Today is Blog The Change For Animals and it takes place on the 15th of January, April, July and October annually. Have a blog? Write about a cause near and dear to your heart. Inspire your audience to get involved!
Our mission at Grouchy Puppy is to give fearlessly and influence positively. I feel that starting from within your own community is one of the best places to do this. Having Cleo our rescue dog in our life, and knowing what it takes to care and feed her, running a rescue group or shelter with only volunteers impresses me beyond words. All around the country and the Bay Area there are many who have the ability, willingness and sheer fortitude for the job, and I salute them.
Here in San Francisco, a wonderful group that deserves our attention is Rocket Dog Rescue. They inspire me and having seem them in the city collecting donations and showcasing their adorable dogs, I think they make a perfect candidate for Blog the Change for Animals....
Rocket Dog Rescue and its volunteers are special. From the start, this group has used a grass roots level operational style that keeps the group of volunteers going. While the group isn't huge, clearly their hearts are. They demonstrate how you can still give fearlessly even when you are working with a lean organization like theirs. Here is their Founder, Pali Boucher in an interview by the SF Chronicle:
Q: So how does it work? Do people who can't keep their dogs call you? Shelters?
A: I get tons of calls. But I can only take the dogs that are about to be killed at a shelter—that day. But I will help people place dogs into permanent homes.Q: How many animals are under Rocket Dog's refuge?
A: Currently we are fostering about 12 dogs. I'm the main foster home.Q: How much dog food do you go through in a week?
A: Eighty pounds or about $70 worth. We feed them high-quality dog food.Q: How many dogs have you saved?
Q: That's amazing. How are you funded?
A: In this past year, over 150.
A: We run totally on donations; and none of us are ever paid. . . . We pay for spaying and neutering, vaccinations. Usually we do a lot more medically, or for dental work, than we should. I just had a dog come out of ear surgery. I took another dog to an eye specialist yesterday. What I do is sit out with a jar in the Castro or Noe Valley and collect money.
Rocket Dog Rescue is a volunteer based organization serving the greater Bay Area, dedicated to saving homeless and abandoned dogs from over crowded animal shelters. They help dogs from other areas that have compelling situations where they are in danger of abuse, neglect or euthanasia.
Rocket Dog Rescue places non-aggressive dogs into temporary foster homes where they are socialized, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and treated for any medical or behavioral conditions limiting their adoptability. RDR actively searches for permanent homes for its foster dogs by producing and distributing photo-biographic posters, by hosting an actively updated website and by organizing mobile adoption fairs and special events that provide exposure to potential adopters.
To inquire about fostering a dog, or about volunteering, adopting or donating, please contact Rocket Dog Rescue at 415-756-8188 or visit their Web site at www.rocketdogrescue.org.
Give fearlessly, that's what it's all about. Thank you for your blog and support to small rescues :)
Posted by: STLSeniorDog | July 15, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Small rescues can make a BIG difference in a dog's life. I love your work too!
Posted by: Sharon | July 15, 2010 at 01:44 PM
This sounds like an amazing group! We're glad we found you on the Be the Change Blog Hop today. So much good work going on!
The Road Dogs
Posted by: The Road Dogs | July 15, 2010 at 01:58 PM
What a great rescue! Groups like that much SUCH a difference!!
Posted by: Maggie | July 15, 2010 at 04:18 PM
You said it Maggie!
Thanks Road Dogs! We're glad to meet you too! Your blog reminds me how much I wish Cleo liked being the car more...
Posted by: Sharon | July 15, 2010 at 06:05 PM
Yay for rescues! :)
Posted by: Pup Fan | July 15, 2010 at 07:03 PM
Rocket Dog Rescue sounds like a fantastic place! I used to volunteer at a no-kill shelter that would take dogs that were on "death row" from shelters all over the northwest.
As I said in my BTC post, every little bit counts! :)
Posted by: Stacy | July 16, 2010 at 12:12 PM
I agree Stacy! Taking action, even on a small scale, makes a difference.
And to everyone, I couldn't be happier with a rescue & a big one at that! Rescues do rule!
Posted by: Sharon | July 17, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Hi Sharon,
Thank you so much for Blogging the Change! We're still making the rounds saying hello to everybody and we're still learning about great organizations like Rocket Dog. I hope that learning never ends! Thanks for everything your do for animals. We hope to see you on October 15th when we do this all over again.
All the best,
Kim (and Amy by proxy)
Posted by: BtC4animals.com | July 24, 2010 at 03:53 AM