Trying to Save Luna was the most challenging rescue of all.

I have to say, I never had dogs growing up so my experience handling dogs is very little. I just want to help them from being euthanized and from suffering on the streets. But, I realized now I can’t bring them home anymore until I know I have fosters or a rescue as a backup.

Luna is a German Shepherd Mix and still a puppy. Her breed is very active and playful and loves to chew on things…(and people too…lol) 

This is Luna’s story: 

October 15th – A nice gentleman found Luna on an empty lot in San Bernardino, next to a warehouse. He took pictures of her and posted them on FB asking people to help. 

What should I do? I contacted him and asked him if he could keep her overnight and he said ok. The next day, I went to get her. She stayed with me for a week and then on October 25th she went with a foster. Then I took Luna back from her to get her fixed and vaccinated at Shelter. My friend Dawn paid for all of this, by the way. The foster was only a short-term foster but she took Luna again for another week or so so she could recover from her surgery. 

Nov. 17th – Luna was back in my house.

I planned to keep her active (while I find another foster and someone to train her) but I just wasn’t able to keep her active. Luna needed a trainer ASAP. The only way I could walk Luna was to put a tennis ball in her mouth so she wouldn’t try to chew my arms and jump on me. Walking her was challenging, let me tell you. I would always be in a fight or flight mode… mostly flight lol But it got to a point where I was just not able to handle her. She is very strong. I called someone with more experience and asked her if she could walk Luna. She took Luna for a walk but she said Luna was a bit difficult to handle. She told me Luna tried to try to bite her hand. Not in a harmful way but she told me Luna needed a trainer.

I decided to just let Luna roam in the backyard from that point on but then, she chewed the AC system and the sprinkler system. I was in trouble but I bought a fence to protect the AC, I sprayed on things so she wouldn’t chew. She stayed with me a little over two months but I was running out of time. This is the longest I have had a dog in the house.

My sisters tried to help me but my time was over. I had to find someone before December 11th to foster Luna but I had no success. Animal Control took Luna on December 4th. I was really sad. I checked on her every day she was at the shelter and at the same time I was still looking for a foster or rescue. No luck. Then, I found out Luna was red-listed. She could have been killed anytime now. I didn’t want that to happen…so I went to get her again. I hesitated about getting Luna but something inside me told me I had to do it.  Why? Read this story (coming soon)

I went to pick up Luna from the shelter on December 12th…AGAIN.

The day I went to get her, I took her to the park. I just wanted her to feel free after being inside a cage for days but I realized later I shouldn’t have done that. She needed time alone to decompress. When she saw people or dogs, she would try to chase them and was barking non-stop. One time she pulled me so hard that I fell on the grass. Then, I tried to put her in the kennel but she wouldn’t go. She also tried to jump all over me and this is when I got really scared. I knew she wasn’t going to bite me. She was just happy playing but I still got scared. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who to call to help me so I called 911 😬  When the sheriff came I just started crying. I don’t know why. I told him I adopted Luna to help her from being euthanized but I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to handle her, but I didn’t want her to go back to the shelter. He calmed me down and took Luna’s leash and showed me tips on how to handle her. Luna is a puppy who likes to play but she is strong. Then, animal control came. They both were very nice and supportive and stayed with me and Luna until I was okay. They gave me tips and advice and told me to give it a try again, so I said ok. The sheriff told me he would keep Luna’s information so that in case I took her back to the shelter, he was going to try to help her. 🙂 I was happy to hear that. They helped me put Luna in my car and I went back home that night. 

After day 2 or 3,  a lady contacted me and told me she would take Luna. This was my last chance! When the lady came to pick up Luna, she put the leash on her. All was going ok until Luna started jumping all over the lady…non-stop. I was freaking out thinking Luna might bite her. The lady then told me she wasn’t going to be able to take her. This was my last chance. I had no option but to take Luna back to the shelter that day.  

I honestly wasn’t in the mood to post anything on my social media and be all happy knowing Luna could be put down anytime. I told the staff at the shelter that a sheriff was interested in helping Luna so they don’t put her on the red list. I tried to contact both, the sheriff and the animal control lady who helped me but I didn’t have their information. I kept trying to post Luna everywhere in the meantime. Animal Pad helped me by putting up a courtesy post. I kept putting posts of Luna on NextDoor almost every day. 

