Wishbone Holiday Campaign

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  All donations to help CCHS save a life is greatly appreciated!

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• Terry Lynn's Story:

  
  Terry Lynn (“TL” herein) Fisher is the only hope of the many animals abused and abandoned in the very small, very rural town of Burns Flat, Oklahoma.
  
  In 2002 Terry Lynn took in a dog who gave birth to a litter of puppies. Terry Lynn kept the dogs she could not find homes for. One day 2 of the puppies escaped her yard through a hole in her fence. At that time, strays were shot dead as a matter of routine in Burns Flat – both in the streets and in the pound. A passing lawman saw the puppies in the street, whistled to them to come to him, and in front of Terry Lynn’s house (she saw them run out and was grabbing her coat so she could retrieve them), shot one of them to death. He shot “Oddball,” a small puppy whose owner was running out into the street to grab her, four times. Oddball suffered horrendously.
  
  Contrary to what so many people would do, Terry Lynn’s response to this astonishing act of cruelty was essentially to take over the Burns Flat pound, on her own dime and with her own time. She has since taken the Burns Flat pound from a 100% kill rate via shotgun to a 0% kill rate for five plus years in a row.
  
  TL is a janitor at a school. She feeds, cleans, exercises, socializes, warms in the winter / cools in the summer, and advertises for rescue all of the dogs in the city pound on her own dime, usually taking odd jobs (predominantly mowing lawns – which she was almost entirely unable to do this summer because of the drought) to do it. When there's a medical emergency with one of the dogs at the pound, she drives them to the closest vet, approximately 30 minutes away, and pays the bill herself. The vet does not give her special rates. Until recently, she was going without electricity to do all of this; though funds were raised to turn her lights back on, she still refuses to let anyone help her get gas turned back on (and so continues to take cold showers) because she'd rather use any money people are willing to donate to build more kennels at the pound.
  
  Terry Lynn encounters great opposition from the people who run Burns Flat. She receives little to no support and has few volunteers in her town. The people in Burns Flat do horrible, astonishing things to their pets on a regular basis. Despite being broke and exhausted and run-down, Terry Lynn does whatever it takes to save every single one of them. As an example of what Terry Lynn sees in this town, here is a link to a write-up on the rescue episode which alerted me to Terry Lynn and her amazing work in the first place: Local rescuers provide cross border safety net for 3 generations of abused dogs.
  
  Terry Lynn moves all of the Burns Flat dogs and cats into rescue groups who can more ably handle the animals’ vetting and the screening of adoptive homes. Without volunteers, she is left to transport nearly all the animals to rescues in OK, TX, NM and CO herself, often meeting volunteers from the recipient groups halfway. She sometimes cannot do a transport because she doesn’t have money for gas. Her tires are bald and her car worn down. She doesn’t buy herself clothes or get her hair cut because she spends all of her money on these animals. I’m not sure I have ever seen someone encounter so much hardship and opposition to help others. I do not understand how she has not given up. Terry Lynn lives in hell, and she is a true saint.
  
  I am hoping that CCHS’ Wishbone Campaign might make a contribution towards TL’s outstanding vet bill!.
  
  

  **Update: Terry Lynn sent us an email of thanks:

  "I am honestly at a loss of words...To see that people thought I am worthy of receiving help, when there are so many others out there, has truly brought me to tears....
  
  As most of you know, I do this in memory of Oddball, the little girl gunned down in the street... Because of her tragic death, so many others have been saved...
  
  I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life that really care, not only about my innocent throw aways here, but about ME, as a person and THAT means so much to me...
  
  There are so many things we need here...new food and water dishes...new dog houses...I am working on getting the funds for a privacy fence so I can place out door kennels in it and they wont be bothered by neighbors or the town...out door kennels...and sadly, ALWAYS the vet....
  
  I just want to take a minute and tell everyone how very grateful I am and how much I truly appreciate everything everyone has always done for these innocent babies... Thank you so very much..."
  How to help: We ask that you either make monitary donations via the chip in link below and CCHS will see to it that the money is used according to the families needs and wishes (i.e. pay vet directly or purchse items and give to them) or you can drop off items on the wish list to: 5593 Emerson Ct, Fairview, TX 75069. Please place on porch and label the bag accordingly (i.e. Family #1) so we know who to give the items to.
  
  Thank you so much for your efforts to uplift and help a family and their fur kids in need this holiday season!! If you have any questions, please email pres@CollinCountyHumaneSocitey.org
  To make additional donations for Terry Lynn's Cause, you can contact her Vet at:
  Elk Creek Animal Clinic
  Dr. Noble
  1301 Industrial Airport
  Elk City, OK 73624
  (580) 225-4863