Attention All Shoppers
We've Got a Lost and Found Puppy
By Brande Urban |
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Various Ohio dog rescue operations offer canines a second chance at the wonder of being found. Each of them serve as voices for all the Lassies waiting for a Timmy to pull them out of the well.
Kyla Jones, volunteer and board member for Pug Rescue of Ohio, recalls an elderly pug, Roy, totally blind and deaf, wandering aimlessly around a parking lot.
"We got a call someone that had just left him," recalled Jones.
It's not the first time Jones has dealt with an unsuspecting aged dog left to fend for himself.
"But no matter what, we treat them all the same," he said. "It could be a puppy or a one-toothed 100-year-old pug."
Like most pet rescues in Ohio, Pug Rescue of Ohio tries to never turn a dog away - a tough idea to swallow, considering they don't always have facilities of their own. Instead, they serve as a type of mediator, assisting in the dogs' placement to foster homes all over the state and finding adoptive families.
"Currently we have 220 foster families. They don't all have dogs at the same time, but they stay on a list as the animals are able to be placed," says Jones. Foster homes serve the rescues well. Instead of being moved from cage to yet another cage, homes give much needed assistance in rehabilitation and healthy acclimation to the outside world, thus making the dog ready for adoption.
Overcrowding in shelters reduces life spans, which is a real problem for these pooches. Humane shelters have become experts at calling rescue groups for particular breeds. Barb Legens, Director & Founder of the Columbus Cocker Rescue, knows about the importance of relationships with humane shelters.
"They don't want to euthanize any more than we do," she said. "It's difficult, but no cocker will be put down because we didn't know about it."
Besides animal shelters and owner surrenders, pet rescues run the gamut in unwanted or lost animals. According to Legens, "If puppy mills know of a potential raid, they will release dogs so they don't get cited for numbers." Backyard breeders are finished with their dogs once they reach full maturity. They aren't breeding anymore and tend to incur large medical bills. Director and resident of the Central Ohio Sheltie Rescue, Penny Sanderbeck adds, "Unfortunately, we've known people to leave them at vets' offices. Or sometimes it's a death in the family, or a foreclosure."
"We took in the famous Burger King dog," says Bill Alan, Operational Manager for the Canine Collective, an all-breed rescue that specializes in helping dogs overcome mental or physical problems. "It took us ten months to catch Zoey, an Australian shepherd-mix up in Athens. He fed on leftover scraps from a nearby Burger King."
Regardless of what shape these dogs are in or where they came from, pet rescues want their dogs to have the best. Medical attention by vets, transition trainings, and careful screenings for fosters and caring owners are the standard. Pug Rescue of Ohio offers a month's supply of medication if they need it. The Canine Collective goes a step further by training mental or physical issues out of the dog.
"Maybe they don't get along with kids or cats," said Alan, "or they've been beaten or starved."
Needs for the rescues range from small donations of Martingale collars, special collars that rescues use, to crates, towels, and, of course, volunteers and finances. Legens makes the most of networking with vets and the larger community. However, her wish list right now would include a CPA willing to donate time to help out with bookkeeping.
As the Canine Collective is one of the few rescue kennels, they require all of the above and a little more such as blankets, bleach (to clean the kennels), and dog food donations. Adopting foster homes are a big need for the pet rescues.
"One of the benefits of a rescue is that the foster parents know the dog and can relay the information they have gained from living with the dog to potential adopters," said Sanderbeck.
Overall, adoption to loving homes is key. Chico, a seven year-old cocker spaniel, needed a pacemaker in order to live; a retiree helped with medical expenses and ended up adopting him. "People sometimes assume that rescues come with baggage...and some do," Sanderbeck noted. "But don't we all?"
Each rescue program offers information and pictures regarding current dogs for their breed on their individual websites. Experience the unconditional love of a dog from a rescue program. After all, they just want to be found.
Pug Rescue of Ohio
www.ohiopugrescue.com
The Canine Collective
www.caninecollective.org
Columbus Cocker Rescue
www.columbuscockerrescue.org
Central Ohio Sheltie Rescue
www.centralohiosheltierescue.org
Originally Published: September 1, 2009