Then, on December 25th, I received a message from a Lady willing to take her. Merry Christmas to me! On December 26th, another person sent me a message willing to take Luna! Wow! 

I am not kidding, but this was the miracle I was waiting to hear! 

Rescues can take dogs if people are willing to foster them. The lady who messaged me on December 25th was key to helping save Luna. She contacted Desert Paw Sanctuary and they were willing to take Luna and rehabilitate her as they say. It is going to take some time for Luna to get adopted as she needs a space to decompress but I know the ladies who own this rescue. Luna will be in good hands. 

I am no longer fostering any dogs after all of this happened.  I don’t want that to happen to another dog or me as a matter of fact lol. I will keep helping in different ways but after these last 3 months, I need a break. I am exhausted. I am tired (more mentally) and need time to decompress too. ha! It was not easy. I had to wake up every day at 5-6 am to let Luna out of her cage, feed her, walk her, and do this 2-3 times a day. But what made this more mentally challenging was to deal with the people…the gardener, the neighbors, my mom…(understandable because I had to get her AC fixed, sprinkles, an umbrella, a few window screens, her flowers lol) you name it!

Sometimes I take more than I could handle too and I don’t want that to happen again. I was a bit overwhelmed and stressed. Not long ago,  Packly Life Rescue asked me if I could pick up a dog in the LA area and foster it for 4-5 days. I was on a trip that weekend but I was going to be in the LA area that Sunday so I said yes. But I shouldn’t have said yes. I had a long weekend and I was really tired. I also didn’t realize I needed to charge my car that night. It took me forever to wait to charge my car, then wait until it was fully charged, then go pick up the dog and get back home. I came back home at almost 2 am. When I opened the trunk, the dog had vomited all over my car. Then when I put the dog in a cage, he started barking non-stop.  I didn’t expect that. It was too much that I just blew out! I had to call the lady from the rescue to send someone to pick up the dog. Yes, I yelled (and if you get me in a bad mood, I might curse sometimes…sorry)  but I was tired. I stayed up until 3-4 am cleaning my car, organizing, washing my clothes from my trip, and waiting for the foster to pick up the dog. The foster had to drive from Moreno Valley. When I was done cleaning, I couldn’t leave the dog in the garage because he would start barking, and noticed he had a bit of anxiety. So, I stayed in the garage with him until the foster arrived. 

I didn’t want to hear anything about dogs after this happened. (ok, I just needed a break)   I went to work like a zombie. I only slept 4 hours that day. The funny thing is that one of the guys who work next door came and told me, “Hey, do you want to see Dave’s dog”: I fainted…! (I just wanted to go back home to sleep) ha! 

Ok, so from now on, things are going to change…but change is always good. I learned valuable lessons since I started rescuing dogs and I think it was important for me to experience all of this. I might need this experience in the future. Who knows but one thing for sure is that I am leaving this to the professionals. I will help these organizations that care for the well-being of dogs by donating through my artwork.

Luna is safe and sound. Today, December 27th, she is out of the shelter and with a foster.  I might not have helped her the way I wanted it but I did what I was able to do.  

“For me, helping Luna was all about the Journey, not the outcome.  

Someone sent me a message telling me “You did your best but you weren’t prepared for a puppy. The miracle was her rescue” to which I replied:

“The true miracle was the people who tried to help Luna from day one and didn’t give up. If no one had fought for Luna, she wouldn’t be safe. It was the finder, Dawn, who donated to get her fixed, food, the foster, and all the people who tried to help Luna after. The hard work and people’s persistence to put their time into it is what makes the miracle work. It is like in any sport. If you want to get good at it, you have to do the hard work. You can’t skip those steps. Training and hard work are the key to good results and success. I learned that from my dad. I just knew I had to do whatever it took regardless of what people thought I did was wrong. I don’t care or worry about what people think of me and what I do. Dogs are very resilient and some have been in worse situations. Luna being in and out of the shelter twice wasn’t even close to a worse situation. Yes, she might have been in danger to put down but I kept looking for people to help and I knew the sheriff said was going to help too. Yes, I wasn’t prepared for a puppy but who is prepared in life? No one. Experience is the tree of life. God knows I needed this experience. Don’t know why but I might find out in the future.”