rescue dogs | Your Delray Boca

They Rescue Us…

Emmett has been a welcome addition.

Wishing all who celebrate a Happy New Year! Wishing you a sweet year!

For Randy, Teddy, Casey, Sophie, Rusty, Snowball and Tina for rescuing us along the way.

There’s something special about dogs.

If you love dogs you know what I’m talking about.

If you don’t love dogs, well..,,if you don’t mind me saying, you’re missing out on one of the world’s great pleasures.

Dogs are wonderful.

Dogs are magical.

Dogs are loving and sensitive souls who have a lot to teach us if we let them into our hearts.

We have a new “rescue” dog in our lives. His name is Emmett and he’s cute as a button, tough as nails and full of love.

He’s 12 pounds of personality with an underbite, pointy ears and expressive eyes. He doesn’t walk, he bounces.

As a result of his magical essence, our family is in love. We fell instantly. And it will be forever. Emmett has found his forever home.

Emmett came to us courtesy of Ellie’s Legacy Animal Foundation, a Maine based non-profit that rescues dogs in Texas.

Apparently, there are over 1 million strays in the Lone Star State. But Emmett’s story was a little different. His owners were murdered and while we don’t know the details, he was left alone for several days before he was rescued. He had some skin issues and suffered some trauma but he made it. The little guy has heart.

The non-profit transported Emmett and a few other rescues from Texas to Maine where my wife and stepson were waiting to welcome him to our family.

He made his way to Florida and for the past week or so he has been acclimating to our home in Delray where he has joined his golden retriever friends Gracie (our new year old puppy) and our grand dog Riley also a golden who is staying with us for a few weeks.

Watching this little guy play with the “golden girls” has been a joy. He’s doing great.

He has instantly fallen in love with our family, wrestles with the big dogs and eats like a champ.

He’s a little wary of me, but we are taking it slow and he’s warming up. I’m courting him and that’s OK.

He may be thinking it over, but I’m already in love.

I have a feeling we are going to be lifelong buddies.

I really like this guy. I like his spirit.

Emmett is at home.

We’ve adopted a bunch of dogs over the years and have loved them all.

Dogs are an awful lot of work, but the rewards are many, varied and well worth it.

There are many local rescues and if you are so inclined I recommend you check them out.

It’s been said that rescue dogs actually rescue us. And I believe that’s true.

Out of a tragedy in Texas, a little guy has come into our lives and our hearts and our lives are a little fuller.

I want to tell Emmett that he’s safe, loved and we have his back—always. But somehow I think he knows. And I hope he knows what joy he has brought to our home.

They rescue us. They truly do.

Dogs on The Beach? Yes.

I love dogs.

Big dogs. Small dogs. Pure breeds. Mutts. All dogs, especially rescue dogs.

If you’ve monitored social media these past few weeks you have seen a grassroots effort to mobilize dog lovers around the concept of creating a dog beach in Delray.

I think it’s a winning idea. And I’m sorry that I didn’t champion it myself when I had a vote back in the day.

Delray Beach prides itself on being a dog friendly town.

We have dog parades, dog washes, fundraisers for rescue organizations and a pretty nice dog park.

But Fido isn’t welcome on the sand and if his paws are found on the beach, you can expect a fairly hefty fine.

During my term in office, we worked to create a no smoking area on the beach. The ordinance passed, but enforcement has been spotty. We received tons of complaints that our gorgeous beach was used as an ash tray by irresponsible smokers. It seemed reasonable at the time to create a smoke free section so people who didn’t want to inhale noxious fumes could enjoy our number one natural asset.

It also seems reasonable to create a defined section of the beach where pets would be welcome.

I understand that not everybody loves dogs and that there are issues with allowing pets on the beach—the biggest being irresponsible owners who won’t clean up after their pets.

But it seems that those concerns and sensitivities can be addressed rather easily.

About two years ago, I ran into former Boca Councilwoman Constance Scott at a League of Cities function in the Glades. Knowing my love of rescues, we quickly started talking about the Tri County Humane Society and Boca’s dog beach and how well received it was by residents and visitors. We should do that too, I thought to myself.

If I remember correctly, Ms. Scott said that the pet community was very good at self-policing; knowing that failing to clean up after pets could ruin the experience and shut down the program for everyone.

It seems to me that we can have a similar sort of set up. Carve out an area where pets can visit, make sure they stay in the designated area and have volunteers agree to monitor for hygiene, safety etc.

The Lake Ida Dog Park seems to work well and is busy year round. We can do this at the beach too.

If the privilege is abused, the city can easily shut it down. But my hunch is that this will work.

It is certainly worth a try.