May 2023 Blog

barney

 ​Grateful and Blessed

Timid and shy, Barney, entered our lives.
​We needed him and he needed us!

Being the curious person that I am...I was interested to learn as much of a back story about Barney as I possibly could. Of course, before he was found scrounging and wandering the streets of Georgia, his story is not known. Only Barney knows that story and without a voice we can only assume what happened to him and why. What we do know is that he may have been harshly treated which is why he cowers down when he sees a newspaper and many other objects. That makes me feel sad and angry, too! So, from the streets of Calhoun, Georgia he started his journey to becoming a New Yorker! We are happy for us! In the next paragraphs I will attempt to tell his story from the time he was picked up until he arrived to his forever loving home with us!!

Barney's story goes back to Haralson County Shelter in Georgia. Their Facebook page describes them in this way... "Our Shelter is run by Haralson County Animal Control. Most of the animals in our care are picked up as strays by the Animal Control Officers who respond to citizen calls. We use this" (Facebook) "page to let the community know what animals are in the shelter, either looking for their owner, or looking for a new family." I have since learned that the Haralson County Animal Control keeps the strays for approximately 3 days during which they are either picked up by their owners or another shelter pulls them out. It just so happened that no-one came to reclaim Barney. And so Barney's fate was that he would be euthanized if someone didn't take him. The shelter then reached out to other shelters to see if they would be interested in him. Down in the Southeast and Southwest of the USA, dogs run the streets and are abandoned, dumped and destroyed all of the time. It's such a shame. When a Foster Shelter named "Paw Angels" in Calhoun, Georgia learned about Barney, they took him into their care. I was told that Barney spent about a week there. Paw Angels is a 501(c)(3) foster based shelter. From there, Barney was taken to live with a wonderful woman named Chris McCormick. Chris fosters rescues and sends them to a shelter called Forgotten Friends of Long Island (FFLI). Chris McCormick was the kind intermediary that took Barney and cared for him from August 2022 until his arrival in New York on April 15th, 2023. Barney became part of her family "pack" of dogs. She grew to love Barney. At the time Barney's name was Patriot or Pate (I was told that the shelter that picks up the strays usually names the dogs they take in. In Barney's case the Haralson County Animal Shelter most likely named him). As time went on Barney grew closer and closer to Chris and her pet dogs. But, Chris knew that Barney was being reserved for Forgotten Friends so, she opened her heart again and helped make arrangements to have Barney aka Patriot/Pate transported to a truck stop in New Jersey where Barney would meet Beth Marzo the President of FFLI and Lynda Lack the Vice President of FFLI. Before Barney was transported, Beth asked Denis and I if we would foster Barney for FFLI with the hopes of adopting him. We agreed to foster Barney. At first I thought maybe I wasn't ready for another dog. I was still so sad about Dagger's passing. But, Beth needed us to help her out with Barney. Chris made arrangements to have Barney groomed. He got a bath and was a complete sweetheart throughout the whole process. Chris was sad the day she had to say goodbye to Barney. She cried as she loaded him into the crate on the transporter. The transporters that travel up to the Northeast of the USA are loaded with crates piled on top of one another with dogs in each one. The dogs are scared and unsure of where they are going. Barking, crying and whining, the dogs travel for hours from one truck stop to another. ​Barney was on the transporter which left from Georgia at 6AM EDT Friday until Saturday at 3PM EDT. 

Forgotten Friends of Long Island (FFLI) is a wonderful small animal rescue and rehabilitation center. They are near and dear to our hearts. Located right here on Long Island, New York, Dagger was a devoted Fundraiser for them and even had his first ever Painting Demonstration at their event in November of 2015. With over 100 eager attendees painting at their own workstations, they watched in amazement as a dog painted for them. The event was a huge success. In Dagger's Honor and Legacy, Barney will continue Fundraising for this fabulous Rescue and Rehabilitation Shelter, Forgotten Friends of Long Island.

Currently, Barney is getting and giving a lot of TLC. He is very smart and eager to please. Like Dagger, he loves to work. I  know Barney feels as successful while working as Dagger did. Barney is just like Dagger in that respect. Currently, he's learning his name and some very basic commands. We are going slowly with Barney since he does get scared at times because we feel he was treated harshly by his previous owners. 

Barney is a special boy.
I just know that Barney's journey will be an exciting adventure!!  We plan to take him on a road trip
​to Dog Mountain, Vermont at the end of May.
​We are looking forward to enjoying our first road trip with him.
It should be a real HOWL of a trip!! 

Barney's Journey
​...To Be Continued...

Happy Tales to you!
​AND
To all of the Mom's, Grandma's human and furry...
​Happy Mother's Day!!
​xoxo Yvonne