Over the past month, Garden State Veterinary Services and the AHS have received hundreds, if not thousands, of phone calls about adopting Patrick, the dog who was starved to near-death and thrown down a garbage chute like trash.

As one of 90,000 fans of The Patrick Miracle on Facebook, I’ve seen literally hundreds of posts about wanting to be the one who takes Patrick home.  People around the world are vying for this handsome survivor, and to be honest, it makes me a little uneasy.

Here’s the thing:  While I’m sure that the majority of those people’s hearts are in the right place, Patrick is not your average dog.  He’s been through a lot, and while he looks better and better every day, he has a long way to go.  And not just physically, either.  Patrick has been through something horrendous, and while he appears to be sweet and loving, I’m sure that there are scars left behind, both on the outside and in.  Patrick needs a very special owner, someone who will be patient and understanding.  Someone who is ready for any potential issues that may arise, whether they be physical problems due to the degree of his abuse or emotional issues left behind by the trauma he endured.  Maybe Patrick will end up being a resource guarder (understandably) or being reactive to strangers.  Maybe there will be long-lasting physical problems caused by his severe malnourishment.  Or maybe Patrick will be totally fine.  As of right now, I don’t think anyone knows for sure what long-term effects his abuse may have caused.

On top of that, Patrick is a celebrity.  He’s known around the world, and that gives me cause for concern as well.  I don’t think it’s completely unreasonable to imagine that some people want to adopt him so that they can say that they own Patrick.  Not the majority, of course, and maybe I don’t have enough faith in humanity as a whole, but I do think that someone, somewhere, wants him just so they can say they own him.

But today, Garden State Veterinary Services posted something fantastic on their Facebook page:

This, to me, is a dream come true.

These are the people who have spent the last month helping Patrick heal, and gain weight, and learn that not every human being wants to hurt him.  They have cleaned up after him, taken him for walks, hand-fed him, snuggled him, and given him love.  They’ve bathed him, clothed him, played him, and monitored his progress.  The staff at GSVS are the only loving family he’s ever known.  And they know what he needs, more than anyone else could, because they have been there since the day he was found.

Ultimately, it’s up to the AHS to decide who gets to bring Patrick home, and I’m sure that whoever they pick will be carefully screened and vetted before the adoption contract is signed.  But I, for one, hope they pick this anonymous staffer from Garden State, and let Patrick go home with someone who has cared for him from the start instead of sending him off with someone new.  My fingers are crossed for you, Patrick.

The story of Patrick has spread around the Internet like wildfire, sparking outrage against his abuser and uniting people from across the world in their prayers and wishes for his miraculous recovery. Countless news sources have picked up Patrick’s story, including NBC and Fox News, radio station DJs have talked about his tale, and Facebook pages in Patrick’s name have been popping up for the past week, including Patrick’s Pals, Patrick’s Law, and The Patrick Miracle – the latter has reached over 43,000 fans thus far.

Garden State Veterinary Specialists have been working tirelessly to help Patrick recover from his horrible ordeal. Their Facebook page has an album devoted entirely to Patrick, and another that displays some of the gifts of clothing, toys, and treats that have been sent in for him. I called and spoke with one employee who told me that, so far, they have received “hundreds and hundreds” of phone calls from people inquiring about adopting Patrick when he’s ready to go home.

Patrick has touched hearts around the world – mine included – and I’m glad that so many people are rallying to support him. But I can’t help but wonder: What about all the other dogs who aren’t getting constant media coverage? Where are their donations and gifts and homes?

Recently, the Garden State website posted a message stating that “Patrick’s care has been assured through the generosity of animal lovers everywhere” and that they have discontinued accepting donations to their hospital. The message was echoed on The Patrick Miracle’s Facebook page, and met with a surprising amount of resistance. There were multiple comments asking how people could continue to send money specifically for Patrick’s care or how they could assure that donations they were making were being used for Patrick.

Patrick is taken care of, and Patrick has hundreds – if not thousands – of people fighting to be the one to take him home. And though I wish that Patrick’s case were unique, it isn’t. Dogs are starved and beaten and neglected every single day… but the media doesn’t pick up all their stories. And so they wait, still in their cages, still waiting for things to get better, for someone to bring them home to a warm house with a soft bed and pat them on the head and call them a good dog and tell them that they’re safe now.

My wish is that Patrick’s story serves as a voice for those forgotten rescues, the ones who haven’t made it onto TV or into newspapers. That all of those “hundreds and hundreds of people” who want to bring Patrick home will head to their local shelters and find another dog in need, one who is just as deserving of love and affection. And that everyone who had earmarked donations of money, toys, or treats for Patrick’s recovery will consider donating to all the “not-Patricks” in need.  Patrick is a beautiful boy with a miraculous story, and I’m so glad that his nightmare is over.  I hope his story attracts attention to shelter dogs everywhere.

Today, March 15th, is Petfinder’s “Adopt the Internet” day.

In honour of their 15th birthday, Petfinder is asking everyone to use their online presence – whether via blog, Facebook, or Twitter – to feature one adoptable pet in their “Adopt-the-Internet All-Stars gallery”.  At random, I chose Lexi.

