 Believe…
If you’ve ever watched the movie, “Elf” and I’m sure you have…many times, the overall theme is that Buddy never stopped believing and he never stopped trying no matter what obstacles he faced. At the end of the movie, “believing” is what powered Santa’s sleigh on Christmas eve.
“Believing” is also what made it possible for Atlanta Lab Rescue to save more dogs this year than ever before. You believed in us and supported us and made it all possible. Whether you adopted, volunteered, donated or all of the above, YOU “powered” this rescue and enabled us to give hope and in many cases, healing, to so many deserving dogs.
Believing is what made a Christmas miracle come true for a dog named Jules. A beautiful black lab, Jules was rescued from a shelter in south Georgia with heartworms and an eye condition called entropion. Surgery with heartworms is always a risk, but she made it through a spay and then eye surgery and after several months in boarding, she was finally on her way to her forever home with a family in SC. They drove down to get her the weekend before Christmas and by the time they got home she was gasping for air and ended up in the ER. X-rays showed that she had a hole in her lung that was leaking air and she needed to be transferred to a specialist for surgery or she would die. The ER vet was not optimistic that Jules would make it through the surgery, especially with the heartworms, and that the $7-10,000 price tag for a rescue would make it even more unrealistic. Although the adopters had only had her a few hours, they were committed to Jules, and so were we. She had surgery the next day to remove a lobe from one of her lungs, and Jules, who now had a loving family and home to fight for, pulled through. Your support made the impossible, possible and not once did her new family turn their back on her or wish for another dog. We all “believed” and Jules spent her first Christmas with her new family.
Atlanta Lab Rescue never stops believing that there’s a home for every dog, and with your help we turn lives around, theirs and maybe yours too. Many of you support us with a monthly PayPal donation, or on a $5 Friday when money gets tight. You signed up for the 5k and made it a huge success, and the GAGives campaign, which started with a $40,000 goal, finished at $90,000 and was matched by our own Charlie Kleman, who also drove close to 60,000 miles this year transporting our dogs. With your help, ALR was able to pay off all of our debts, and fund $11,000 of orthopedic surgeries in December, as well as a miracle…or two.
Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year, hug your dog (or cat) and don’t stop believing….
Becky Cross – Director – Atlanta Lab Rescue
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