Ramblings on a quiet Sunday morning

I have been thinking on this lovely quiet Sunday Morning. Molly has put herself in her crate to chew rawhide. Spike is lying at my feet, Sophie is napping at the back door. And, life is good, so I take a few minutes for a coffee, remember how blessed I am and work on tidying up my office before I head out the door for a coffee with a friend, to stock up on some dog food (patties are easiest) before the dogs go to the kennel next week and to hit Walmart (this WILL be a mistake, just days before Christmas!).

Anyway, as I laze around the house and think about life, I realize I feel pretty darn good to be involved with New Hope Dog Rescue. It's an all breed rescue, out of Saskatoon and we do good work- or at least we try to do good work. It's not always easy and I struggle with many of the dogs who we are asked to take; where do we put them all? And, in the midst of thinking about all of this, I have realized quite recently there seems to be a huge number of retriever like dogs coming up for rescue. Retrievers are not necessarily easy breeds. People love labs because they love people so much. And, they are good with kids- well, they are supposed to be! But, what people don't realize is the amount of work labs need; they are high energy dogs requiring very specific training work to keep them in line (just ask me about that one! How many mistakes have I made with Sophie?!?) And they are goofy and brainless for a LONG time (just ask me, I live  with Sophie!). So, people get them and quickly get overwhelmed by their strength and sheer exuberance for living; which in a poorly exercised lab is often too much for people. New Hope can't keep up with all the dogs coming through our doors, so I am quickly getting to the point where I wonder if it's time for a Retriever rescue in this province? How do I go about setting one up? How do I network to get help? Where do I start?

All I know is I see the need and I want to do something, but this project could be overwhelming. I feel compelled to try at least. Ah, life... it's complicated, isn't it??