XL SPRING EDITION                            Vol. VI/VII    Mar./Apr. 2018

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb

Hello volunteers, adopters, rescue friends and family!

I want to say thank you, because if we can put the parts of the puzzle together, we will see that it is not just one person doing the work of rescuing these great animals.

This month I want to highlight the many different talents and people we have working with us.

Thank goodness we have such a great team working together to get things done so we are not overwhelmed! Thank you all! Thanks to you, this does not have to end in tragedy for the animals we are able to help monthly.

Thank you to all rescue coordinators, because without you making the hard decisions, we would have no animals coming into the rescue. It is overwhelming the number of requests we get. I know Larry has told me that he received 100 requests recently to help with dogs. It is so easy for us to become bogged down when the situation gets to this point. Thank goodness we can help quite a few, but it is a difficult job to wade through all of those requests and to put together a plan to help those animals that we can rescue.

After we rescue them, then there is that difficult part: transferring them to their foster homes. Thank you to the countless people who have volunteered their precious free time to help us in that area. Special thanks to Heather & Brent Taylor and Kathy Darrah, for all the times they have not only driven for us, but also for providing a waystation as we travelled.

Right now we have a Lab mix (Sava) and 3 young Catahoula mix siblings (Scarlett, Melanie and Ranger) all in Louisiana awaiting transport. We also have a young Catahoula mix (Butterscotch)in Texas and a Dachshund (Oscar)in South Carolina, also awaiting transport. 

Our foster Bill Leining transported Callie and Pebbles from Tennessee to Connecticut. In a separate trip, he moved Kylo from Maryland to Massachusetts to his forver home. Bill went above and beyond what a typical volunteer transporter does, and the dogs in their forever homes are thankful he did! As you can see, this transport story continues on until they makes it to their forever homes!

While we would love to save money and use volunteers, we do also have to use paid transport for the dogs coming from the deep South. Our getting them to where they belong is part of the transport coordination in which we all take part. While we primarily seek to help the Catahoula breed, we also feel the draw to help those in overcrowded shelters in the South, regardless of breed. This means we frequently have a paid transport  one weekend a month or more. This is one of our major expenses and we could use support to help us cut this cost so we can focus on saving more lives. Please, I hope this may encourage some of you to apply to help us with volunteer transport. We would like to build up a network of people to help with some of these transports. If you are willing and able, we are always looking for good people join our team in helping the homeless animals.

Yes, you get to take selfies and get lots of hugs and kisses and they are thankful for you! Memories we won't soon forget. So many of our fosters take in dog after dog, or multiple dogs at a time, without a second thought. We are very lucky to have fosters that are so selfless. Whether you have been with us since the beginning, or just took in your first foster, each one of you is an integral part of our success. Blackjack would not survive without you.

God bless you each and every one is my daily prayer.

Thanks to those ladies who help do the application checks. This is a very hard and time-consuming job. We have been blessed with Jo, who does quite a bit of the apps, and Kathy, Connie, Brenda and Rachel who help when needed. We could not do this without you.

There are some very hard parts vital to the rescue's success. From event planning, fundraising, website development, and designing shirts and calendars to writing newsletter, blogs, and Facebook posts. Tom and Rachel, Larry and Shelley, and Brian, you do more than you are aware to make this a really great rescue. The website, your networking and getting the word out there makes it an effort that has some results! We can go to the Happy Tails section of the website and see our success stories due to your efforts; without you the results for the animals would be dire. Keep up the outstanding work! We need you more than ever! Sometimes I get discouraged, and I know we all do, so we reach back and give a hand to each other. We encourage each other, send a letter of thanks, write a Facebook post and say, Thank you! Let it be part of our legacy that we are thankful and love one another.

Thank you, Bob Neeley, for your mention of the rescue when you do your running blog and all the hard work you have done to help us raise money to keep all the infrastructure sound and more dogs being helped daily!

Speaking of fundraising, we are raising money for Roxie in Louisiana and Aidan in Virginia to receive their Immiticide treatments. Aidan may also need surgery on his eye. They both have started out with a rough life, but things are looking up for them. Thanks Karin and Brennan, you have both done a wonderful job with guiding them through this rough time and we know they will make it!

Please, if you cannot give, just share their links on your social media and networks. They will follow this section.

We also have another fundraiser currently active that involves flowers- specifically bulbs. You support our rescue- mainly our dogs, buy purchasing bulbs to make your garden beautiful for the spring and summer for many years to come. Head over to Three Rivers Fundraising and use the code DYCK7T. 50% of each sale comes to the rescue and we could use all your support.

Thank you to the monthly givers, yes, there are quite a few of you. We do not have to turn dogs away and we do not have to delay treatments because of your generosity. Even $5.00 per month makes a big difference. We are able to provide antibiotics, dewormers and other medicines because we have a dedicated group of donors. You make this possible! We appreciate all you do. Become a monthly donor today!

Thanks to all of our crossposters and those who share our posts. We need you! Facebook has changed the algorithms, therefore our posts aren’t being seen by all of our supporters. Please share our page and share our daily posts with your friends and family.

Thank you again and enjoy your spring. We are truly blessed to be part of this rescue and you make it happen.

Sharon Bryant
24/7 dog lover & Director of Blackjack Animal Rescue

Blackjack's code : DYCK7T

Shop & Support

By shopping in our Blackjack shop you are directly helping dogs in need, and helping us pay for dogs in our care. We had a week in October, where we had multiple dogs sick, in different foster homes, which meant different vet’s offices were all being used; by supporting us through our shop you are helping us with our bills! I know it doesn’t sound like fun but we couldn’t be more grateful.

BLACKJACK ANIMAL RESCUE IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF THE FOLLOWING VOLUNTEERS:

• FOSTER HOMES FOR PUPS(apply at blackjackrescue.org)
• GRANT WRITER (EXPERIENCE PREFERRED)
• FUNDRAISING/CORPORATE SPONSOR COORDINATOR
• AFFILIATE RESCUE COORDINATOR
• SPAY/NEUTER SCHEDULER/FOLLOW UP
• TRANSPORT COORDINATOR  

If you have any questions about the volunteer opportunities or you can help us with any of the above, please let us know!

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