I used to live in a shelter, in a place called South Carolina. It was pretty small and had LOTS of doggies. After living there for about 7 months, these nice people put me in a car and we got to go for a ride. A little while later, we stopped and I got to go into a different car. We did this a whole bunch of times and I ended up at this really cool house, in the country, in a place called Kentucky. There was a huge yard for me to play in and a bunch of other dogs for me to play with. The humans that lived there were really nice and treated me really well, but I only got to live with them for about a month.
One day, they let me go for a long ride in their RV. We went to a place called North Carolina. A lady that I met at the farm, one night, met us there and I was so excited to see her, again! She gave me hugs and kisses and said we were going home!
That was 4 years ago and I've had a great life, ever since. We've gone to the beach. I've had a chance to play ball with football players. We take long walks to the park and play on the playground. Mom feeds me yummy treats when she's cooking. And, we go for a lot of car rides!
A lot of the time, when we go for a ride, we go pick up dogs or cats from the shelter and take them to their new homes. This is a lot of fun and great that we're helping save their lives! When we all get in the truck, they're nervous, but I help calm them down because I've been in their situation. I let them know that everything's going to be okay.
Mom and I really want to keep transporting animals. She says we're going to be a nonprofit, soon. I don't know what that means, but I hear her saying we need money to be able to set it up. She, also, says that our truck isn't running very well, right now. So, we're taking a break from going anywhere, very far away.
Would you help me make my birthday (5th) and gotcha day (4th) wish come true? I'd like to raise a bunch of money, so we can get to saving lives again. Do you have 4, 5, or 9 dollars you can spare? Every bit will help!
Thanks for reading along and helping!
As painful as it was, losing my beloved dog to cancer, in November
2011, was the spark that ignited a new passion within me, but I didn't
know it at the time.
About 6 weeks after he crossed the rainbow bridge, I saw a video
of these 2 Akita brothers, on a Facebook fan page for an over-crowded
shelter, in South Carolina. I thought it was crazy that I was going to
try to adopt 2 big dogs... especially since I lived in an apartment
that didn't allow pets. After several grueling weeks of searching for
a foster for 2 months (I was planning to move), one of the brothers
being adopted, and the remaining Akita nearly being put to sleep, a
rescue in Kentucky agreed to pull him... and the shelter was going to
transport him for FREE!
I thought it was so cool that the shelter would transport my dog
for free, I volunteered to help with a transport of theirs, in my area
of North Carolina. My emotions were still pretty raw, from losing my
dog, so I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing by adopting. When
the transport started, I fell for the little guy that rode up front
with me and I knew I was ready to adopt, again. It, also, made me
realize what an important role transporters play in the life saving
process of shelter dogs and cats. If animals aren't transported away
from over-crowded shelters and into less crowded rescue organizations,
they're killed... due to no fault of their own.
Since January 2012, Rico (the Akita I adopted) and I have
traveled more than 40,000 transport miles and have helped to save more
than 100 dogs and cats. As great as that may sound, I know we could
have done more. That's why I'm making it official and applying for our
501(c)3 nonprofit status.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 by the end of 2016, for various
aspects of starting, running, and planning for the future of our
transport charity. The breakdown is as follows:
$3,000 - Business/nonprofit application fees, insurance, and
other business expenses
$6,000 - Repair Expenses for our current
transport vehicle
$11,000 - Transport expenses, through the end
of 2016
$30,000 - Down payment for a new transport RV
I'm working with a custom RV designer to come up with a
transport vehicle that will allow us to improve transport efficiency
(take more animals at the same time; improve gas mileage; provide
sleeping space for me so hotel expenses will be reduced or eliminated;
etc). Having a more efficient transport vehicle will allow us to be on
the road for longer periods of time and create regular transport
routes/schedules. Not only will that help us, but it will help rescue
organizations save more lives because they'll know when reliable
transportation will be available to move their animals. They can spend
less time scheduling "relay" transport runs and spend more
hands-on time with the animals.
As you can see, I have big plans for the future of MRM Rescue
Transports and I hope you'll be a part of that future. Donations of
any amount would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Maggie Giamalvo
MRM Rescue Transports, Founder
Perks
Gourmet, natural wax candle from Scent-Sations. Made in the USA.
Gourmet, natural wax candle from Scent-Sations. Made in the USA.
