01 May Service Trip 2023: Day 1 Monticello
Monticello Dog Shelter
By: Jessica & Jed Drake
Coming into this trip, we had no idea what to expect. We showed up at the first shelter, Monticello, and were greeted by the friendliest group of women that serve as the main shelter caretakers. They do so on a volunteer basis, on top of full-time jobs and families, to fill the gaps from the local government support.
We started by introducing ourselves and our involvement with Last Hope K9 Rescue. We mentioned we recently adopted a Last Hope K9 dog, Dale. The shelter volunteers immediately lit up and gave us huge hugs — it turns out Dale spent a year at Monticello and was one of the volunteers’ favorites! Dale was found on the side of the road, skin and bones, heartworm positive, with no use of his back legs. Despite a poor prognosis from the vet, these women did not give up on Dale. They nursed him back to health over the course of a year. They even took Dale into their homes to give him a break from the shelter to give him the best chance at recovery. It was such an incredible experience to hug the women that saved our dog.
We spent the day scrubbing the kennels with bleach and bathing the dogs. Some of the dogs that were up for it even got manicures and pedicures!
The shelter volunteers were kind enough to treat us to a true southern lunch — BBQ, baked beans, potato salad, and sweet tea….not to mention homemade cookies and banana pudding!
During the day, five dogs (including a puppy) were dropped at the shelter as surrenders. The shelter volunteers accepted all these dogs, no questions asked.
We were so impressed and inspired by the incredible work of the Monticello shelter. Their dedication to the dogs is unrivaled.
You can learn more about Last Hope K9 Rescue’s annual service trip, here. Please consider donating to our service trip fundraiser.
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