Some of you may know that my mom does dog rescue. This started as a side hobby where she would take in a needy dog here and there, then she began searching for dogs that needed "rescuing." While her intentions were noble, she wasn't exactly going about it right. She seemed to be attracted to the dogs on craigslist in horrible situations whoes owners would not let the dogs go without payment. Basically, she was buying dogs that needed help, then investing further money into their medical needs and finally, re-homing them for a fraction of what she had put into the dog.
I know of many people that have done this. Bought a dog from a pet shop or puppy mill situation or out of the paper because they couldn't possibly leave the dog in the situation it was in. However, the problem with this is that the money paying to save that one dog, is fueling the fire of that person to create/breed more dogs to abuse and live in deplorable condition to turn a profit because people are willing to pay! I think my mom finally realized that she "can't save them all," and that there is a much smarter way to rescue dogs in need, all be it a more complicated road at the beginning.
So began the creation of Sweet Dog Rescue, a 501c non-profit organization dedicated to saving dogs and giving them a second chance. My mom houses the dogs in her home and takes care of all their medical needs, spay/neuter, shots, chipping etc. She potty trains them, crate trains them and makes sure they find a good home. I can't take dogs into my home, but I help in other ways. I maintain the website and petfinder and craigslist accounts. I locate many of the dogs she ends up pulling from the shelter (no more buying dogs from people!), I offer training support to adopted dogs, I take pictures of the dogs and soon will be arranging for donation drives and other events.
This brings me to a rescue story near to my heart.
Charlie was a young scruffy terrier mix at the Martinez pound. In one of their last runs, down the many twists and turns of the hall, it was easy to miss him. With three other dogs, Charlie was matted and coated with feces. He still seemed jolly despite his condition and calmly walked up to the gate when approached. The other two little ones in his run yapped and baked away, fearful of a person watching them.
My mom has a soft spot for terriers. She has two terriers of her own, a Jack Russell rescue and a Wheaten Terrier. She couldn't leave Charlie there. So Charlie was paid for, at this point the full price of what the public pays as her 501c paper work was still in limbo with the IRS.
Charlie got neutered and the next day was available for pick-up. According to his paperwork, Charlie was a stray and approximately 1 year old.
He settled in quickly and it was hard to keep him mellow for a few days while he healed. Pretty soon he was scampering around the yard full of joy. He played with the other dogs, layed on dog beds, solicited human attention and was an overall good boy. He got a good clean up at the groomers to remove the matting and the feces as the pound does not do any cleaning prior to surgery, and the dogs have to wait a certain amount of time after surgery to get wet. It baffles me why they can't just give the dogs a quick bath to at least remove some of the filth. When asked about this, they adamantly say they have groomers on staff, but what do the groomers do?
Charlie was listed on the website, petfinder and craigslist. It wasn't long before a couple across the bay came to visit Charlie. It turned out to be a great match and he was adopted. It was then he was dubbed Chauncey and moved into a lovely home with caring owners.
Chauncey's owners take him to the beach, the dog park, and he goes on car-rides in his own custom booster seat! He was having some trouble adjusting at first to the husband, but with some e-mail training consults, the behavior is getting much better.
I am so happy for Chauncey to have gotten a second chance and to be living with such wonderful, dedicated owners and for the other 30 or so dogs to date that my mom has helped give a second chance to.
I will admit, I myself have never adopted a rescue dog (though I have only had 2 dogs of my own). I used to be of the mindset that rescue dogs were damaged and unpredictable. I am learning that rescue dogs come from all walks of life and that if one looks hard enough, there are many diamonds in the rough out there.
So give a shelter dog a chance. If you are local, check out my mom's website http://www.sweetdogrescue.com/ as she gets many different breeds of dogs, temperaments and ages.
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