Living Grace Canine Ranch focuses on serving the largest population of dogs marked for euthanasia in rural shelters throughout the United States today. Texas’ senior dogs are more likely to be euthanized than any other canine population in the nation “as a means of population control,” according to shelter counts conducted by ShelterAnimalCounts.org.
LGCR volunteers find themselves working with unsung heroes throughout the state who manage often without operating budgets, non-profit status, or boards of directors to rescue neglected and abused un-adoptable and abandoned senior dogs from rural kill shelters and hoarding situations.
For example, LGCR partners with Furever Friends and Rescue, a small ‘foster-based’ non-profit located in Burnet, TX. “We have a small number of trusted fosters who help by transporting ‘foster fails’ from across the state,” said Terry Holley. Furever Friends and Rescue also works with “several sister rescues” in the Austin area “which gives us the opportunity to pull, assess, and vet to get the dog some love and decompression in a home environment.”
Although Furever Friends does accept donations, they are primarily a volunteer-driven organization that currently has approximately “15 dogs and five fosters” they are preparing for adoption, she said. “We don’t have the manpower to keep up a website, but our Facebook page is always available.”
By working throughout the state with small, informal volunteer organizations like FureverFriends, LGCR works toward fulfilling its mission as a much needed missing link for saving rescued senior dogs from almost certain euthanasia by providing a healthy environment for abandoned dogs that are suitable for fostering and ultimate adoption into a loving home.
Editor Note: On behalf of Living Grace Canine Ranch, our volunteers, and an old pack of dogs, we offer a full-paw salute to all rescuers, hostage negotiators, and transporters.