Rescue Alliance Member Spotlight

WKODIT (What Kind of Dog Is That?!!) Rescue

Sally Buechel

Six years ago while looking to adopt my own dog, I delved into the world of shelters and dog rescue. I ended up adopting my dog Hanna from a rescue, but continued to be haunted by the dogs out of time at the shelters. There were no rescues in my area to foster for, so I started my own rescue, doing one or two dogs at a time, focusing on medium and larger mixed breed dogs in urgent need. We were constantly trying to figure out the breeds of these wonderful mixes, asking ourselves and being asked by potential adopters, “What kind of dog is that?!”, hence the name. I started out rescuing from one shelter where there was a network of experienced rescuers and volunteers encouraging me and supporting me. They had two wonderful volunteers taking beautiful pictures, writing thoughtful bios, keeping their Petfinder website current, and had people willing to transport the dogs closer to us for pick-up. We also discovered that this county has a high incidence of heartworm in their dogs and got a crash course in heartworm epidemiology and treatment. Sadly, we saw dogs adopted/rescued and then returned when they were found to be positive and invariably ending up on the euthanasia list. Heartworm is a very treatable condition, it just takes money and time, and is not a reason for euthanasia, so we tried to raise funds for treating these dogs. This effort continues with our Hunter’s Heart Fund. When we have funding, we strive to rescue and treat the positive dogs. After Hurricane Katrina and the huge influx of heartworm positive dogs into the San Francisco Bay Area, the awareness and willingness to treat has really improved. Because it is not a big problem in the Bay Area, there was a surprising lack of knowledge. Last year we rescued and treated four dogs and contributed to the treatment of two others. Over the years we’ve helped about sixteen heartworm positive dogs thanks to the generosity of those contributing to the fund. Small numbers in the broader scheme, but a big effort for us. We also strive to educate others, in our own small way, that heartworm is treatable and more importantly, preventable. We are very pleased that the shelter we work with now tests each dog before it leaves the shelter, an important step in addressing the problem, and its no longer a death sentence.

	Cooper, our “Golden Brittany?!!” ended up in the shelter because he can climb a 7 ft. fence. They knew him well at the shelter and after many visits there, he finally ran out of time. We rescued him, treated his heartworm, and he was adopted by his wonderfully patient foster home that takes him everywhere with them.
	Handsome Cabo was heartworm negative thank goodness, but we’ve never figured out his breed mix. His adoptive family did a DNA analysis for fun, but it didn’t shed much light other than ruling out Bernese Mtn. Dog and some other guesses. What do you think?
	Indie, our “Border Shepherd ?!!” or ”German Collie?!! was our second heartworm pup. This unique, interesting, very smart and loving boy has finally found happiness in his second home where he is doted on.

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