It’s fitting that we’re having another rainy cold front here right now–it pulls me right back to Jen and Heather’s visit, like it was yesterday, instead of two long weeks ago.  So, where was I?  Right, we put on the boots, the parkas, the plastic pants, the wool caps, the second and third layer of T-shirts, and tromped up through the mud to the shelter, to give full check-ups, including bloodwork and vaccinations, to what was at that time 13 dogs.  The shelter can be a beautiful place to visit, but when it’s been raining…not so much.  And when it’s also 12 degrees Celcius, don’t even bother!  (Have I mentioned how cool Jen and Heather were for bothering?)

My vet, Dr. Lin of Spring Animal Hospital, was extremely helpful, providing Jen and Heather everything they needed, from blood vials to stethescopes to his microscope and space in his clinic to work.  At no cost.  He’s been a great vet to us, and I highly recommend him and his clinic.

When they weren’t working as vets, Jen and Heather were busy networking, calling or e-mailing contacts they had in the States, seeking out possible takers for dogs.  It would have been so nice to actually hit the spa (hot springs) like we talked about every day of their visit, but if we weren’t actually busy with things, we were just too exhausted.  Luckily we managed a few pleasures along the way–the pizza party was nice and Yi Jong Jie night market was too (Heather, can you post some of the clever T-shirt slogans you picked up there?  I liked the shirt that said, “Boston Yanks”.)  I’m glad my friends had a chance to meet my sister and Heather, and vice-versa.  There was good food all along the way, including a nice dinner at Singapore Eddie’s cozy Malaysian-style curry restaurant.  Even the 7-11 food was “exotic”!

By the end of Sunday most of the clinic work was done, and our sights turned to getting the four dogs on the plane and safely to Seattle.  More soon….

I couldn’t believe that one of the coldest fronts Taiwan has had in the ten years I’ve been here hit the very day my sister Jen and her friend Heather arrived from Washington!  And wet and gray as well.  Frankly I was a little bit pissed off.  They were good sports about it, and though the idea of hitting a spa or at least staying warm and dry at home was hard to resist, we did, and right after dropping off their luggage at my place we were driving back out into the cold rain, for the first visit to the shelter. 

Jen and Heather deserve medals of honor for taking time out of their busy lives, Heather as a practicing veterinarian and Jennifer as a veterinary pathologist starting her own path lab, to come here to help finish this shelter off.  That had always been our goal, to place all of the dogs in good homes and close down the shelter, and it has been a 2 ½-year saga of ups and downs.  What a shot in the arm you were, thank you both!

I don’t want to bog me blog with too much running of the mouth, so I’ll end this first of a few “CNY adventure” entries here, with a few pics from the first days of the visit.  Don’t forget this Saturday!  Call me for more information—0916 612 697

Funny, this site has had a countdown clock since the start, one which has spun down to zero a couple of times, been left at zero for long spells, and otherwise destroyed all credibility.  Nevertheless, we’re winding it up one last time, at least for a laugh–which we all need right now because this time we truly are down to the last breath: the shelter has been sold and we are now HOPING that they’ll be okay giving us until the end of February!

That’s right, the shelter has been sold, and we have to leave.  Coincidentally, we’ve been preparing for what we intended to be the final push, to have the remaining 12 dogs placed by the end of February so we can move on to other things, and be happy to know we did right by the many furry critters who have called go-go shan home across the past few years.

My sister Jennifer and her friend Heather, both veterinarians practicing in the state of Washington, will arrive here mid-CNY and devote a week of their time to help us accomplish this.  My sister has this wild idea that managing a shelter is slowly eating away my brain.  Okay, she’s right, and I’m ready to look at the eviction notice as a blessing, a boost to really, really finish things up this time!  I strongly believe that I have better ideas on how to confront the tough conditions of strays and the population problems–and on how to better spend the generous donations that come our way!  (More about that soon…)

So this is a rally cry for help.  The three main things we need are

1) travelers to carry dogs with them (destination airports will be listed soon, pending confirmation);

2) adopters, at home or abroad;

and 3) funding.  In all this will cost as much as nt$180,000 (close to US$6,000).  There is maybe one fourth of that in the coffer at the moment.  Das a lotta pizza!  (And consider that each dog adopted in Taiwan takes 10-12,000 off that price!)

