How It All Started....

by Terry Thistlethwaite

I rescued my first dog in 1974.  She was a tri colour Collie who had been abandoned on a Rhode Island beach by vacationers who went home without her when the summer ended.  I heard about her while visiting my uncle, who told me her approxomate location, and that she'd been there for "several weeks" and was looking more and more bedraggled and thin.

I drove down to the beach area where he had last seen her, and began

walking the shore area calling "Lassie -- Puppy, Puppy, Puppy!".   Within just a few minutes she was barreling toward me with tail waving and a  grateful smile on her face.  She had been waiting for me.

Her coat was matted to the skin and she was loaded with ticks. She was extremely underweight, but happy and trusting nonetheless.  I assurred her I would take care of her, and she replied with Collie nuzzles and face licks. We stopped at a restaurant to get her some food, and at a pet store for some tick spray.  before making the two and a half hour drive back to Connecticut.  She settled right in with my own Collies scattered throughout the station wagon, and in typical Collie fashion,  fell asleep with her head on my lap.

After an evening of grooming, bathing,  and romping in the grass at home,  we got up early to have a veterinary assessment of her condition.  I dropped her off at my vet's office on my way to work, and called a Collie breeder from whom I had adopted one of my own dogs, asking her to be on the lookout for a family interested in adopting an adult tri colour female.  The breeder put me in touch with a family right away.  She said they had been to her home to look at a litter of puppies just the day before, but had expressed that they were actually more interested in finding one "a little older".  She wasn't sure if they

would consider a five to six year old adult, but it surely was worth asking.

I called the family and they sounded wonderful.  They wanted to come out and meet our little "beach girl" as soon as possible.  Things seemed to be looking good until I stopped at the vet's to pick her up.  They had found that she was heartworm positive.  In those days, heartworm treatment was extremely expensive, and the success rate was not at all encouraging.   I would have to call the family and tell them the bad news.

The next morning, the family called me back to tell me that they had discussed the situation, and they were wanting to adopt our little waif AND pay for her heartworm treatment.  This was quite amazing considering, especially, that they had not yet even MET her!  Somehow, however, this match was simply meant to be.  The sweet little abandoned Collie bonded with them instantly, and they took her home, and subsequently treated her successfully for heartworm (with the help of my vet, of course).  She became a cherished member of their family for many years to come, as well as the dog "who started it all" for my rescue efforts.  

Since that day on the beach,  I have founded and co-founded a number of  Collie Rescue and all breed rescue groups, and eventually placed my "kennel name" of "Chekia" on my rescue effort, becoming "Chekia Dog Rescue". In 1997, shortly after moving to Southern California, I determined that Collie Rescue was well established here and able to take care of the needs of the homeless Collies in this area.  American Eskimo rescue, however, which represented another breed in which I was deeply interested, was very much in need of help on the west coast.  To do what I could to be of aid where the need was great, I affiliatied with Heartbandits, the national American Eskimo Dog rescue organization as their  Southern California Chapter director.  As a Heartbandits chapter, Chekia Dog Rescue has 501(c)3  status as a non profit organization.

In the ten years I've been in Southern California, I've rescued a good number of Collie mixes, (the ones the purebred rescue won't take), American Eskimo Dogs, Maltese (typically the ones the other rescue groups refuse to take because of either old age or health problems) and a variety of "special needs dogs" of various breed descriptions.  While most of these dogs  have been adopted into wonderful homes, some have either "refused to leave", or been deemed "unadoptable" by a public not interested in older dogs or those with various health problems.  Of course, they will always have a home here, but their presense limits both the space and the funds available for others to come in.  Because of this situation,  Chekia Dog Rescue  is now Chekia Dog Rescue And Sanctuary.  We are still the Southern California Chapter of Heartbandits, but not regularly being in a position to take in new dogs, we are listed as a "referral" chapter -- meaning I do my best to keep track of the "available Eskies" in shelters and

private homes, and the "potential adopters" wanting to add an Eskie

to their family.

Of course, this is all a volunteer effort.  I do it because I love the dogs, because I believe in the importance of the human / canine bond, and because I believe that "rescue" is the respondibility of reputable breeders -- the founders, protectors, and promoters of the breeds.

I don't view it  as do many "rescuers" in Southern California -- a means

towards the eventual elimination of domestic animals altogether, or

a way to have a little "cottage industry" selling shelter dogs at "adoption events" .  While I can certainly imagine a world without a

"throwaway society", I cannot imagine a world without dogs, or without reputable breeders who put their heart and soul into the breeds they

choose, and the dogs they love.  Just as a reputable breeder sees no actual profit from a "puppy sale" after factoring in all of the expense of  giving the utmost care to the litter, and to the mom, as well all of the other expenses incurred in breeding (genetic testing, seminars, show entries,  stud fees, etc, etc, etc....) a reputable rescuer sees no profit in the adoption fees after they have paid the shelter fees, the medical expenses, the grooming costs,  the price of  high quality food and supplements (not the free stuff the grocery store sweeps off the floor and gives away)  and the ongoing expenses of the "unadoptables".

There is an old adage among dog breeders, and I have always found it to be true in any reputable undertaking involving living animals:

"It is true that there is money in dogs.  We know -- We put it there!"

A few years ago,  I rushed an elderly little rescue dog to the vet with a condition that turned out to require immediate and life saving surgery.  After taking X-rays and realizing the seriousness of the situation, the vet turned to me and said, "I really don't think I can save her.  If I try, it's going to be an expensive surgery,. I know you don't have a lot of money, and she IS a rescue dog..... What do you want me to do?" 

I looked into her trusting little face and said, "I want you to do everything you can to save her".  To even his own surprise, he did.

I don't recall how many months it took me to pay off the bill.  What

I remember is that when I went to pick her up three days later, the

technition, with the dog in her arms,  opened the door to the exam room where I was waiting, and the dog took one look at me and threw

back her head and began "singing" for all she was worth!  Both ot the doctors, all three of the receptionists, and all four of the technitions came in to witness the event, and tho they were laughing and grinning,

they also had tears in thier eyes.  That little dog is still with me.  In fact, she's sitting here next to my keyboard as I type this. She's elderly and imperfect and generally considered "unadoptable".  Oh well, we don't care -- and if you understand, no explanation is necessary.  If you don't, no explanation would suffice.

Chekia Dog Rescue

Who We Are

Chekia Home   Rescue Home   Available Dogs   Application   Donations Page   Our Katrina Story   Contact

You're listening to:

"You'll Never Walk Alone"

written by Richard Rodgers

and Oscar Hammerstein II