Too often we hear stories of shelters having to ‘make room’ and being ‘overcrowded’; therefore, they take a look at their situations and decide which dogs (and sometimes other pets) ought be euthanized. It’s truly a shame that things like this are still happening to this day, but for one lucky Golden Retriever pup, their life got saved just mere moments before being euthanized.
Her name is Darla and here is her story.
Darla, an 8-month-old Golden Retriever, was saved just mere moments before being euthanized.
Over at Laredo Animal Care Services, they were beginning to get get way too overcrowded and underfunded. Because of this, sweet little Darla was put on the euthanasia list.
Lucky for her, her life was spared in the literal last seconds of what it would’ve been. Because she was too scared to walk into the euthanasia room on her own, they had placed her in a wheelbarrow in order to make transportation just a little bit easier. On their walk there, they past by the offices of a woman (no, literal Angel here on Earth) named Clare Callison who works for Austin Pets Alive!, a nonprofit animal welfare organization dedicated to saving animals from euthanasia. She was on-site working at Laredo Animal Care Services doing some vaccinations when she turned around and saw Darla in the wheelbarrow. She knew exactly what was happening, but she asked an employee where she was going and why. They basically told her that it was because she was too shy and didn’t like to socialize with other people or animals. Knowing that this was super common in loud and overcrowded shelter dogs, Callison pulled Darla from Laredo and moved her into a no-kill shelter program through Austin Pets Alive!’s network.
Although Callison could see Darla’s definite shyness, it was certainly no reason to euthanize her. Once she was moved on over to a no-kill shelter partner, Mile High Lab Mission in Denver, Colorado, Darla seemed to be like a completely different dog (in the best way possible)! Upon arriving in Denver, instead of going straight to the shelter, she actually went straight into her Foster Home!
The pictures and videos that they received from her Foster Home were absolutely unbelievable.
Callison and other people working with no-kill shelter operations are hoping that Darla’s story serves as a wake-up call for everyone to become more involved with animal rescues. Because of an animal rescue organization, Darla is now running around and chasing “after her toys”, just as happy as ever. While we don’t know what’s in store for Darla post-Foster Home, we just know for sure that she’ll be exactly where she needs to be: HOME!
That’s a wrap on sweet little Darla’s story! May her life be filled with nothing but love and happiness forever and ever!
It’s truly a shame that there are so many other dogs out there that aren’t nearly as lucky as Darla. However, it is up to us to be getting involved in different shelters and no-kill organizations in order to help more pups become lucky just like Darla! Cheers Darla! We all love you so much, sweet girl!