Pepe & Chris Kissing
Pepe Looking Studly!
By Carol McCracken (Post # 1,691)
“Some cities in the south don’t have affordable programs for spaying and neutering dogs, so they become overrun with dogs needing good homes. There has been an increasing awareness of rescuing dogs versus buying from a breeder,” said Caleigh MacVane, 25, a volunteer with the Pixel Fund. “The Internet has increased the availability of information about rescue needs and opportunities to rescue them in the past few years,” said Chris McCabe, a Hill resident who rescued one-year old Pepe from Macon several months ago through the Pixel Fund; a non-profit, Maine-based organization dedicated to rescuing pets from kill-shelters in Macon, Memphis, Mobile and in Maine.
McCabe, a North Street resident, said that he’d been thinking of getting a dog for a while and starting looking at the options available to him. A colleague of his told him about the Pixel Fund and he began looking at photos on-line. He looked at about 50 photos or more on-line. Since he lives in an apartment, he wanted a small dog who is somewhat docile. He filled out an application and then met Pepe (as in a French grandfather) at a kennel in Windham. “It was love at first sight – for both of us,” said McCabe grinning broadly this morning. McCabe, 31, said he took Pepe home with him that same day. A home visit was required by Pixel volunteers and McCabe passed the grueling exam! “Pepe is developing his own blog – it’s evolving – just like him. It’s about his life on the Hill. Stay tuned,” McCabe said laughing. By the way, ladies, McCabe, is an eligible bachelor, law school graduate, handsome, obviously kind, and well- employed; looking for a romantic entanglement! Heads-up, ladies!
MacVane, 25, became involved with the Pixel Fund last spring when her parents rescued a dog from Pixel. “I love dogs. We always had dogs,” MacVane, a CNA, said this morning as well. She got involved with Pixel and began fostering dogs. Her first was a pit bull – a very sweet dog that she was tempted to keep, but didn’t. In all, MacVane has fostered twenty dogs. But that ended recently with a “foster failure.” That is: she adopted a puppy she was fostering who became gravely ill with Parvo – and nursed her back to health from death’s door step. That sealed the relationship. “I can’t foster anymore because I’m trying to train Arya, and it’s hard to do that with other dogs around,” MacVane said. But she still volunteers in other ways with the Pixel Fund. MacVane shares many of the same characteristics and values that McCabe has, but is not romantically available at this time!
MacVane said that only pets on the shelter kill-list and pets whose breeds are less popular and thus harder to adopt, are given rides on the “Freedom Bus” to Portland from the south. She has met the Freedom Bus numerous times in Portland and has cared for them following their long journey north. Sometimes they need to be bathed because they get sick on the journey….. For some volunteers, they become attached to the pets and find it hard to part with them. Pepe, the puppy that McCabe adopted in mid-November was one of those dogs. “Volunteers really got attached to Pepe and found it hard to let go of him. I’m glad he has such a good home with Chris,” MacVane said.
Pixel is the name of a Chihuahua that was rescued from a Tennessee kill-shelter about two years ago. He competed in the well-known World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials in Rockland, Me. His owner created a Facebook page and began collecting donations to raise funds for Pixel’s former shelter to save other dogs. That’s where it all began. The mission of the Pixel Fund is to save lives that would otherwise be lost to the shelter system.
For more information, please visit: http://www.thepixelfund.org and email at: info@the pixelfund.org or call 207 233 – 1919.