Aboard the Ark

The properties Noah’s Ark Society Center rented have been sold –we thought we had till the end of the year, until COVID-19 hit. Our group decided to be socially responsible and NOT have our centers open to the public. We understand this is just another of the 100s of hardships happening in Nashville because of this virus, and we completely respect the fact that we are not alone in this journey.

That said, Noah’s Ark Society Retail and Rescue Centers have been our number one fundraiser. The huge successes we have had are countless, financially and in fulfilling our mission. Examples from 2020 include: in six weeks we had 26 cats adopted, volunteers and patrons had a fun place to come and hang with animals, and we helped pet parents learn about better ways to feed their animals. Along with our Centers being a place to market our adoptable animals and interact with the community, the products sold supported our programs. Our Centers offered a self-serve dog wash in one and a cattery in the other. We found the interaction between prospective adopters and the cats at our cattery to be an invaluable part of the process.

We closed our doors MONTHS earlier than we expected. Many puppy dogs, kitty cats, and horses still need to be fed, vet appointments still need to happen, and animals still need to be saved. Our work doesn’t stop with this pandemic.

But we will not let the stress of Covid-19 get us down. Noah’s Ark Society has the manpower, drive, grit, and endless compassion to carry on in saving the most vulnerable animals in our community. Our vision of land for a multi-species sanctuary is still as vivid as the day we first dreamt it, and we are still connecting with partners in the community to fulfill our mission. Until we can get back to “business as usual,” we are only accepting owner-surrenders that are fully-vetted, and we will continue to adopt out those animals at no cost to families. After our community has recovered, we look forward to our search for a brand new Noah’s Ark Society Retail and Rescue Center.

I walked into an animal shelter outside of Nashville. “Give me the dog that is hardest to adopt. The one you’re about to put down. Your oldest dog.” Out came Dalton with the animal control officer—gangly, dopey, and full of drool. His huge paws did not match the size of the rest of his body and his eyelids were as droopy as his personality. He hopped into the car. Well, he didn’t hop. His gangly legs couldn’t quite coordinate themselves into my tiny hatchback. I picked up all 60lbs of Dalton and helped him up into the backseat, signed the paperwork saying he was being picked up by rescue, and down the road we went on his Freedom Ride.

I returned to the fundraiser event in Nashville that Noah’s Ark Society was putting on so that Dalton could meet the rest of his rescuers. Dalton was the life of the party and he enjoyed sniffing all the doggy butts and licking all the human faces that would let him. No one could believe this was the dog that was “unadoptable.”

Upon returning home, I discovered that Dalton hated being alone, so much so that I would bring him along for every car ride I could and even brought him to work. He drooled like no other dog I had ever fostered, he scared himself when he farted (both by the sound and the smell), and he had such an astounding lack of coordination, it was simply mind-blowing (no treat thrown would ever be caught by Dalton).

But all of his hilarious flaws made him that much more endearing, which is how he found the most perfect family. My parents.

I brought Dalton to their house near Chicago for a weekend, secretly hoping they would fall in love with Dalton as much as I had. My parents thought Dalton was hysterical and completely fell in love with him, despite his notoriously smelly gas, and they decided to adopt.

This so-called “unadoptable” dog truly hit the jackpot with my parents. My mother happily chases Dalton around the house wiping up the drool from his face every time he drinks water and my parents walk around with him in the yard, rain or shine, waiting for him to do his business (he won’t do it unless you’re right there with him). My parents welcome the constant (and I mean constant, think “velcro-dog”) companionship that Dalton gives. He is so full of love, affection, and gratitude that no other dog would offer unless they were abandoned at a shelter. There’s just something about a rescue dog like Dalton. It’s like they know how lucky they are.

Which comes to my point—adopt, don’t shop. Truly. I know, we hear that phrase so much now it has become a cliche. But there are an unimaginable amount of “unadoptable” dogs in shelters being put down every day. These dogs just begging to give the largest amount of love you could ever imagine receiving. If you don’t feel comfortable seeing the despair in a dog’s eyes at the shelter, adopt from a local rescue to make room for one more. Whatever you do though, find your Dalton.

In order to continue pulling animals like Dalton from shelters, Noah’s Ark Society depends on donations and contributions through programs like Amazon Smile. With this program, a percentage of your order automatically gets donated to Noah’s Ark Society at no additional cost to you. Make to place your Amazon orders through smile.amazon.com/ch/27-2765562 this holiday season.

#SeasonOfSmiles

[Sophie Hall]