Name: Lexi
Breed: Labrador Retriever Mix
Age: not posted
Gender: Female
Location: Houston, Texas
Shelter: Suburbia North Animal Hospital
Notes: Up-to-date on Shots, Spayed, Housetrained

If you’d like more information on Lexi, click here and visit her posting on Petfinder.

More than 320,000 pets are waiting for homes on Petfinder.com. Help Petfinder Adopt the Internet today and find forever homes for as many as possible!

About a week ago, I got an idea to host a week-long “rescue hop”.  I posted a Linky Tool and asked my fellow bloggers to post a link to an adoptable dog in their hometown.  I thought it was going to be really popular, but I ended up getting two emails and three links through the tool.  It was kind of a flop.

That being said, I’ve seen all the hype about Petfinder’s Adopt The Internet day (coming up on March 15th!) so I know that pet adoption is a big deal to all you guys!  Maybe I didn’t draw enough attention to the cause or maybe I caught everyone during a busy week… But I’m not giving up.

Today is Saturday, and on Saturdays, there is a very successful and popular blog hop hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume.  I’m hoping that I can catch some of you “on the hop” and spread the news about my rescue project.  If you want to take part, leave a comment below and link to a dog on Petfinder in your area or a post about a rescue dog on your blog.  I’ll continue to feature them here and we can try to get some exposure for these homeless pooches together.

Happy hopping!

Yesterday I posted a blog hop inviting bloggers everywhere to join up and help garner some exposure for dogs in their area waiting for homes.  It’s off to a slow start so far, but I’ve noticed that some of my favourite dog blogs are talking about Adopt The Internet day, coming up on March 15th, which goes hand in hand with my rescue hop perfectly.

Today, I visited Petfinder’s Adopt The Internet Day page and took the pledge to help homeless pets.  Click the image above and find out how you can take part in this amazing event as well.

I am a big fan of animal rescue shelters.  I’ve worked in one before, and I know how difficult the job can be on a daily basis… and that was at a no-kill shelter.  I cannot begin to imagine going to work every day knowing that it would be the last time that I saw a number of the animals and it was not because they would be finding happy homes.  I haven’t been part of the dog blogger community for very long, but in my short time here, I’ve quickly come to realize that I am not the only one, by any means, who is an advocate of rescue:

• Shauna, of Fido & Wino, has an on-going project called “The R.O.A.R. Squad” (Rescue Owners Are Rockin’)
• Laurie, of My Life as a Dog Foster Mom, takes dogs into her home until they can find a place to call their own
• Edie, of Will My Dog Hate Me?, has a rescue dog of her own and frequently speaks out for the dogs who cannot defend themselves against issues including euthanasia in animal shelters and breed bans
• Kristine, of Rescued Insanity, blogs about life with her “nutty rescue dog” Shiva

And those are just the first few that instantly pop in to my mind.  There are many of us, and I’m frequently finding Petfinder.org banners or links to local rescue shelters as I make my rounds to the various dog blogs.

You may have noticed that I feature an adoptable dog on this very website every Wednesday, without fail.  ONE dog, in ONE of my local shelters.  To really make a difference for that dog, I need a lot of things to fall in to place:  I need someone from Toronto to visit my website, and I need that person from Toronto to be looking for a dog to rescue, and I need that dog-seeking Torontonian to like the particular dog that I posted, and I need for all of that to take place on a Wednesday. Suddenly, I don’t feel like I’m making a big difference anymore.

So, dog bloggers, let’s all rally together and make a difference for dogs in shelters everywhere.  I’m going to post a Linky Tool below and turn this into a blog hop.  This “hop” will last from today (Sunday, March 6th) until Friday (March 11th).  Here is what I need from you:

1.  Search your local shelter’s website, Petfinder, or the database from my “Furever Friends” tab and find a homeless dog that lives in your city.
2.  Post a blog entry about that dog on your blog, and then add a link to that particular entry using the Linky Tool below.
3.  Repeat if you would like to feature another dog.
4.  Throughout March, I will re-post every, single dog that you feature in your blogs and add to the Linky Tool as an adoptable dog on PupLove, and not only on Wednesdays.  Daily.  Let’s get exposure going in as many places as we can.  If you’re a fan of the PupLove Facebook page, you already know that adoptable dogs are also posted on there.

Don’t have a blog of your own? That’s ok.  Email me (AJ at puplove dot ca) with a link to the pup you picked out from your hometown, and I’ll post ‘em.  Not a “dog-blogger” specifically, but you have a blog for other purposes? Awesome.  You can still take part, I’m not discriminating.  Add your adoptable dog link and all the same rules apply.  Let’s rally together and spread the word – we can try to make a difference for a lot of lonely dogs, regardless of location.

We talked about getting a dog for a couple of months before it actually happened.  I knew that I wanted a rescue and kept looking for older dogs, the ones that were less likely to get adopted, but The Mister had his heart set on a puppy.  We decided to compromise and find a rescue pup that was under a year old.  I spent most of my evenings trolling through PetFinder and compiling lists of suitable matches until the day that I found Jack’s photo on a quick flip through the dogs being re-homed via Kijiji.  I was completely smitten, and thus began a flurry of emails back and forth between myself and his then-owner.

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