Tri-Valley Animal Rescue, or TVAR, is a foster-based organization with a twist. TVAR not only brings animals into foster homes and adopts them through regular community outreach events, but it also provides volunteers and support for the municipal East County Animal Shelter in Dublin serving Alameda County. Many of our efforts—like the teen program that enables young volunteers, ages 10 through 17, to walk and socialize the ECAS shelter animals, or our partnership with local National Charity League chapters who help at our events—are aimed at creating positive ways for the public to become involved to help improve conditions for the animals in our community.
This December, through our Home for the Holidays Campaign, TVAR sponsored the costs and adoption fees for all of the animals at the East County Animal Shelter and provided adopters with beds for the dogs and soft blankets for the kitties. In the shelter wards, bags and stockings full of treats and toys were hung up with care. Sleigh bells and festive decorations surrounded colorful biographies of the available animals. The spirit at the shelter was upbeat and hopeful as 65 animals left to join their new families by the new year.
Meanwhile, dedicated TVAR volunteers continued rescuing animals into foster homes and bringing them to adoption sites like the Pleasanton Farmers Market, Danville Pet Food Express, and PetSmart and Half Price Books in Dublin. We found loving homes for another 61 animals in January, one of whom was Cash, whose heartwarming adoption happened just in time for the new year.
Cash’s jaw-dropping transformation began when he was neglected and clinging to life before being taken to a shelter in Hayward. He was about a year old and weighed a shocking 65 pounds. It was hard to tell what kind of dog he might be. Malnutrition and fleas had taken their toll on his coat, which provided little protection from the elements, and he had an overwhelmingly distinctive smell from badly infected skin.
A dedicated TVAR volunteer opened his home to foster this feeble shadow of a dog. Cash was immediately treated with antibiotics and started on a slow progression of food increases so that his faltering system would not be overwhelmed trying to process the unfamiliar nutrients. Over the course of several months, Cash returned to health and his target weight of 102 pounds while his inner playfulness emerged.
From a weak and emaciated dog who was barely surviving, this mastiff mix is now one big, adorable pup with a bouncy zest for life. He was adopted into a mastiff-loving family where he has other dogs to play with, including an English bulldog and a Frenchie and is described as “one happy boy.”
We are so grateful for the support that allows us to provide medical care and help the homeless animals in need. Fortunately this challenging work brings tremendous rewards. With each success, our foster volunteers say there is no other feeling to rival being the person who makes a new life possible for a dog like Cash who hasn’t received the care and love he deserves, or one who has run out of time in an over-burdened shelter system. And it only needs a temporary commitment, so even people who aren’t in a position to adopt can make that new life a reality for a foster dog. Please check out www.TVAR.org if you are interested in fostering or adopting to be a part of an inspiring success story firsthand.
Jill Cooney, CAWA, has expressed her lifelong dedication to improving the lives of animals and those who love them through more than 20 years of service in executive leadership capacities with innovative Bay Area nonprofit organizations such as the SF/SPCA and ARF. She currently serves as the executive eirector for TVAR and shares her life with three rescue dogs, ranging from 13 to 90 pounds.
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