Hudson’s story
Hi, My name is Hudson (formerly Hambone of CACC). I am a little shepherd/hound mix that was rescued by Blackdog All Breed Dog Rescue around Christmas-time. I was found wandering the streets of Chicago. I was freezing, alone, and nothing but skin and bones. I was taken to the all-access shelter. The big one in Chicago where there are 600 animals at any given time in the building and more are brought in each day. The rate at which they euthanize, because there is no space for everyone, is astonishing. But it isn’t the shelter’s fault, it’s the people who consider us disposable. It’s the people who don’t want to invest in training and vetting. The people who are moving or re-decorating. The people who just shove their dog out the front door and hope they find a good home. It’s the people who keep letting us have litter after litter, without any concern for the welfare of our offspring.
The animal control volunteer staff saw me in my cage and thought I was a nice dog. They posted my picture out on their Facebook page in hopes I would be rescued. I received minimal vetting, as I appeared to be just another starving street dog, one of many they see every day. I was given shelter, food and water, and a warm place to sleep, away from the sub-zero Chicago weather. I was on mandatory stray hold for 5 days just in case someone was looking for me. But they weren’t.
Within that 5 day period, my health continued to decline. Thankfully, a nice woman from Blackdog Rescue came to pull me out of the shelter and into a foster home. The nice lady recognized that there was something quite seriously wrong with me, I was much quieter than I was when she first met me at the beginning of my “stray hold.” I wouldn’t eat or drink and if I did, I would vomit. I was rushed to something called a vet. They found an obstruction in my intestines. Because I had been without food for so long, I tried to eat a corn cob to fill my empty belly. That corn cob caused a horrible obstruction, causing my intestines to start telescoping on themselves. I was immediately rushed into surgery. I am alive today because a rescue chose me. I am alive today because a rescue was able to fundraise their heart out to make sure I got the vetting I needed. I am alive today because someone opened their home to me, a foster, so a rescue could take me out of the shelter. And I have good news: I was cleared last week to be adopted (by the vet) and I hear I have a meet and greet with a forever home this week!
A dog like me who could have so easily been passed over at the big shelter, or even died due to the outrageous numbers of animals coming and going. Dogs like me need rescues. Rescues need volunteers like fosters, who can open their hearts and homes to homeless pets like me, a little shepherd/hound mix named Hudson.
