By Phil and Krista Baker
North Carolina State Parks Bring Healing
Last year we completed our challenge to visit all NC State Parks and hike over 100 miles, beginning in January of 2019, and ending in November of the same year.
While 100 miles may not sound like a huge amount to some, the challenge was born out of the need to get Krista back out and about after two major surgeries that had left her feeling drained and incomplete. The challenge came during a time of depression and hopelessness, and so there was more meaning and purpose in this challenge than just about anything we'd ever done.
When we set foot in that last park, there was a feeling of accomplishment we still don't know how to describe to this day.
Until recently, we'd never been a family to challenge ourselves to reach new heights and conquer new goals, outside of job and scholastic related achievements. Once the surgeries happened and the recovery began, we found that setting the park goals gave us that purpose we needed to keep pressing. The selection of which parks and which days still occurred at random based on when we had time, but the overall purpose and ultimate goal was always right there.
The more we got out there, the better Krista was feeling, but there was always something missing.
Volunteering with BDAR
Early on in our years living in Cheyenne, we made friends with Johnny Wallesch, who told us about his then-fiance, Britney's non-profit organization, Black Dog Animal Rescue. As our two families grew in friendship, so too did we get involved in their mission, early in the days where the small group of volunteers would meet at someone's house, sit in a circle and share ideas and experiences through the rescue.
Aside from some shuttling of animals from one town to the next, we decided we really wanted to get involved with fostering, and helping Britney and Johnny achieve their dreams of being the community-centered animal rescue that Cheyenne desperately needed.
We began our fostering experience with Flint, a playful Rottweiler who was one of the sweetest, most personable dogs we took care of. Our chihuahua, Lucy, thought she could play on his level, and learned early on this wasn't true. After Flint we decided to scale back on the size of the dogs we fostered, and we began taking in smaller dogs that Lucy could play with. It wasn't always easy, but it WAS always rewarding to know that we were providing a home for dogs until they could find their forever homes. We even have our very own foster failure, who brings us joy to this day.
Overall, we got the opportunity to foster many wonderful dogs, and delighted in knowing that we were able to help them on their journey to connect with their forever families.
Bringing the Two Experiences Together
These two seemingly unrelated passions came together in a very unexpected way. We were searching for a new challenge for 2020; something to push the boundaries of what we had accomplished, while remaining realistic from both a time and budget perspective. We had also lamented on several occasions that we were not in a good position to foster again full-time.
Then Krista saw a post on Facebook from Burlington Animal Services, in regards to a "Foster Express Challenge" to draw attention to short term foster care. It was intended to run through the busy holiday season, but when Krista saw this, we thought if we were able to do this throughout the year, it would allow us to foster again. It could also push us to look at the state parks from another perspective. We loved the idea from the start, and decided officially to challenge ourselves to visit each of the NC state parks again this year, this time bringing a foster dog with us to each one.
We reached out to the Foster Coordinator at Burlington Animal Services. She bought in fully and immediately, and we were off to the races! Short term fostering has been a wonderful opportunity for us to remain active in a cause that we care deeply about. It is not always easy introducing a brand new guest into a home with crabby old chihuahuas and cats, and fostering for 1-3 days at a time can feel like we haven't done enough. But at the end of the day, getting them outside into a new environment, and learning their reaction to different stimuli makes every trip an exciting new challenge in and of itself. Also, we are able to gather more information for the Shelter to help ensure that they are able to find the right forever home for these wonderful dogs.
Lastly, hiking with dogs is more exciting, challenging, and rewarding than hiking alone. We can share a mutual love for the natural beauty of North Carolina's State Parks and the unconditional love that dogs give us without question day in and day out. Thank you to both BDAR and Burlington Animal Services for the work that you do every day, and for giving us an opportunity to be a part of it!