In addition to those, manpower would also be appreciated, especially at certain dates to be announced.  Oh, and attendance at the Closing of Go-Go Shan Party, which we will of course have to have.  And it’s going to be a big one…..

You’ll notice we’ve reorganized the photos on the front page, leaving only the dogs in need of good homes.  Those are it, they’re the last ones.  Please join with us and let’s make this happen.  No more countdown clocks already!

Thanks, please spread the word!

PS–Thanks to Karol and hua, we have the above post in Chinese now! 

這個狗狗庇護所的場地已經售出了!
我有很積極的向地主爭取把期限延至二月底前搬遷…
山上的一切設施，均要拆除，帶不走的，就直接破壞丟棄…就是要我們恢復原狀就對了…
先決是得找到一個安全的地方暫時安置十二隻狗狗，更完美的計畫是都替牠們找到一個家!
這樣子才能夠有足夠的時間，去把能拆掉再利用的、通通遷走…

我的姐姐以及她的朋友(都是獸醫)將在春節左右來台一星期，幫忙協助狗狗山遷移相關事情…
我的姐姐覺得再弄一個庇護所不是那麼簡單的事，她是對的，我很願意把驅逐通知當成一種精神鼓勵，真正要把事情處理好！
我堅信，對於流浪狗的嚴苛刻環境和數量問題我會有更好的方法來克服，對於每一位慷慨捐款者的款項運用，我也會有更好的方式(儘快會提出說明)…

目前真的急切需大家幫忙的，主要有以下三部分…

1) 旅客 - 幫忙帶狗出國 ( 目的地確認後會再PO出來)
2) 認養人 - 國內 OR 國外的
3) 資金 - 粗估先需要 NT.180,000 (US$6000)，我現在有準備好 1/4的錢在狗狗基金中 (每隻狗狗從台灣出去的費用約10000~12000左右)

除了上述之外，在某些日子也極需要人力的幫忙，如果有人能幫忙的話真的感激不盡! 這些日子等確切之後，會再公佈…
我也將會舉辦一個狗狗山派對，既然這將會是最後一次的狗狗山派對，希望會辦的很盛大!

你們從我的網頁可以發現狗狗的照片已經重新編排過了…這些都是剩下的狗狗 需要有一個新家的狗狗…
http://www.nutz.ca/luckydog/?page_id=10
一共有三頁!

We’re grateful for any donations that come in to help us pull this off.  We’re also sending a very cool and laid back doberman pinscher to a Los Angeles doberman rescue sanctuary in the beginning of October.  He showed up in my neighborhood and Jon, another shelter volunteer, said if we didn’t take him up to our shelter he was bound to get picked up and taken to the govt. pound.  As it turned out, Johanna of tuapa, who is so incredibly helpful to us up here (the nine dogs this Wednesday is thanks to her and her husband Joey!!), was able to arrange to have the doberman sent to LA.

So, good news coming off the hilltop.  Please get in touch if you can afford to spare a little–we could really use it!  Now let’s see if this gif file works…….

I had it in mind to write a mini-novel about Roman’s adventure starting from when Olimpia and Slawek found him as a half-starved stray over two years ago, on and on up to his departure from Taiwan (with eleven other dogs, wow!), and of course, his first days in the beautiful state of Washington.  A place he’s thoroughly thrilled with, except for one thing–my grandpa’s electric fence!  He’ll figure that one out….

But, vacation mode has me beat, so you’re all getting a slew of pics instead.  If anyone wants to add on to this post via the comments, that may be the way to get the mini-novel out after all!  Olimpia, Suzanne, Jen, John, etc?  Commentary more than welcome!  Jon and Vicki–so sorry I didn’t get him over to yours before I left!  Such a crazy time.

