For over three years I have been volunteering at 
I want to be a veterinarian when I get older and my experience at TARC has prepared me for that. I have learned how to vaccinate dogs, give them medication, and how to take care of newborn animals. There are also things that I have become immune to, like dog poop. I used to be squeamish about poop or blood, but after working at TARC it doesn't really bother me anymore.
Another thing TARC has taught me is how to rescue dogs. That really came in handy in 2017.
Last year, my mom, baby sister, and I were driving home from a friends house. This friend lived back in the wilderness and we had to cross a mountain to get there. On the drive up I saw absolutely nothing except trees, and more trees. It was not until the drive down the mountain that things started to get interesting.
Two little blurs of white flashed by my window in an area where nothing stood but trees---and these were not trees. I yelled to my mom to pull over and I jumped out of the car. I saw two little white and black puppies hiding in a drainage ditch on the side of the road. I did not have anything in the car at the time to rescue a dog with so I had to improvise.
All I had was a rope and my little sister's yogurt bites. I figured they were hungry and would eat anything. Thank God I was right. I started tossing the yogurt treats into the drain and they gradually started to come out. I could see that they were really scared and I did not want to frighten them any more.
The whole time I was tossing treats down and trying to get them to come out, I was thinking: what kind of person just leaves a dog in a ditch. I was very angry, but now I know it is a common thing in Appalachia.
Several people drove by and looked at me like I was the weirdest person in the world, bent down with my head in a drainage pipe. But only one of them had the decency to stop, though he only stayed long enough to ask if we were okay. People really sicken me.
Eventually one of the pups came out just long enough for me to grab him. I picked him up and put him in the front seat of the car. He was muddy and dirty, but I really did not care. The other puppy saw the tactic I had used and went farther back in the drain. I really thought that I would have a very hard time trying to catch him, but that slowly changed.
Once I had his brother in the car, I put a rope over the drainage pipe and walked back to the car. The car was about fifteen feet from the pipe. I opened the passenger door where the captured pup was and picked him up. I put him on the ground, but I had a very tight grip on him. That's when the other puppy jumped out of the pipe and ran over to his brother.
I grabbed both of them and put them in the car. I probably should have mentioned that I had @Rhondak on the phone through this whole process. She gave me some tips and said to bring them to her when we caught them. I was so relieved because my dad would have spontaneously combusted if I brought home two more dogs.
The drive to TARC went by pretty fast. Both the dogs stayed quiet and let me pet them. They seemed like amazing dogs. When we got to TARC Rhonda came down and checked the dogs out. Then she went back inside and made them a crate in the cat room with some cardboard. We picked up the puppies and carried them in. As soon as they got in their kennel they were playing and eating, and eating, and eating. I think that was their favorite thing to do: eat.
The whole time they were at TARC you could tell how sweet they were. Even going to the vet, they were awesome. Very friendly and very energetic. They would be perfect pets for someone who cared about them. Scotty and Stewart went on transport and traveled all the way to New Hampshire to get their forever homes.
After rescuing Scotty and Stewart I felt really proud of myself. It was a difficult rescue, but with some help I did it. I wasn't scared and all I thought about was the dogs. I'm proud that I had the courage and knowledge to rescue Scotty and Stewart.
It makes me so happy to know that both of them are happy and healthy. It also shows me that there still are some good people in the world.
Since rescuing Scotty and Stewart I have continued to rescue and help other dogs. Sometimes I would go to the local shelter and call rescues to try and help the many pitbulls that were ready to be put down. Other times I would be a fierce Facebook warrior fighting people bashing TARC.
I have only rescued one dog since Scotty and Stewart. His name is Teddy and thankfully his rescue was pretty easy. Having learned what to do with the first dogs helped me rescue Teddy. He has actually found his forever home in Vermont as well!
I could not have done any of these things without the help of TARC and Rhondak. I owe a lot to Rhonda. She is a great person all around and I am thankful to call her a friend. I look forward to the future of TARC and my future working with animals.
Thank you all for reading my post!
