RED OAK Veterinary Clinic

WISHING YOU AND YOURS A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

During this time, all small animal after hours emergencies will need to contact Madison Veterinary Emergency at (256)434-5290.
All large animal after hours emergencies, please contact Auburn Large Animal Teaching Hospital at (334)844-4490.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Reality Check from the Rescue Side 🐾

This isn’t a post we ever wanted to write, but our hearts need to be heard.

Paws Up Rescue is small. One person shoulders nearly everything. The vet runs, the feedings, the meds, the meet and greets, the adoptions, the heartbreaks, and the late nights. Two volunteers help where they can while juggling jobs, families, and fosters of their own. Together, we keep showing up because the dogs deserve it.

That’s why the recent bad review hurt so deeply. A claim was made that a ten dollar raffle entry was missed. We looked twice and found no record of it. It wasn’t about ignoring anyone. It wasn’t carelessness. It was a simple truth. There was no donation under that name.

But a single review like that carries more weight than people realize. It doesn’t just bruise feelings. It has ripples that reach the dogs. When our visibility drops, fewer people see the faces of dogs waiting for homes. A family that might have fallen in love with one of them may never even know they exist. A foster may not step forward in time. Donations that keep the lights on and the bowls full might slow to a trickle.

One small act of frustration can undo weeks of effort. It can dim the spotlight that helps our dogs be seen. And for a rescue that runs entirely on love and borrowed time, that loss is everything.

It’s painful to know that all the hours spent driving to vets, cleaning kennels, answering messages between shifts, and soothing scared dogs can be overshadowed by one misunderstanding. We are not a faceless organization. We are human. We are tired. And we care more than words can show.

Moving forward, anyone donating for a raffle will simply send a screenshot or receipt by private message so we can verify every entry without question. It’s a small step that protects fairness and keeps focus where it belongs, on the dogs.

To everyone who keeps believing in us, defending our work, and standing beside this rescue through every high and low, thank you. You keep food in bowls, hope in hearts, and second chances within reach. ❤️