2024 Year in Review

 As we come to the end of 2024 we must acknowledge that it’s been a year of challenges. The problems in the state of Connecticut reached a crisis point leading the CCACOA (Connecticut Animal Care and Control Officers Alliance) to issue a dire warning (see below). RLR has worked hard, with fosters often doubling up, to alleviate some of the shelter overflow, trying to open space, but we can only take in as many dogs as we have fosters. So, in addition to our request for donations to care for dogs in our program, we are also sending out a desperate plea to our local supporters in Fairfield County- please consider fostering! The dogs in Fairfield County need you, we guarantee it will be a rewarding experience. This year we have cared for 90 dogs and counting!

Connecticut’s Shelter Crisis

Due to the perfect storm of a housing shortage, increased vet fees, vet shortages and a flood of dogs coming into CT from southern states (to ease their crisis)- our local shelters are full. To be frank: there is no room.  This has forced the shelters into a situation akin to a natural disaster - they are at capacity with animals continuing to come in. For example one of our shelters took in 35 roaming dogs in one week- on top of an almost full kennel! Some dogs that were taking kennels spaces had an adopter but couldn’t leave the shelters (by law) until they were altered and surgery was backed up for weeks because of the vet shortage and the fact that there is only ONE vet practice, in all of Fairfield County, that accepts the state vouchers for spays/neuters. The devastating and ugly reality is that CT ACOs were having to make awful decisions, most for the first time in their careers, deciding which adoptable dogs would need to be euthanized for overcrowding.  

With shelters full, many cases were referred directly to RLR.  If a desperate person can’t findsomeone to take their pet(s) often the only solution they see is to abandon them.  Ultimately those dogs arrive at the overcrowded shelter, often with untreated medical issues far more complex than they needed to be, because they couldn’t afford vet care. The nationwide shortage of vets and the increase of large corporations buying practices has resulted in increased costs of basic vet care.  This year we have seen more dogs with serious, untreated health issues than ever before.  Thankfully, our partners at High Ridge Animal Hospital help provide these dogs with the excellent care they deserve. In short, aside from donations and fosters, we need people to raise awareness, adopt locally and push for their vet practices to do more for the towns they are in- by accepting state vouchers for spays and neuters and offering low cost options to people who need it, including a low cost euthanasia program. 

Community Engagement

RLR teamed up with corporate sponsors Verizon and Earth Animal  again this  year.  Earth Animal continues to generously donate food and we were lucky enough to score all kinds of fun things for a month of their donation box, including: food, beds, treats and other needed supplies. 

Volunteers/Fosters Mandy, Christine and Jae organized our first ever flash tattoo event at Big Dreams Tattoo Studio, including raffles for locally donated prizes. 16 people were tattooed and for 3 it was their 1st tattoo. It was a lot of fun, running well into overtime- Jae tattooed over 4 hours!

    The Crazy Shelter Ladies hold many fundraisers throughout the year for area rescues. Maria, one of the CSL, came up with a fun new idea to raise money for RLR- she created ‘original artwork’ by our dogs (all done safely with lots of licking). Here’s an example of one of the masterpieces.

   We received a number of private donations, grants, and memorial donations throughout the year. Topping that off we have a handful of donors who donate monthly- from $5 to $200 and together they make a huge impact. We can’t do what we do without that generosity!

Our Dogs

A Generous Act

When we pulled Rafi, a 5-6yo 70lb Bulldog, from Bridgeport Animal Control, he was a mess. He had severe skin issues and ear/eye infections, but we were completely surprised to find out he had TWO torn ACLs that required surgical repair.  We put out an SOS to crowdsource the needed funding and got a call from our friends over at Bankwell who donated 75% of the anticipated cost!  We were, once again, touched by the generosity and to the Bankwell employee and animal advocate Lynn Gomez for championing Rafi’s’ needs. Because of the great response, he is having surgery mid December!

Before and After

Before and after stories happen quite a bit here at RLR.  One stands out, making our hearts happy.  Lucky, an adorable senior, had been with his owner his whole life.  He was blind due to very painful retinal detachment in both eyes. They became so swollen he couldn’t shut them- they needed to be removed. In the midst of this, his owner had her own health issues and went into a facility.  Her nurse took it upon herself to aid in the care of Lucky as best she could- ultimately it was too much so she reached out to us. Lucky had excellent insurance (a rarity for us!) so we worked with his owner to schedule surgery to remove both eyes prior to coming into our program. Once surgery was complete the transfer of ownership immediately followed. Cindy, our amazing foster provided post op care and an adopter stepped up within a few short weeks! Lucky is healthy, pain free and living his best life.

RLR - “West Haven Branch”

As a small rescue, one of our proudest accomplishments is the number of repeat adopters we have.  In fact, we jokingly refer to adopters Andrew and Darren as the “Red Leash West Haven Branch” as they’ve adopted 7 of our dogs over the past 6 years!!! Almost all of those dogs were seniors, super seniors and special needs. It started with Nico in 2019, and then followed with Dolly, Sylvia, Buddy, Quinn, Pepper and Enzo.  Andrew and Darren never hesitate to open their home and hearts to these loving seniors and we wanted to take a moment to honor them and express our gratitude.

In Memoriam

Saying goodbye is always hard, this year we lost our hospice dogs Big D, Manta Rae and Beluga. We also had to say goodbye to alumni including: Randy, Lola Jane, Oliver, Daisey, Cece, Thelma, Kiwi, Fiona, Dottie, Pepper, and Tucker.

Each dog was special to so many people and they've left a ripple in the world that extends far past their lifespan. Knowing each passed in the arms of someone who loved them is the very reason we exist.

This year we lost one of our fosters- Brian Martin. Michele, his amazing wife, requested donations to RLR in lieu of flowers and there was an overwhelming response. Throughout the year other families have listed us and we are beyond grateful that they generously shared the legacy of the person they loved with the dogs in our programs. 

Supporting Our Mission

As 2024 comes to a close we humbly ask you to consider Red Leash Rescue as the recipient of your end of year donations so we can keep this pace going- together we can make a difference…one dog at a time. You can use the QR codes below or find links and mailing address on our website donation page: Donate — Red Leash Rescue