I'm A Transport Volunteer

You may have heard me lately complaining a little about about the holes that Ava has been digging. When I saw her first hole I thought it was a sign of a bored puppy but after reading more about the German Shepherd breed, it's in their DNA ... it's what they do. So today I see I have a Facebook message from my cousin, the one that kinda talked me into getting Ava so she would be in a good home.

This picture is in the Facebook message with a note ... "Ava's sister". Her sister looks a little bigger also.

You will notice Ava's sister's holes are much larger, in fact those concrete block will not even fill them up. So I consider myself very lucky. I honestly am not sure what I would do if she was digging holes that big. Then again, I don't know how long her sister is in the yard by herself. I do know that she lives with other dogs. Do German Shepherds grow out of digging holes? Any readers out there have or had German Shepherds?

I hate seeing any basset hound or bloodhound locked up in a kennel at the shelter. I don't find many, don't see many but there again I am only looking at local shelters. Daisy is a 7 year old spayed female that lost her foster home because their family circumstances changed. I heard that similar story on the phone today talking to a basset hound volunteer in charge of transporting for GABR but that story is below.

She obviously is in a run/play area in this photo but after the camera stops she would be put back into a kennel. I have been at the It Takes A Village no kill shelter rescue. Nice facility but still the normal size kennel for the bloodhound. 

It makes me remember when I adopted Watson's brother in February 2023. Samson was a rehome and Watson loved it. They played constantly and I am sure it was because they were the same size. But 7 years old is a little different. Bloodhounds start to slow down. I got Stella when she was 6 years old, so its really a nice age for a bloodhound.

I just received an email from ITV and asked if I would be interesting in fostering Daisy. Hmmm it would solve the problem of her getting out of that kennel. She would be getting a good deal. I would receive my free 40# bag of dog food more frequently Ha Ha ... and there would be a chance she would be adopted ... 

IMO, not really. I was told today applications to adopt the basset hounds are way down and owner relinquishes are increasing. Plus I see a lot of bloodhounds available on the nationwide adoption site for any breed. Not everybody wants a bloodhound because they are obnoxious as much as they are goofy.

You don't understand how much this situation with increasing number of dogs in shelters and euthanized is bothering me. I have tried my best to get away from it, hide from it, don't look at those sites ... all suggestions from a couple of friends ... but it reminds me of how happy Heidi and Stella was when I adopted them.

So maybe I will foster Daisy. Can a dog foster parent change their name while being fostered?

Back in July 2011 I adopted a basset hound, Heidi ... from Guardian Angel Basset Rescue in Dwight Illinois. Heidi was being fostered in Merriville Indiana. It was as hot then as it has been this summer. I will never forget as she sat in the passenger seat of my Camry, she talked to me the first 20-30 minutes of the drive, non stop. She was that happy to be adopted. She was the second basset hound I had adopted from GABR. 

Heidi passed in December 2020. They thought she was around a year and and a half years old when I got her. From that time I would look at their website to see what basset hounds were available. 

Last week I had seen their ad on Facebook for a couple of bassets that were adopted together and they were looking for someone to transport. I commented to contact me to see if I could help, not knowing where they were located.

We texted back and forth, finally talked today. The transport for those two last week was found but they were needing someone in my area, the bottom SW corner of Indiana for transporting bassets from the local shelters to their clinic in Indianapolis before they were put up for adoption with GABR.

It does not happen often. I don't see any bassets in the shelters in this area or the "lost dog" page I now follow. I will not need to crate them since I have those straps that connect to their collar and the seatbelts slide through the other end before connecting the seatbelt.

During our talk I found news I didn't expect. I thought all the basset hounds available for adoption were on the GABR site and there are few. But many are in foster homes and they have so many basset hounds available they are looking for more foster homes. 

They are overwhelmed with basset hounds needing homes just as much as the shelters here locally and those you see on the Facebook Reels. Just in the next four days she will pick up eight bassets that are owner turn-in. 

Hearing that made me sick to my stomach. "you can't save them all" was ringing through my head as I listened to her. That was what my good friend told me 10 years ago.

So anyway I am here when they need me to pick a basset hound(s) up at the shelter and drive them usually to Indianapolis. Other possible trips will be those adopted needing a ride in my area of the state. I don't expect to do many of them, if any at all but I'm available. 

Here are just a few photos of the hounds and dogs today. There has been more sounds of snoring than anything else. Cool breezes fill the air after all night rains. 

I wish I knew what to do here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.