RSQ HERO OF THE MONTH

RESQAK9 SALUTES GREAT AMERICAN HERO JULIE LOPARO

Blake Gopnik, a journalist with The Washington Post, wrote the following in his review of the Norman Rockwell exhibit which just opened at the Smithsonian American Art Museum:

"This Fourth of July, let's celebrate courage. It took courage to split from England, courage to risk democracy and still more courage to dream up a constitution to preserve it.

Courage has been the signature virtue of almost every great American: Emily Dickinson was brave to warp grammar, Louis Armstrong was brave to blow jazz and Jackson Pollock was brave to paint splats."

RSQ wholeheartedly agrees with Mr. Gopnik, and on this cusp of the Fourth of July, we salute a most courageous American rescue hero by the name of Julie Loparo. Simply put, Ms. Loparo is brave to rescue animals. RSQ recently asked Ms. Loparo to write a few words about what animal rescue has meant to her throughout these past several months.


Rookie, My Foster Therapy Dog
By Julie Loparo

Rookie, a homeless 2-year-old pointer-lab mix came into my life at just the right moment. I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was half-way through the “heavy-duty” chemotherapy sessions. I had decided before treatment began that my rescue foster dog work had to be put on hold until I wad done with both chemo and radiation therapy. It was not a decision that came easily as rescuing dogs was such a part of my life and that of my family. I figured as I was entering into the hardest fight of my life I had to concentrate on getting through each day without the complications that fostering dogs may bring. By making that decision, however, I forgot about the joy that fostering rescue dogs bring that far exceed the complications. Enter Rookie. He was a southern dog brought up for an adoption event held in Connecticut by a local rescue group. He had spent his entire life in shelter waiting for his adoption. Sadly, Rookie (or Rook, as he was originally named) was a “leftover” from the event. He arrived to our home looking as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He had the lost look in his eyes of a shelter dog that had been waiting too long - and those in the rescue world know that look well. My group of dogs (all with their issues but very lovable) took immediately to Rookie. They sniffed him for a short time and then retired to their usual spots in the home. For two days he would not come indoors willingly but would camp out underneath my deck furniture and venture out for food and water. By day three he was laying half-way in and half-way out by the sliding doors leading out to the deck. I was encouraged. In the afternoon he came all the way in and discovered a comfy corner of a near-by couch and realized that it was pretty nice being indoors. He became my big black-brown shadow. As I introduced Rookie to a world outside of a shelter, I re-entered the world myself. Feeling self-conscious about appearance changes that accompany chemotherapy, I hadn’t ventured out much over the last couple of weeks and truthfully, I just wasn’t all that motivated to visit and socialize. Rookie was pretty much of the same mindset. He didn’t want to socialize much either but, as his foster, I knew it was important to get him used to meeting people. I would plop on my scarf and big yellow sun hat (which prompted Rookie to bark at first) and head out to the dog park, town shops and visits with my friends and always accompanied by my daughter Callie who was thrilled to have her “old” (of course I have to use quotation marks) Mom back. It was therapeutic for both Rookie and me. As his soul healed, so did mine. He reclaimed his doggie joy splashing through the creek at the dog park, and I reclaimed my fighting spirit. Rookie is now living large in a lovely home in Westport, Connecticut, where he swims daily and romps with two other rescue buddies. Usually, when I leave fosters for the last time at their new home, I walk away and don’t look back. This time, however, I had to look back. Just as I looked over my shoulder Rookie turned around to look at me. For just an instant, I saw a flash of the old lost dog look in his eyes but then his new mom whistled, and he was off running in his new yard with his new family. Thank you Rookie. I owe you - as do my two new foster dogs just rescued from Bridgeport Animal Control.



Pawnote: On June 28, a tornado touched down in Bridgeport and thousands suffered severe damage and were without power as Bridgeport declared a State of Emergency. Bridgeport Animal Control housed temporarily-displaced pets and some of those pets were not able to be re-claimed and will soon be placed for adoption. In honor of Julie's rescue efforts, please go to Bridgeport Animal Control at www.bptanimalcontrol.com or email info@bptanimalcontrol.com for additional information about fostering and adoption from this facility.

Bridgeport's Chief Animal Control Officer Jimmy Gonzalez, a "dogcatcher" who thinks outside the crate, has made many much-needed changes at the Bridgeport facility and has dedicated himself to re-shaping the image of animal control and its officers through education and increasing the level of involvement of the surrounding community. Jimmy has kept a moving photo on his cell phone for several years and had it made into a powerful poster which local volunteers are displaying in hopes of raising rescue awareness. His poster, along with dogs and cats available for adoption, can be viewed on the www.bpt.animalcontrol.com website.