Pronto Is Safe!
Pronto
The remote animal shelter posted a photo of Pronto on their website and listed him as a stray 10-year-old male German Shorthaired Pointer. The image of Pronto showed a scared, lost GSP as his eyes begged his owner, "please come get me." The volunteer looking at the posting heard Pronto's plea as he reached out to the animal shelter coordinator for more information. There was more to learn about Pronto that the image did not show.
Michelle, the Outreach Coordinator, responded immediately and was already planning on sending photos and more information for Pronto to California GSP Rescue. He would be on a stray hold for a few more days and wasn't available for adoption. The next few days passed, and no one called or visited the facility looking for a powder-faced liver German Shorthaired Pointer. Pronto was a good dog, and the shelter staff was surprised no one was looking for him. Was there a reason no one came?
Pronto had several growths all over his body. There were two notable ones. One was the size of a melon on his left flank, and another was on his front leg, which was the size of a grape that was open from him licking it. Neither were visible in the image on the website, but California GSP Rescue knew that both would need to be looked at by Dr. Kang.
Michelle let the volunteer know when he would be available while the volunteer began making plans to pull and transport Pronto. The California GSP Rescue coordinator knew from experience that older stray dogs with visible medical needs were sometimes not claimed by their owners and seldom adopted. Dogs like Pronto, if not rescued, fall into the high-risk category of being euthanized.
The remote animal shelter was several hundred miles away in an area there weren't many volunteers. The California GSP Rescue Coordinator sent a message to the few that lived the closest to the animal shelter. The transport was to take place during the week, which can be challenging since most volunteers have traditional daytime jobs. Fortunately, Volunteer Ralph lived about 40 minutes away and responded he would help. Volunteer David didn't waste any time either, wanting to know where and when to meet Ralph. David would then meet Volunteer Greg for the last and final leg. Nothing can happen until arrangements are made for the transportation. Getting volunteers to commit to helping transport is essential to saving GSP’s like Pronto. With each leg of the transport filled, the California GSP Rescue Coordinator committed to getting Pronto.
Everything was well planned, but the traffic. Anyone driving through Los Angeles knows an hour's drive can quickly turn into an hour and a half drive or longer. The day before Good Friday and the Coachella Music Festival didn't help. However, Ralph, David, and Greg will be the first ones to tell you that Pronto was worth every mile and every minute it took. Pronto was safe!
Volunteering is not always an easy task. Ralph, David, and Greg juggled their schedules to take part in helping Pronto get one step closer to his forever home. If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer, please take a moment and complete the form to Volunteer. You could have an opportunity to help a dog like Pronto!
If you are interested in adopting, please submit an application. If you are interested in helping support our efforts, please consider donating or, better yet, become a Rescue Hero. As an all-volunteer organization, your donation will go towards caring for the dogs while they await a forever home.
Update on Pronto:
Pronto went to see Dr. Kang the following week and had surgery to remove the large mass and several other growths. All of which were benign. Pronto is recovering and isn't too happy having to wear a cone. He is a charming and intelligent boy that has gotten along well with all the dogs he has met.
