“I like to cuddle.”
— Darla, Old English Bulldog, adopted from a humane society in Florida

“She looked awful when we got her. She was only 5 pounds and had mange really bad. She’s made a big transformation from then.

“She was really scared when we adopted her. She was always hiding under the bed. But now she’s great. She’s full of character. She loves everybody. She loves getting hugs and kisses.”

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“I like to keep an eye on the birds. I’m still trying to figure them out.”
— Suki, Dutch Shepherd about 5 years old, adopted from the Houston SPCA

“She’s very, very calm. She doesn’t bark at all. We’ve only heard her bark twice and that’s when someone was in the house that she didn’t know.”

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Meet Izzy (left), who helped socialize her buddy, Kandi.

Izzy is a very sweet little Poodle-Schnauzer about 5 years old. “I got her from my sister, who got her from her niece who was traveling and couldn’t care for her. So I took her, and I’ve had her for about 4 years. She’s just a wonderful little companion. She’s very happy-go-lucky.

Kandi came into their family about 14 months ago from Poodle Rescue of Houston. The Schnauzer-terrier is also about 5 years old.

“She was a breeder surrender. The breeders weren’t happy with the way she turned out, so they surrendered her to the rescue. The rescue placed her in two different homes, but only briefly because she’s very shy, very timid. She wouldn’t come when called, so each family returned her. I got her a year ago Christmas, and she is just now letting me pick her up without having to chase her in the house to put a leash on her.

“I think the fact that I had Izzy helped Kandi mellow out, because she had someone to kind of follow and bond with. She bonded with her certainly before she bonded with me.”

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“When I lost my dog of 13 years, I thought I was going to go off the deep end. She was a Labrador Retriever. She was my love. I wasn’t ready for another dog, but I came to the shelter and started looking. Then I started taking pictures and trying to save them. It just evolved from thereFinding homes for rescue dogs is 24/7 endeavor

“I work closely with the staff here and at several other shelters in the area to find homes for these animals. I now have a huge network of people on Facebook I work with to find fosters and set up rescues all over Texas, the United States and even Canada.

“One little Chihuahua, Ellie, weighed 16 ounces when she was brought here. They were going to euthanize her because she was very ill and she wasn’t adoptable. I immediately took her home and started with the fluids and reviving her. I really got attached to her. But just last month I let her go to an adopter, a wonderful family. She was up to 2 pounds, 8 ounces. I get pictures of her all the time. She’s just one of those you know you have to help, because she was going to go down.

“These animals don’t have a voice, so we have to be their voice to save them.”

— Lou Sisk

Related:

• Finding homes for rescue dogs is 24/7 endeavor

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“Now I keep very busy doing rescue work in the community. It’s a volunteer thing, but it’s my passion. This is my life. It’s what I do 24/7.

“At any given time I’ll have numerous messages on my phone saying, ‘I have a dog. Can you help me find a home?’ A lot of times I’ll foster them myself for a couple of days until we can set up a transfer to a rescue home.

“My husband knows that when he comes home, there could be five new dogs at the house that day. One time, we had 13. They were puppies, and they moved quickly.

“I haul dogs all over the place. I drove two to Arizona this year, one to my younger sister and one to my older sister. I try to find a place for as many as I can.

“It’s a lot of work, and I do neglect my family at times. But it’s what I need to do to save these precious little animals.”

— Lou Sisk

Related:

• Dogs have a friend, and a voice, in rescuer

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“I guess my first rescue happened when I was about 12 years old. I brought home a St. Bernard. My mom said, ‘Oh, no you don’t.’ My stepdad said, ‘Let the girl have the dog.’ Since then I have rescued hundreds of dogs.

“I have worked as an independent rescuer for years, getting dogs from local shelters, strays off the streets, anywhere there is a need. I take care of all of their medical needs out of my own pocket. That’s not always an easy thing to do, but I do it willingly because they are living beings in need of help that only a human can provide.

“Once they are medically sound and emotionally rehabilitated, I send them on to rescue groups to be adopted out.

“For the past two years I have been working with Val’s Pals German Shepherd and Large Paw Rescue. I am on the board of directors and I also serve as the intake coordinator. We are a 501c3, and we rely on donations to help the animals that come into our care. We take in the worst of the worst medical cases. It is an expensive venture, and sometimes we as board members have to cover the costs ourselves.

“We do our level best to get them better and ready for adoption. Because of all the dedicated volunteers and supporters, we have many success stories to share. However, we can’t save them all. The ones that can’t be saved are stabilized and kept comfortable until their time comes. They have suffered so much in life that at the very least they deserve to die with dignity.

“We will continue to have an overwhelming need for groups like ours until we get stricter laws in place for breeders and more resources allotted to our local shelters.”

— Tiffany Frazier

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“I’m not much of a people person. I guess I just connect better with dogs. I can read dogs really well, especially the abused ones.

“This guy came from a man who was abusing him to the point where he couldn’t even stand next to you when he was a puppy. He would pee all over himself. He was terrified of brooms and anything that moved, pretty much. So, I took him in and rehabilitated him.

“I was that kid who brought in strays off the street and just kept them. I’ve been working with dogs since I was 16. I worked at shelters and began training the ones that were abused. One day, the owner of the shelter had 12 show dogs and he started to teach me how to groom them. I’ve been grooming ever since.”

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“We have two rescue dogs. We bought Levi here as a puppy. We weren’t planning to, but he was in a really bad part of town and he was flea infested. I just couldn’t leave him there. So, I gave the lady $100 and took him off her hands. He’s been a great dog.

“And we just rescued our smaller dog three months ago. Whoever had him before us abused him to the point where he lost an eye. But he’s doing fine now. He’s a very loyal companion.”

— Steve Denton

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“My wife found Lucky (left) in a garbage bag along the side of the road with two litter mates that were already dead. When I got home from the animal shelter with Dixie, she was standing there holding this 8-week-old puppy. We’ve had them both for about 3½ years now. They’re definitely part of the family.”

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