SAM × JOANNA
Meet Sam and Joanna Cline. They're a family in Galveston with five little ones and an exceptionally inquisitive dog, Bellatrix (Bella).
Both Sam and Joanna are currently looking for work, and in the meantime are receiving housing benefits from the VA. Unfortunately, the house they are living in didn't come with a fence for Bella, who has a lot of energy for such a little dog.
The family was facing the devastating, heartbreaking decision of rehoming Bella when they reached out to us three days before Christmas.
Bella, in addition to being a high-energy dog, has stranger danger, so walks are extremely stressful for her in their busy neighborhood. A fenced yard would be a game-changer for Bella, and the family.
how should a shelter help?
We're not in the business of building fences. Our day-to-day (if there is such a thing) is dog walks, passing out free pet food, and behavior consults (well... and solving whatever new thing is thrown our way that day — you know how it goes). And this fence didn't need fixing, which a few YouTube videos might've helped us do. This fence didn't exist; it needed to be built from the ground up.
But this family needed help, and despite searching, there wasn't anything that would quite fit what they needed to enable them to keep Bella.
Getting #Unsheltered
When we can't find the resources to help keep a pet with their family, we go back to the drawing board and see what we can do.
Our Volunteer Lead, Savannah, had previously worked at a fencing company. Our Facilities Coordinator, Abel, is pretty handy and can fix just about anything. And our army of #BlueShirt volunteers give of their time with a dedication that is unmatched. We started there.
And then we mobilized.
After a few scheduling and permit snafus out of our control, the date was finally set for us to go out and start the project. Between tools lent by our team, volunteers fundraising for supplies, and some out-of-this-world coordination and research by Volunteer Lead, Savannah, the plan was laid out.
It seemed like the weather was rooting us on, as the rain held off and the cool breeze coming off of the Gulf of Mexico provided welcome relief from the sun. Over a full Friday and Saturday, the team sunk posts, leveled backer rails, and secured fence posts.
more than a fence.
David Mann, one of our amazing #BlueShirts, was vital to the project. He acted as our "Head Designer," and we wouldn't have been able to do it without him.
But David decided he was there for more than just a fence.
After a long workday finished on Saturday, David got out his trusty hot dogs.
Gently, he worked with Bella, and her dad Sam, on some of her stranger danger fears. She started to warm up to him at the end. With this promising short interaction, our Behavior Team is going to continue that work and give them some consultation/advice on moving forward to helping Bella feel more comfortable around strangers.
Sunday night, Bella's mom Joanna text us this note:
Bella has been SOOO cuddly since yesterday — I think she is happy to finally have some freedom again! You guys don't know how much this means to us! Thank you, thank you, thank you again!!!
We recognized long ago that the so-called "animal problem" isn't separate from the condition of our human communities.
The primary power of what we do now takes place beyond shelter walls. That's a shift that shelters must embrace. Shelters must embrace the people every bit as much as we embrace the animals. If it were about rallying the animals, we’d be finished. But, we must rally the humans to succeed.
This is #Unsheltered.
We are Friends For Life. Let’s rally the humans.
Credits:
Photos provided by Savannah Moore and Evelyn Cutts.