Part of each sale through the iHeartDogs store is donated to Greater Good, which helps support various charities. Thanks to customers like you, happy endings, like the one below, are made possible.
In the spring of 2012, a tornado ripped through the grounds at the Carolina Waterfowl Sanctuary in Indian Trail, NC. The storm destroyed buildings on the property that were used to house injured waterfowl during inclement weather.
Amidst the damage and chaos, many birds were either lost or re-injured. Thanks to 46 volunteers traveling 2,500 miles, Rescue Rebuild was able to help.
Rain and cold winter weather didn’t deter the group of dedicated volunteers. A total of over 5,000 hours went in rehabilitating Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, and each one of those hours consisted of sweat-inducing hard work.
One of the major projects was constructing a massive 75-foot by 20-foot barn to protect ducks, geese, chicks, turkeys, and goats in the event of more inclement weather. One end of the barn was even designed and built to function as a veterinary evaluation room.
It was a huge undertaking for the volunteers, and it was the biggest barn the Rescue Rebuild team had constructed to date. The amazing part is, they did it all in less than two weeks.
Another issue the volunteers needed to address was the lack of a perimeter fence. Not only were injured, non-flying fowls walking off the property into danger, but foxes and other predators were walking in. That wasn’t going to “fly” with Rescue Rebuild.
To solve the problem, they installed 2,500 feet of chain link fence. The fence encompassed the entire 11-acre property, and the volunteers dug every post hole into the frozen winter ground. It was tiring labor, but their efforts to provide the feathered sanctuary residents with a safe haven was essential and entirely appreciated.
When they weren’t digging holes for fence posts, Rescue Rebuild volunteers also took on the challenge of keeping the sanctuary’s stores of bird feed safe and dry. It rains a lot in North Carolina, and whenever the area got too wet, the sanctuary lost significant amounts of money in the form of ruined feed.
The solution was to erect six feeding pavilions with the duel purpose of keeping feed dry and providing cover for the fowl during rainstorms. One of those six pavilions was located on a predator prevention island where birds could escape to when avoiding non-flying predators. The island was in the middle of a pond, but volunteers still needed to transport supplies.
How did they do it? By boat, of course! They systematically transported what they needed by small crafts and kayaks.
In total, the group of volunteers accomplished a long list of much-needed tasks. They constructed a large barn, put up privacy fencing, installed chain link fencing, set up six feeders, and put in a combined 700 hours of painting. Not a bad 13 days for the talented and dedicated volunteers at Rescue Rebuild.
Featured image provided by Rescue Rebuild