Well the weather forecast for the coming weekend looks almost exactly like last weekend’s–another storm system floating around nearby. 

But we took a chance last week and came out alright, so we’re going to do the same thing this weekend.  You just never know, it could be golden!

Saturday, June 27th, 2 pm to 5 pm, then bbq or packing it up (we’re playing it by ear).

Call Chris at 0916 612 297 for more info or help getting up there

While not the only important job up at go-go shan, hewin’ is the one most talked about in the days and weeks afterward, the one most likely to capture the imaginations of children and grandchildren for years to come.  Say it, with a deep, throaty growl: HEW!

And hew we did.  We chopped, hacked, sliced, and otherwise hewed the hell out of the overgrown hillside.

With heavy rains of a tropical storm hovering in the vicinity, I made it as easy as I could for folks to take a raincheck on Saturday’s work party.  There was, however, a small group who wouldn’t take no for an answer.  Hats off to Keith, John, Mark, Natalia, and Jasmine–the weather ended up cooperating, we had a good time, and you made a big difference up there.  Thanks!

Along with the hewin’ of the dense jungle that was threatening to grow its way in through the windows of the shelter house, sleeping areas got a thorough cleaning and dogs were bathed–both essential in keeping ticks and fleas away from the dogs.  Jasmine and Mark also cleared the back kennel of all the lychee that had fallen and begun to rot on the ground.  A person can only eat so many lychee!

Even without storms threatening to wash us all away, there’s always lots going on in everyone’s lives, so having low-key gatherings like last Saturday’s, and having them more often, is really the way to go.  In fact the next one is this coming Saturday, so if it works for you come on up.  It’s a great little trip out of the city, 30 minutes from the main train station.

Okay obviously I’m no good at the name game.  Well, whatever the thing is, it’s happening the following Saturday, June 20th.  Providing that the weather cooperates, we’ll be meeting up there at 2 pm, hanging with the dogs, beating back the jungle, tidying up the kennels, and otherwise making life even better for the lucky dogs of go-go shan.  There are heavy tasks and light, something for everyone, so take your pick.

And of course, the whole thing is really just an excuse to get together and have a good time.  Clever, no?  There’ll be food and drinks by sundown, both around the fire and on the deck out back, with its amazing view of all of Taichung.  Please mark your calendars and spread the word!

Saturday, June 20th ~~ 2 pm to dark

Need directions or have other questions?  Reply here or call Chris at 0916 612 697

There, I was aiming for the sappiest entry award and I think I have a shot!  Seriously now, Henry and Shau Hei have made it to Toronto safe and sound.  A big thanks to Clarence and Yi Chen for taking them along!

For more about Shau Hei, check her profile at the home site.  Henry was a new and temporary addition to the shelter, and quite a past he had.  He had been run over, and with his two rear legs badly broken he was thrown into a garbage bin.  Surbrina, a friend and fellow animal lover found him and sought help for him. Help entailed plenty of surgery and a long stay in an animal hospital.  For the last few weeks of his Taiwan adventure, Henry was up at our shelter, happily at play with the other shelter dogs.  The exercise did him good, though he still has a funny swagger in his walk from his leg injuries months ago.

We’re confident that he and Shau Hei will win hearts and have great futures.  So much grattitude to Caroline and Johanna for helping spearhead the flights on this one, and to Suzanne for taking poor Shau Hei into home so many months ago when she found herself singled out at the shelter as the “one to pick on”.

Go pups!

Update, Sunday June 14: We’ve just heard from the shelter in Toronto that both Xiao Hei and Henry have found good homes.  More details as they come in.

And of course, winding down with pizza, beer, and bonfire was nice!

Unfortunately some of the regular crew were out of town that weekend, but that just means we gotta plan another one.  And we have–this time to convert the lower kennel (since the dogs in there have found homes, hoorah!) into our very own vegetable garden!  All interested in joining in also have the right to help decide what gets grown–so far we have calls for zuchinni, rhubarb, and specialty herbs.  What else?  We’re hoping to get things started in December (yeah we can do that here!), so get ready!