this was on a transport list that I am on.
Hello, My family and I are the owners of 2 dogs that are currently
in the custody of the Pinal County Animal Control in Casa Grand
Arizona. My husband and I along with our 4 children had to move to
Vancouver Wa in the beginning of November due to myself being laid off
of my job in Phoenix Az. I was offered a job in Vancouver Wa and
decided to take the position, we were planning on moving to the area
for sometime anyway. So for the betterment of out family we had to make
the move, but was left with no resources to transport of beloved dogs.
We had to make the heartbreaking choice to leave our animals in the
care of a friend of mine until We were able to financially able to
afford the $800 to fly them to Washington or until we were financially
able to come back to Phoenix in January or February to fly to Phoenix
and then drive them back home with us to Vancouver when we retrieved
the rest of out belongings that are currently in storage in Phoenix. My
friend called me on November 18th and explained to me that she had
received a job offer in San Diego Ca. and needed to move on November
21st, there for she took it upon herself to take Zeus and Pixie to the
local shelter in Casa Grand AZ without informing me of the situation
until after she had handed our family members over to a devastating
situation. I have spent the last week crying and trying to find a way
of saving our beloved animals and trying to find a way to bring them
home to us in Vancouver. I don't know how to describe the urgency of
the situation, Zeus is our 4 year old Dane/Mastiff and is the pride and
joy of our home, he was a gift to our 3 year old son and we spent
almost a year making sure we had a suitable home for such a big dog and
we had been searching for the perfect addition to of family for a year
before we found him. Our other dog is Pixie, a Christmas gift for our
7-year-old son Damien. Damien was asked 2 years ago what he wanted for
Christmas and his words were "I want a little dog...so cute", he
repeatedly stated that is all he wanted for Christmas "A little dog
...so cute". We found him his little dog 1 week before Christmas, she
was 2 months old, and a miniature longhaired chiwawa and he named her
Pixie. If you or any organization you know can assist me in any way,
please contact me. The shelter informed me I have until Dec. 1st before
they are available to the public for adoption, and I am trying
desperately to make sure that our family is back together again. I need
assistance with relocating my dogs from Casa Grand AZ to Vancouver
Wa/Portland or either by air or by road. Please I have nowhere else to
turn for help. Please contact myself at Darklilksgoth@ ..., Julia Ryan
with Animal Rescue Flights at arfmail@... if you can help us with the 5
legs of the flight plans left or with ground transport! Michelle who
has been helping me coordinate assistance with potential ground
transport, and financial issues too, she can be reached at b.gulls@...
as well. If you have any questions or any resources that would be
helpful to my family please contact one of us! Thank You, Tabitha
Watkins 13810 NE. 88th St. Vancouver Wa 98682 (602) 576-1199 **
*A message from Michelle Sweeney Coordinator* *** Hi all, I'm try to
help Tabitha get her dogs Zeus and Pixie from the shelter in Casa
Grande, AZ to Vancouver, WA. I'm in Colorado and not directly involved
but want to help coordinate and raise funds. I've been copied on a lot
of e-mails and thought it best if those of us directly involved keep
contact so we make sure that all the needs are taken care of. If the
dogs can be picked up on Monday, December 1st, then the impound fees
are around $280 dollars. Is anyone able to pick them up and then foster
them until the volunteer flight begins on December 6th? Question: If
the dogs go up to private adoption vs. owner release the fees would be
about $120 ($60 per dog) vs. $280. Does anyone have a strong contact
with Wesley at the shelter so we know this is a safe option? It's much
easier to raise $120 vs. $280 considering we are starting with nothing?
When is private adoption available and are they both doing well at the
shelter so this is even an option? How promising does volunteer
aviation transport look? If this fails, are there ground transport
options in place. I guess the last resort if commercial flight. Does
volunteer aviation need health certificates for the dogs and kennels?
Any donation possibilities for vet services or supplies? When you
respond please hit "reply all" so we can all stay informed as to what
is going on. Let's help Tabitha get her dogs home safely. Michelle
Sweeney 303-674-0441