From the very start the Upwey 4-H Club has been a very important part of SAP Rescue. You see I got the idea to start the rescue with two little pups that were named Clover and Bud. Cloverbuds are young 4-H kids and the 4-Hers of our Woodstock, VT club thought it fitting that the young pups be named after the program's youngest participants.

I was on one of my many hunts for the perfect 4-H regional day project idea. As a 4-H leader of 20 years it becomes more difficult every year to come up with some thing you have not already done. I had recently visited Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society to look for a dog for a friend of ours and to my surprise found that only 3 of the runs in the shelter actually held a dog in it.

I couldn't believe it, how could they have a shortage of dogs? You see here in New England a miraculous thing has happened in the last 20 years. We have spayed and neutered so many of our local canines, and enforced leash laws so well, that there was actually a shortage of adoptable dogs.

Puppies have become almost non-existent in shelters and the mixed breeds that come in had waiting lists and folks actually fighting for them. And that is where the whole rescue idea started.

The kids of the Upwey 4-H club and I set out to do an exhibit about the facts about cats and dogs in the USA. Most people in New England are stunned to actually find out that across the country over 6 million companion animals are euthanized each year in shelters, purely because no one wants them. Everything from the youngest puppy to the 11 year old cat. I printed off a bunch of photos for the exhibit and the info as to what kill shelter they were in and what date they would be euthanized. Among them were pictures of three puppies in the Little Rock Arkansas Animal Control facility. The kids were upset beyond belief and they decided that the pups had to be saved. So, we did it. The club pledged $250 of its hard earned money to save 2 of the 3 pups from Arkansas and have them flown to VT. The third was adopted.

Clover and Bud arrived here in February. It was a huge success and we did a great thing. The exhibit we created went on to win regional and state recognition and the pups got great loving homes through the help of Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society.

It was a great beginning, but I knew there was a lot more that could be done. Save-A-Pet Rescue was formed the next month so we could do just that. The 4-H kids have continued to support my endeavors to help animals along the way, spending many days on school vacation or summer break walking dogs or socializing pups and kittens. They have helped with clean-ups and set-ups and delivered dogs all over the state with me. They have been a huge help to me and the animals, and in return have had some fun and I hope learned new things about animals. A few of the children of our club have received the Presidential Award for Community Service, a lot of which was based around their volunteer work with SAP.

Kids are resourceful and compassionate in many ways that comes so much more naturally to them than most of us adults. Thank you to the Upwey 4-Hers and their families for all of their support over the last few year. I couldn't have done it without you.