On Saturday, July 1st, I had assumed my usual position at the table at the NARF cat fair, when my eyes brushed over a dog at the front of the store. I thought the coincidence would be too large to see number three right in front of me again. I got onto San Jose Animal Care’s website, and saw the listing was gone. So, wanting to check out the possibility of a coincidence, I quickly started searching the store. Did the downed listing mean euthanasia? I spotted the fluffy white tail and picked up my pace. “Excuse me!” I interjected, “What is your dog’s name?” The lady with the leash, caught a little bit off guard, replied “Gizmo.”
My name is Talia, and I have been a volunteer with the cat side of Nike Animal Rescue Foundation for over eleven years and counting, attending Saturday cat fairs nearly every week. Since a second grade New Year’s Resolution project began my time volunteering, I have drafted both of my parents to participate alongside me. In our time with NARF, my mom and I had directly rescued and adopted out two cats, but never a dog. This is the story of how our latest rescue, a dog this time, came full circle.
I came home from the sunny San Diego weather to a rainy San Jose over my college’s spring break, which kept me inside for most of it. But, for my mom, a few drops were not going to stop her daily walk. Not long after she left, she called me. I stuffed our minivan with random towels and drove out to the spot where she had stopped to see a beautiful husky excitedly pulling at a leash anchored to a tree. My mom explained that a family had found the dog running around soaking wet in the neighborhood, and were able to catch him and put him on a leash to check for a collar. Seeing that he was a friendly dog without a collar, we assumed he was either lost, or more familiarly to us, dumped. So we threw the towels down in the car and drove him to the emergency vet.
As soon as the vet staff scanned him, they found a chip. The dog downed a few cups of water, clearly parched from however long his time was outside. After waiting a little bit, the vet could only give us two pieces of information: his name was Gizmo, and the contacts from the chip were not answering their phones. We were advised to hold on to him for the time being until they replied. So we brought him back to the family that had found him, where he got a bowl of dog food, a backyard to run around in, and a warm place to sleep for the night.
Not long after my mom and I returned home, the vet called us back with a name and phone number. We passed it along to the family to make the call, and sat around the phone anxiously waiting for a response. It turned out the person Gizmo was registered to claimed that she had rehomed him on Facebook Marketplace. She said that she had absolutely zero knowledge of his new home: no name, no phone number, no address, no nothing. It could have been a careless truth or a faulty lie, but with that our only choice was to turn him into the shelter.
This was back in March, and about every week while at school I would check the shelter’s listings to see if he was adopted, as would the family that we rescued him with. When I got home, I started working full time, and he totally slipped my mind for a little bit. That was until last Saturday, when by some amazing chance his new mom was buying him treats and new supplies at Petco. When she said his name, I instantly started crying, explaining to her his story of ending up in the shelter. She told me that Gizmo and her had an instant connection, and he was the most amazing dog. Gizmo looked so happy, giving me only a little attention in comparison to the large treat he had just picked out for himself.
I am forever grateful that Gizmo’s story, our third rescue, had a happy ending. But I want to acknowledge that this reality is rare. Our shelters are overwhelmed with not only unfixed babies of feral animals, but loving, innocent animals that are carelessly dumped into the streets. That leads me to two big points: the first being “adopt, don’t shop.” One of the first thoughts that ran through my head when Gizmo’s listing was down was that he had been put down. Some shelters, like the one Gizmo was at, euthanize animals that do not get adopted quickly enough, or need extra socialization, likely due to previous trauma, such as being dumped or abused. This means that whenever someone chooses to buy an animal, an animal in the shelter is put to sleep. There is one less home for an animal, and the shelter is brimming at capacity, and creates more space by euthanizing animals.
The second point I want to make is making sure you fully think through your decision to adopt an animal. Taking an animal out of the shelter is pointless if they’re just going to end up back there, or worse. This is why in our interview process, we talk to you about your backup plans. Things happen, whether it be a move, a breakup, or anything else, that can change the situation for an animal. Animals are not just there to look cute as babies and then be left out on the streets to die. They are a lifelong part of the family, and they are to be treated as such.
I am almost certain that Gizmo will not be our last dump rescue. This problem is not one that will go away overnight. But what I ask of you, once you finish reading this, is to do your part to help. I am not saying you need to adopt every shelter animal or start searching the streets for animals in need. What I want you to do is lead with thoughtfulness. Next time someone in your life tells you that they are looking to welcome a dog or cat into their life, talk to them. Help them consider the responsibility of having an animal, and why adoption is always the right option. In doing that, you are helping bring forth a front of change that will lessen the amount of animals that find themselves dumped on the streets. While Gizmo was lucky, most dumped animals are not.