Running for the Dogs

I just got back from a 2 and a half mile run. My legs are throbbing, my throat has been hurting for 3 days now (the sore throat that feels like you have a knife lodged right into your glands) but that isn't anything compared to the suffering and pain that the dogs endure while in the county shelters and in the wrongs hands of man kind.

As some of you know my husband recently signed us up for the Denver full marathon on September 22nd, 2012. We have run marathons before but this one will pose an extra challenge as I haven't run more then 2 miles sense before I had Gracie, our 10 month old daughter. In fact, I haven't run more then 5 miles for 1 year and 4 months. I know what you are thinking...

Ha! Good luck with that!!

I know. I'm with you!

Don't get me wrong, I love to run and my favorite part about training for a full marathon are the 2+ hour long runs where I get to spend quality uninterrupted time with Nick, my husband. The last marathon we trained for we came up with solutions for all the worlds problems, planned out our life for the next ten years, talked about our dreams and even about Gracie (a distant dream back then!) and still had time to spare!

Needless to say, the training for this marathon is going to hurt. My legs are going to ache. My mental state will be pushed. My body will have to adapt and turn into the machine that it once was. Yes, this IS going to hurt. Not to mention Denver isn't nicknamed the "Mile High" city for nothing. At 5,280 feet above sea level you better believe our lungs are going to be on fire. The fact of the matter is, running 26.2 miles isn't easy. But this time around I have a changed mindset, in fact I'm not even running this marathon for me.

I'm running this one for the dogs. 1 dog or cat every 8 seconds, yes I said EIGHT SECONDS is killed by euthanasia in the United Stated Shelter system (click here for the source) 


My legs might hurt. My lungs might burn. My mental state might be challenged. But I am alive and free (thanks to the amazing men and woman who serve) and I will not let these animals lives be forgotten and I will not turn a blind eye on what's going on in these shelters and I will not succumb to the people who think that there is nothing that we can do.

For the next 6 months, I will run for these animals.

I will run for Nazier, pictured below, who walked into the shelter healthy and died two days after a good friend of mine rescued him. He died in loving arms at the veterinarians as they were giving him the the fluids and antibiotics that he needed WEEKS before that the shelter could have given him for penny's on the dollar. He died of phenomena and would never feel the warmth of a loving home. RIP sweet boy.

I will run for Phoenix, pictured below. He died alone on a concrete floor with a thin blanket back in December. He also died of phenomena, but this one dog sparked a change. Because of Phoenix's story and how he didn't even have a bed to spend his last days the shelter held a fundraiser and raised enough money to put raised beds in each of the kennels.  This one dog did die but his legacy will live on and help the lives of the thousands of dogs that enter the Pinal shelter each year. RIP Phoenix, you will never be forgotten. 

These are sad depressing stories and I do tend to only share the happy endings because I know how hard it is to look. But these dogs NEED us. And quite frankly, those of us who adopt NEED them.

These dogs endure pain. Most of these dogs don't have air conditioned or heated facilities. They are fed low grade food and often times dirty water. They don't get the medical care they need. They don't get love or attention and if they are lucky they get to go on a short walk and stretch their legs for 30 minutes out of 24 hours a day. Most shelters don't have dog beds and most of the people who work at the shelter are harsh and don't even care about animals, in fact, a LOT of animals are abused in shelters from the shelter staff. That's a sad reality and breed discrimination runs ramped.

Most humans would never trust again after being treated in such a way.

Do you want to know the most amazing thing about these animals? Somehow, after ALL of this, they still wag their tail. They will still push their bodies up against the chain-link gate separating them from freedom and beg you to give them a scratch, even if it is only with the one finger tip you can fit through. They still want to hang out with "us" the "humans" the people who put them behind bars in the first place.

This dog is literally smiling and waging his tail so hard it's a blur in the picture.  He is currently up for adoption in a local shelter and looking for his forever home. (you can see the raised bed, thanks to Phoenix, in the background) 

It's truly amazing. The ability these animals have to forgive. The ability that these animals have to survive. The ability to push through the pain.

So for these deserving dogs, I will run for them. I will wake up at o-dark-30 and put my running shoes on. I will push though the pain and when I feel like giving up, I'll think of the dog wagging his tail not knowing that he is walking into the room that he will take his last breath in. I'll run through the heat of the Arizona summer for the dog in the shelter who doesn't have air conditioning. I might not run fast, but I'll run and run with a purpose.

I know that running won't save any of these dogs lives directly. But with the hours I have of training I'm going to continue to make my business plan bigger and stronger. And hopefully inspire more people to "run for the dogs." Each day I'll pick a dog to run/ workout for. If you have a dog you want me to put some miles in for send me a pic, I'll do it.

Next  I think I'm going to get some t-shirts printed up for my training. Something simple, like:

Let me know if you are interested in ordering something. I'll have the entire line that I am ordering soon and I would be more then happy to share the link so you can order some too! 

                                                                   Be the Change