Karen L. Dussel
THE JOURNEY
Long ago from young age my passion was always with dogs. Early on I was on a mission to take care of and rescue animals. I have done that over the year and will continue more than likely until I leave this earth. I would say, dogs have always truly been my passion and probably the reason I was put her on this earth. Simply put, I adore them and I love helping others when it comes to dogs that are in need.
As a child I was always the caretaker of the family dog. It was just something I was drawn to doing. At that time minimal care was all you gave your dog, If you bathed them, petted them and played with them in the yard every now and then, along with feeding them, they were considered well taken care of. Today of course it has taken a complete turn as to what truly taking care of your fur baby means.
Moving on in to my early adulthood it was not uncommon for me at all to rescue dogs from the streets, and try to place them in loving home after having them groomed and cared for. It was natural for me to step up to help them when they were abandoned or lost.
Earlier on in to my 30’s I entered in to another world of showing and handling dogs for conformation in dog shows. A whole other world that I knew nothing about. I saw a dog through an AKC registry, that I really wanted him as my own. I contacted his breeder, (yes back then I didn’t know about how many dogs needed homes from the shelter, something I found out about later in life) and she told me the only way she would place him with me, was if I would show him. He came from an extremely well known blood line of show dogs. I wanted him badly so that was enough to coax me in to taking Conformation classes to get me ready for the show world. Within a matter of time after having him as my own, we entered in to the world of dog show competitions. People in the show world told me I would never be able to win a championship without a professional show handler. It only gave me more drive. I was determined to show I could actually take my own dog, who was treated as a family member, and not just a dog that sat in a kennel all the time, and accomplish something really huge. I did just that in a matter of months!! Prana’s Chewbacca Beaux made me a legit show dog handler, and proud owner of a United States Champion.
As the years went on I was more focused on running the business that I had in New Orleans. I was a young entrepreneur and ran a successful business for myself for over 30 yrs. Unrelated to the dog world, but they were never far from my mind and in one way or another I was always involved as an animal activist.
When I moved to Tx. after my husband was transferred there for his military career, I found myself wondering what I could do in this new state I had now lived in. I wanted something of course that involved animals. I just loved them so much and wanted to be involved with those that needed to be rescued in more ways than one. I started by volunteering at local shelters. I would walk, feed, bring toys and try to raise money for dogs that unfortunately had ended up in shelters there. It started out simple, and became a complete obsession with trying to help them find families of their own. I absolutely hated what I saw. At one shelter in particular the dogs couldn’t even come with a name, only a number. They management didn’t want any attachment to them whatsoever. I fought to change that and won. They each received a name during my time there. The people that ran the shelter wasn’t all that happy about the things I tried to change once I saw what truly went on at the shelters. I believed in giving the dogs there toys, better food, and even fought for them to get the vaccines they needed once they arrived. Even the blankets and cuddly toys were off limits that people had donated. Too much of a mess for them they would say. Again, I fought for the animals there. It was the least they could do for these poor souls while living in cages. I didn’t make many friends with the staff there that were used to the way the good ole boys did things for many years. For me it was always about the dogs, and honestly I wasn’t there to make friends with the humans. My only concern was for the dogs and nothing more.
Over time I truly couldn’t take many of the things that was going on at the shelters I was witnessing. It was a constant fight for the rights of the dogs to be treated humanely at some of these places I was volunteering at. They simply had no rights and it just hurt too much seeing it day after day. I saw more dogs being euthanized for no reason, more sad faces, and more loneliness than I ever want to remember.
Fast forward to about 6 months later. I decided to start my own rescue and Harbored Souls Rescue was born. For 10 years of my life I devoted my time 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Nothing was off limits. My time was no longer my own over these years. I could never do enough for the rescues we saved, and every rescue person will understand what I mean when I say this. It literally takes over your entire life. I worked very hard to establish an organization with a very good reputation. I worked hand and hand with a wonderful group of fosters I had found over time to form a fantastic organization. Today I am still so very proud I ever called it my own. Together we saved thousands of lives, each with a story of their very own that I will never forget. It truly was the hardest but most rewarding journey of my life thus far. Rescuing was a love hate relationship.. You will do anything for these beautiful dogs to have a new lease on life, but you hate that you see the reality of what some people do to animals. It is the most heart breaking thing ever, especially when the reality of it all hits you and you realize that no matter how hard you work, you just can’t save them all.
I realized that I had accomplished what I set out to do and saved many lives. I felt I had reached a time in my life that I needed some normalcy again after so many years. I have always had 5 or 6 dogs of my own. Most had problems of their own being rescues and I felt it was time for me to focus more on them. So that’s exactly what I did.. It took three of four times before I could truly leave rescue behind but finally I reached a point I was ready to do it.
I always knew that I would continue in some way to help others with their dogs, but wasn’t sure exactly how. I had gained so much knowledge from having 2 dogs that had Tracheal Collapse and one with Laryngeal Paralysis. Today I have 3 dogs with Tracheal Collapse. I also had a dog that survived Laryngeal Paralysis and the “Tie Back” surgery. I have gained a lot of knowledge of both disease of time, and many trials. I thought to myself, what was I to do with all this knowledge? There were too many people out there struggling with their own fur babies and these 2 diseases.
Although I have never worked as a Veterinarian, or even a vet tech, I have picked up a lot of knowledge at this point in the years I dedicated to rescuing animals. I really felt the need to share what I have learned over time, with many people going through the day to day trails of these two diseases. I didn’t want people to not have the answers like myself, years ago when I first had to deal with these two diseases. Tino, my oldest dog, was the one that truly inspired me start the Facebook page I now have, and my Faith who has since passed away had Laryngeal Paralysis, years prior to her passing. In the last year Tino has gained a younger brother that also has the disease and his brother Princeton was just diagnosed with it as well. Since then, the Facebook page on these two disease that I formed has turned in to my newest obsession. Today, I have had over 9,000 members that have joined seeking answers and education for their own dogs. The name of the Facebook page is (Collapsing Trachea in small dogs_ Plus Laryngeal Paralysis in dogs).