From a Social Media post, January 24, 2020
Charlie is headed to his new home tomorrow. 1,180 miles and 17
1/2 hours away. I watched it come together like an elegant wound clock,
never missing a tick. Many people who have never met came together
from across the country in cause and spirit to save and make a better life for a
dog that needed help and a home. Never have so few changed so many lives, both
dog and human. I am humbled, truly humbles at the love and compassion these people
have. When our Clancy passed away in a blink of an eye, I thought his memory
would fade and be gone in weeks, but in truth, it has not. To the transporters for Charlie for this trip,
Clancy is with you as he is with all of our rescues he has saved. Despite the tears and pain
that Elaine and I have gone through, thinking we would never see Clancy again, we now
see him every day. His spirit is with the dogs he sends our way that need help, and the
abandoned ones who have nothing. They will have a safe and loving home because they
will be healed and starting Clancy's circle of life again. Thanks to all who
have helped. Kenny and Elaine, Founders of Clancy's Dream
Charlie, what a ride you have had in your short life,
and you took the ultimate ride before you found your perfect home. From the beginning,
your life was doomed. Purchased from a Pet Store, you were marked as an Australian
Shepherd, little did they know you were a Border Collie through and through.
Your first home was a full family with 7 children, but you spent most of your
time in a crate. From the inside of your cage, you watched the children child
run and play and wondered why you weren't included.
At one point, the owner felt that you needed and
deserved a better life beyond what they were prepared to offer. You were placed
on Socal Media, and a friend saw you and contacted our Foster Director. Soon
after that, you came into Clancy's Dream, where you literally had the ride of
"your" life.
From the Evaluator and Foster
"We were asked to assess Charlie and all we knew he was a ~1yr old male-intact- bought at a pet store- which was a solo dog in the house mostly crated. My first thought was aggression. We arrive to evaluate, and there was NO aggression- but I've never seen a tail tucked so tightly. Charlie was right to bring into the foster - knowing he would be easy to foster and get him ready to live a typical border collie life. Charlie needed and deserved a better life beyond what they were prepared to offer. We never planned to foster Charlie- only evaluate him. Yet we fostered Charlie for 3 months. That's long for a foster. We've fostered probably a dozen dogs or more. They stay one night, one week, one month. Charlie needed to stay with us extra time because he basically didn't know how to be a social pack dog. He spent the first 3 days at our house cowering in a kitchen cabinet. At Thanksgiving, Charlie traveled to a long weekend to be off-leash, where a family-owned a full square mile of land. After much work and tender love and care, he started to learn to be more subtle with his enthusiasm and barking. But we were trying to ensure we were doing our best knowing it wouldn't be enough. Was he always going potty outside? Was he Unwanted chewing anything? Was he chewing toys? How was his recall? Did he fetch? Did he frisbee? How were his leash manners? How was he with kids? Did he bark? Did he mind? The questions you can ask of an unknown foster dog are endless. The only certain thing is you'll be surprised. Charlie had become one of my favorite fosters. And that's a pretty hard-earned coveted spot. Charlie has an enthusiasm for life and never-ending positivity that became infectious. We weren't meant to foster him on paper. Except like most things, there's a reason for every twist of fate. A married couple in Colorado, both Medical doctors with tricky schedules, flew from Colorado to decide if he was the right match for them. They each spent hours one on one with Charlie.
With that kind of devotion they showed, it should be
easy to let Charlie go. You know they have a loving home most dogs never get.
But Charlie has to get from Indiana to Colorado. And I wasn't ready to let him
go."
Charlie goes home.
"I'm not a morning person AT ALL. My alarm goes
off on transfer Saturday at 6am. My partner rolls out of bed to make coffee for
our trip. Charlie jumps into bed and snuggles up next to me. I pet him and cry.
Cry for supreme happiness, he gets THE coolest most spoiled life. And crying because
being selfish is easy, and I'm not ready for him to not be at the door every
day when I come home. We ride in silence for just under 2 hrs. This isn't our
first foster to forever home transfer. But Charlie won't hop into the next
transports car. He doesn't want to leave me- I've become what he wants to
protect. So I lift him up and tether him in the next car. Depending on flight
conditions, he's got at least 8 more handoffs. I make it back home convincing
myself the first transfer was the worst because of the 3-month bond and
protectiveness. And I get back home, crawl into bed, and stay there nearly all
weekend. Mostly because I'm sad. And also because I share his fear of the
unknown of the transfer. Fostering is hard. They all take a part of your heart
forever. But it's ALWAYS worth it to know you helped give a dog a better
life." Liz Crawley
Once Charlie's journey started the group was updated every hour, "This was an awesome transport. Everything just seemed
to flow together smoothly for Charlie. The volunteers were all just great, as
some were really not getting the information on their leg of the transport
until literally the last minute. This may have been the longest transport, but
it was also one of the smoothest considering the number of volunteers involved.
With all of the stress and different places, people, and things, Charlie did
remarkably well. " I was is if everyone who read the comments were there. "To each and everyone in this group who had a hand in
helping Charlie get to his new family. Thank you so very much. Without people
like you who give freely of, they’re time and energy to help these dogs who
cannot help themselves, we truly cannot do this without you. I hope this has
been a great experience for you all. Some of you are experienced transporters,
and some are new, but without one of you, the journey would not have been
successful. Thank you." "Charlie is on the last leg of his journey now. Jumped
up to meet Jason again after the plane landed in Kansas because he remembered
him. Charlie is home."
Just when you think you can't make it work or it's too hard or expensive, and you want to give in to a problem, a spirit moves, and doors open. Since the beginning of Clancy's Dream, the impossible is possible, and the unknown is known, and things seem to always work out. While it is a mystery why things sometimes happen, to us who knew Clancy, we know because he had his paw and spirit in it. We never understand the pain or hurt, but sometimes things come together. Why did people from thousands of miles apart, using their cars, homes, money, and airplane to help a dog they never met? Most did not know each other and never will, but there is a driving force in us to help the unloved, abandoned, unsafe, and broken dogs. The reason may be they give so much back to us in true love and they can't speak for themself, but we can. Thank you all, who helped with Charlie. His life is forever changed because of you, and in truth, a part of ours did too. In one day, everything changed for all of us. Ken
Thank you Pilots n Paws
GROUND and FLIGHT TRANSPORT
Thank you Pilots n Paws
GROUND and FLIGHT TRANSPORT
Charlie, Indy to Denver
Sat. Jan. 25 and Sun Jan. 26
SAT. JAN 25th
Leg 1:
Indy to Terra Haute IN
1 hr, 17 min. (EST)
8:10am - 9:30am EST
Leg 2: *TIME ZONE CHANGE
Terra Haute IN to Glen Carbon, IL
2 hr 20 min (Time Zone Change to CST)
9:40am EST - 11:00am CST
Leg 3:
Glen Carbon to Columbia MO
2 hr 10 min
11:10am CST - 1:20pm CST
Leg 4:
Columbia MO to Independence, MO
1 hr 40min
1:30pm - 3:10PM
Leg 5:
Independence MO to Topeka, KS
1 hr 15 min
3:20pm - 4:35pm
OVERNIGHT
SUNDAY JAN. 26
LEG 6:
Topeka KS to Manhattan Airport (KMHK)
1 hr
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Leg 7:
Manhattan Airport, KS to Oberlin Airport (KOIN), KS
11:00 am to 1:00 pm
2 hrs
Pilot: Ken
Leg 8: *TIME ZONE CHANGE
Oberlin, KS to Denver CO
3 hr 45 min
1:15pm CST - 4:00pm MST
