It's National Rescue Dog Day!


Woo! Did you know that today is National Rescue Dog Day — an official day to recognize all the beautiful dogs who have been or need to be rescued, fostered, and adopted? While my focus here is on Siberian Huskies, mixes, and northern breed dogs, I've had so many dogs over my lifetime, many of them rescues...and all breeds and mixes. And today is about all dogs in rescues and shelters waiting for their loving forever homes.

What Is National Rescue Dog Day? 

National Rescue Dog Day was founded in 2018 by by a woman named Lisa Wiehebrink, a children's book author and the executive director of an organization that "helps children learn the kind and responsible care of their pets" called Tails That Teach. She states that she was inspired to create this day from her own rescue dog named "Cooper" who was just a puppy that was found abandoned in a vacant and wound up in a shelter in  Los Angeles, California, where Lisa found him and adopted him. States Lisa, “There is something so special about Cooper. He is a gentle giant with a kind soul. His grateful spirit and unconditional love make me believe that he knows he was rescued. It’s for these reasons that I wanted to encourage others to consider adopting a dog from a shelter."

While every day is a day to help the epidemic-amount of dogs who wind up in shelters and rescues, National Rescue Dog Day takes place each year on today's date - May 20th - to shine a light on these dogs and the rescues who help try to help them find their loving forever homes.

How to Celebrate Rescue Dog Day 

Oh, so many ideas! Let me count the ways...

1. Show Them Off! First, if you have a beloved rescue dog(s), show them off and the fabulous life they are living with you with photos! 

 
Pre-FiveSibes, these were our very first two beloved dogs as a married couple we adopted (consecutively) as puppies through our local SPCA.

2.  Adopt! If you've been considering adding a dog to your family, please visit a shelter and or rescue near you. There are so many dogs just waiting - sometimes months to even years - for a family of their own. There is nothing "wrong" with dogs waiting in rescues. Even if you have a puppy, youngster, or senior dog, and/or specific breed or breed/mix in mind, you will find one at a shelter or rescue. Siberian Huskies are one of the top breeds of dogs that sadly find themselves abandoned or dropped off at a shelter, so please check them out.  

If you aren't sure where or which rescue to go to, please drop me a line and I can certainly steer you to some pretty pawesome Siberian Husky Rescues that I've networked with for years. Simply drop an Email to FiveSibesHuskyNews(at)gmail(dot)com and type Husky Rescue in the subject line. 
 
3. Foster! While you are thinking about if a dog is right for you - or if a Husky will fit into your lifestyle - foster one to see. It's a great way to get to know a rescue dog and to give him/her lots of love and attention in a healthy, loving home environment. I'm sure you've heard it before, but it is so worth repeating - fostering SAVES lives. How? When you foster a dog, it opens up that spot for the rescue to save another homeless Husky. And there are many - too many. Rescues work off of volunteers and donations, so in order to save a dog, get it the veterinarian medical it will need, feed it, socialize it, and prepare the dog for adoption, it takes money. Many rescues are not brick-and-mortar places either. Most run off the wonderful help and care of fosters.

4. Visit A Rescue Dog! Yup. It's that simple. Call and set up an appointment to go to a shelter or rescue and ask if you can help by sitting with a rescue dog, taking the dog out for a walk or a play date, or even just to sit and talk or read to the dog and give him some rescue-approved treats! That love and attention will mean the world to a rescue dog who spends most of them time in kennels or outdoor fenced-in areas.

(click on image to view my rescue and adoption links!)

 

5. Volunteer At A Rescue! There are so many ways you can volunteer to help. Give them a call and see what they need — it can be anything from cleaning kennels to visiting the dogs to helping with social media posts, photographing and networking the available dogs, maybe lending a hand at adoption events, creating posters, so many things!

6. Donate Time, Items & Money! While rescues certainly are in need of financial donations to help save dogs and the follow-up vet care, food, treats, toys, training, and socializing, you can check with the rescue to see if you can donate dog food and treats, leashes, collars, toys, bedding, bowls, etc. Or even your time — a donation of help is always welcome.

7. Spay & Neuter! It goes without say, but again worth repeating, in order to help the overwhelming epidemic of homeless dogs, the biggest way people can help is simple...by spaying and neutering. 

 8. EDUCATE! Shout it from the treetops...education is KEY! Spread the word about the amazing, gorgeous full-breed and mix-breed dogs waiting for their forever homes and how everyone can help by checking them out - hence adopt not shop! I like to say - "Shop" at a Rescue to Adopt! And yes, there are some amazing, reputable breeders out there...but, there are so many amazing, beautiful homeless dogs that truly deserve a loving forever home. That said...any time someone is thinking of adding a furry best friend to the family, please-please do your homework on the type of dog you are interested in! That's the very best way...need info on Siberian Huskies? Ask any rescue, or check out my breed info page HERE.

 


"'Shop' at a Rescue to Adopt!"
~Dorothy "FiveSibesMom" Wills-Raftery
 

 
 
 
 
Some Other of My Articles of Interest... 
(click on image to go to articles) 
 
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My #WaitingWednesday Posts Highlighting
Adoptable Siberian Huskies 

 
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Read the reviews and join in the Blog Book Tour HERE! 
 
Read all about in the below blog post! Click on image to read all about this special book. 
 

Still available are a limited number of new, first-print copies of my award-winning coffee table book on Canine Epilepsy featuring beautiful Epi-dogs across the world! (New books only available in our imashutrbug Ebay store:

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