The Last Resort Animal Rescue and Sanctuary
West Milford NJ
We owe it all to a little dog named Mr. Magoo
What now seems like so many moons ago, I received a message on myspace from a girl named Samantha. After a few emails back and forth, she proceeded to tell me all about her dog Mr. Magoo, a Korean Jindo who suffered a severe head trauma as a result of an injury he had when he was in the care of his breeder when he was just 3 months old. No one knows exactly what from. The breeder dumped him at animal control with no explanation. While volunteering at the local shelter, Samantha heard that this dog was to be euthanized due to his permanent brain damage, seizure disorder, impaired hearing and sight, and serious neurological challenges and the shelter claiming he was "unadoptable". Samantha intervened and took him home. It's a long story but he actually came from a great rescue in MD (CompAnimals) who only rescues special needs dogs and her original plan was to transport him back there but once she had him at her home, she quickly fell head over heels and thought it best that Mr Magoo stay with her. He had already been through 5 foster homes and needed a stable environment. She has cared for him much like a disabled, autistic child ever since. He quickly became a beloved part of her family and her pack.
Samantha had saved up for a long time for a trip to Hawaii to see her idol Jack Johnson but when it came time to actually go she could not imagine how she could ever leave Mr. Magoo under anyone else's care and considered canceling the trip.
When she found me, a long time pet sitter, vet tech and rescuer, I told her I would gladly take care of him and her other dogs while she was away, which I did.
It didn't take long for me to be totally enamoured by this amazing little creature named Mr. Magoo (Goobey for short)....with all his quirks and physical challenges, just seemingly and totally unaware of his disabilities and of how lucky he was to end up in Sam's care. Sam's dedication and determination to this little dog quickly earned my respect and admiration for her as a person!
She was so interested in animal rescue and wanted to become more "involved". I was, until that point, just a lone rescuer, saving as many as possible out of my home, with very empty pockets and a small network of rescuers. Weary and drowning from the sea of urgent email pleas, fighting a seemingly uphill battle and feeling like I could no longer do it alone. When Samantha learned of this reality...she wanted to do something!..........Anything!.......Everything!!!!
It didn't take long for our relationship to evolve into something much more, we quickly realized that together, if we combined forces, we could do so much more for so many!!!
Each of us sensed something bigger in the presence of the other...I call it divine intervention, whatever you call it, it could not be ignored!
Very soon after "The Last Resort " was born.....Through many struggles, heartaches and a bit of luck we worked side by side, we got incorporated, struggling to get the rescue off the ground and to attain our non-profit status. Being an animal rescuer is something deep inside, something you are born with....a burden and a blessing simultaneously !!! But it's who we are at our very cores, it's our calling...we are their voice!
We are now so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people in the rescue world. Together with the help of our volunteers, fosters and donators, The Last Resort have saved literally hundreds of dogs from high kill southern shelters in a very short time and placed them in forever loving homes.
If not for a very amazing little creature named Mr. Magoo ... I can honestly say that Sam and I may never have crossed paths, and so many more lives would have been lost, not to mention the many hundreds we will save for years to come that would be otherwise killed without us as their "Last Resort"!! And the happiness these wonderful animals have brought to their new families and the smiles of the children when their new dog arrives. All of this and so much more would never have come to be ......if not for this most amazing little dog.
It is with great sadness and tears literally streaming down my face that I tell you that this afternoon 5/13/09, Mr Magoo's challenges became to great for his little body to endure any longer. And in a final act of love, Samantha and Jay had to make the hardest decision there is to make, they had to say goodbye to Mr. Magoo. Our hearts ache for them right now.
It is with much gratitude to Goobey, that I say Thank You! All the lives we have saved, all the friends we've made and all the people who's lives we've touched...each and every one..... and those still to come in the future might not have had a hope...if not for one very special little dog named Mr. Magoo.
Nancy
Last Resort President
In Loving Memory 5/13/09
R.I.P. GOOBEY
