Pooches: On Animal Rescues

 Knowing how many dogs are in shelters, we are always amazed that someone took a chance on gangly, mangy Miss M. The same Miss M who became tolerant Miss M of many costumes, well-trained Miss M who can put her own toys away on command, and social Butterfly Miss M who charms everyone she meets. And I am forever grateful to her rescue group who saw something special in her and pulled her right before she was set to be euthanized. Here is vintage Miss M:

 As adorable Mayzie is having rescue week on her blog, it really made me think about how proud we are to have Miss M as a New Leash on Life alumni, and why we've returned to the group as both volunteers and foster parents with foster dog SuperLevi. Here are a couple of reasons why we love her rescue group:

Rescuing the "Undesirable Dogs":

 New Leash seeks to help Chicago's overpopulation problem directly by rescuing nearly all their dogs from Chicago's Animal Care and Control (ACC) in the pavilions where the pooches are slated for euthanasia. They have rescued and adopted out several Senior dogs, dogs with physical limitations, shy and scared dogs, deaf dogs, bonded pairs, and pitbull-type dogs which ACC cannot adopt out to the general public. Several years ago there was a pup who had been shot in the face and despite his sweet nature and eagerness to learn, he was being continually passed over because of the medical care needed to fix his jaw. New Leash welcomed them into their family, where he was quickly adopted.Years later we met this very same pup, Dude, in our SociaBulls group. He has become a therapy dog, and he is one of the happiest, well-trained pooches we know; his Dad couldn't adore him more.

Becoming a Family:

 Once New Leash pulls a dog from ACC, their commitment is unending, and they are 100% committed to keeping it safe and healthy for their lifetime and finding them a forever home no matter how long it might take. The dogs are welcomed back with open arms if they ever need to return in the future. They just had a situation where a doting adopter, who adopted his dog 6 years ago, suddenly had to move to another country to care for his sick mother. While he was heartbroken that it was impossible to bring his dog with him, New Leash welcomed the pup with open arms...and the dog was just as quickly scooped up by previous adopters in the New Leash family!
The group even has "Adoption Counselors" that work with families to make sure each dog and family is a great fit. Each family goes through a 2-week "Foster-to-Adopt" period where the dog will live with them and the family can realize if it is a good fit before officially adopting the dog. I knew nothing about pitbulls, and when I had Miss M in Foster-to-Adopt her Adoption Counselor was so helpful giving me advice. With this program, the group actually has very few returns.

All Donations go Directly to the Dogs:

 New Leash on Life operates solely on donations, and every cent they raise goes directly to the dogs for medical care, food, supplies, and boarding.  They are able to do this because they have no facility and rely on foster homes and partner boarding facilities. As a volunteer-run rescue, they have no paid employees; the Board
of Directors is comprised of four women who each have full-time jobs, but who are committed to the rescue.  They also rely heavily on a huge band of volunteers who help with all aspects of the rescue – fostering dogs,handling and transporting dogs at weekly adoption events, and helping with PR and marketing.

We know there are so many amazing rescue groups in Chicago, and other locations, and we'd love to use the comments section to hear about these groups and maybe some things that make them so amazing!