terrified she would get caught and they would throw her out of the country, but she knew how important this was to me...and to Stanley.
We drove back to the animal pound and I lifted her on top of my shoulders. She climbed through the opening between the cinder blocks and the roof, across the top of a cage and then down to unlock the front door for me. I entered the dog pound and found Stanley who was so excited to know that he was going to live that he was jumping straight up in the air on all four paws over and over. I unlatched his cage and he ran straight out through the door and jumped into the back of the Buick.
Then I looked around and saw all those sad faces of the other mutts that I knew this Nazi officer was going to gas. So, I opened each cage and they all ran out and followed Stanley into the car. We closed the facility up, wiped our fingerprints off the cages and drove off.
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I dropped Stanley at Tawnia's place so he could lay low for a few days until the heat died down. And then we drove up to Greek row and dropped the rest of the dogs at the doorstep of the Alpha Phi house. We knew they would take care of them.
Early the next morning, there was a loud knocking on my apartment door. Weary eyed, I put my robe on and answered it. Standing there was a Pullman police officer and a few steps behind him, the Nazi. The officer, who was also familiar with Stanley asked me straight out if I had seen him. I shook my head like I was confused and asked, "How could I see him? He's in jail and I was going to come by today and get him." The officer explained that the pound had broken into and someone had stolen all the dogs. Stammering, I started to accuse the Nazi of being incompetent until the officer interrupted me and said, "We have a pretty good idea of who did it." I stepped back, started to sweat, and somehow spit out, "Whoooooo?" He explained that the very sharp police force had figured out it was a fraternity prank and they were looking for the pranksters. The next day, the Pullman Daily News carried a front page article about the break in.
And, now this is where I need your help. Forty years later, I am back at animal rescue. This time in Ukraine. The Russian invasion has left over a million pets on the street. On March 5, we have a team heading to villages recently liberated by the Ukrainian military to spay/neuter, vaccinate and microchip 1,500 dogs and cats. We will house them until they recover and try to rehome them. Like when I saved Stanley, I don't have the funds to do this myself. Could you please donate $44 to help an abandonded Ukrainian dog or cat? Like Stanley, they will love you for it.
UWARF is a 501c3 and your donation is tax deductible.
Business Development Director @ RSM Canada
1yDan Fine this story and your compassion for animals is incredible.