Wolf Point Pound Puppies

Until I was blessed with the arrival of my two dogs, I was unaware of the existence of Wolf Point Pound Puppies, in spite of the fact that the majority of their rescues, both dogs and cats, come to the shelter in my own town. When I called to get background on my dogs, as you read in the previous post, I found out she often knows little about the strays they pick up. As I learn more, I realize what a dire situation it is: the supply of stray and unwanted dogs is almost endless. Many are starving or sick, and because the nearest veterinarian is 50 miles away, most dogs are not spayed or neutered. Wolf Point Pound Puppies came into existence to help mitigate the suffering, and in the last few years they have rescued, paid for medical care, arranged for mobile spay/neuter clinics, and transported dogs to shelters around the state, all on a volunteer basis. Any funds they raise go to help and feed the animals, so I strongly encourage you to donate. On their web site there is a donation link with a $10,000 donation goal and even after three years they are still almost $2000 short. (On top of that, GoFundMe takes 8% of every donation, which, in my opinion, is unconscionable. If you make a donation, please write a check.)

The expenses are constant. Because there are no large animal shelters in eastern Montana, most of the dogs are transported to Bozeman, with some going to Livingston. That’s a round trip of 800 miles. At the beginning of last year I began volunteering as a transport driver, and brought several loads of dogs (and a few cats) to Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter in my van.

On the first trip, as I pulled out of Wolf Point with several large dogs and many puppies, the barking and whining began. I had brought earplugs, but the prospect of 7+ hours of dog noise was daunting, as I can’t help but feel an emotional connection to that sound. Miraculously, though, in 20 minutes it died down to almost nothing. (It actually wasn’t miraculous, as it seems that that always happens!) and it was a rather pleasant trip.

Another thing I did not expect was the sense of satisfaction when the dogs and kittens were delivered and I drove away from the shelter. From their rescue up to that point, it was all disruption and trauma, and now they were settling in for necessary medical attention and then adoption to their permanent homes. They didn’t know it, but life was about to get much, much better.