Puller of Solace

I have always had the ability to empathize and care for animals. My first dog was adopted at the age of 7, where my neighbor at that time needed to home six little puppies. My first animal in need was picked from this litter, who I soon named snowflake. Not long after that I welcomed home a pitch-black cat named Genie, who soon made me realize my love for adopting animals. Over the years, I have invested time in learning more about the upkeep and training of animals. The knack for animal care has always been in me. At the age of 10, I learned how to take my dog through agility training: this involved jumping over fences, running through tunnels, as well as basic swimming lessons. While this was just characterized as having fun with my childhood companions, it developed into something I would soon take great pride in - in my adult years.

I have created a beautiful home environment for my dogs and cats. All my animals have either been adopted from shelters or rescued while roaming the streets alone. I have assisted and guided several dogs, who needed to be rehabilitated and trained. I first rehabilitated a German shepherd, that had endured abuse from a puppy mill. I adopted Gordy (the German shepherd) as an adult dog and helped aid her trust again for humans. I wanted to assist in creating an environment that would allow her to live in a perfect state of calm and confidence. My interest in opening a non-profit organization was birthed from the success I achieved with Gordy. I have since then dedicated my time to helping dogs that have not yet been afforded the opportunity of undergoing training.

I have had the pleasure of training 10 dogs as well as assisting their owners in establishing better communication and care. My ability to aid a better living environment for owners and their pets, has proven to be the key in making sure that owners keep their dogs instead of abandoning them. I have re-homed several dogs in need, that I could not keep, after I volunteered to foster and take care of them. My capabilities in animal care can be seen through the many success stories Ive had with my own dogs who initially were taken in (temporarily) due to their previous owners lacking the infrastructure and knowledge on how to take care of them. I have been able to create a safe space for a 15-year-old schipperke that is losing her vision and a Pitbull that was brought up as a fighter dog. I rescued the Pitbull (marmite) with the intention of proving that all dogs, given the right environment, can grow up to be friendly, stable, and balanced amongst humans and other animals. My recent addition is a female cocker spaniel (cross dachshund) that was rescued from a highway. Here I was met with the challenge of teaching a very insecure, scared, growly and biting dog how to trust. Although this particular training is still ongoing, she has made incredible strides in her interactions as well as growing trust with humans.

These are just some of the many cases I have encountered in my years of adopting, fostering, volunteering, rescuing, and training dogs. Having achieved great milestones in my personal capacity, I now see the opportunity to invest in creating a bigger space that will allow me to work with and take care of many more dogs. Puller of Solace is my first love and the reason why I have created a go get funding page. My hope is that you join in on my journey and help me create a safe space that will be home to the many dogs that have been rejected and abandoned due to significant behavioral issues. I currently do not have enough resources to start this project and would appreciate any form of assistance that will help me take in as many dogs as possible. Puller of Solace will help to alleviate the limited capacity issue that many of our shelters are currently experiencing and aid in the process of rehabilitating our animals. Through this initiative I hope to change the narrative that rescue animals are problematic and(or) somehow flawed so that I can help increase the number of adopted dogs in South Africa. Puller of Solace has been birthed through a sheer love and passion for the health and wellbeing of animals. I hope I get to share this with the greater community.