Some dogs in Orange County have a harder time getting adopted — pushing some residents to save them from death row by fostering the animals for adoption, with some even taking the pets in themselves.
Senior dogs, dogs with medical issues and dogs with a black coat can spend more time at shelters, while puppies are often adopted more quickly.
The nonprofit Labradors and Friends Dog Rescue focuses on these pets that are getting left behind — pulling black dogs, senior dogs and medical dogs from kill shelters across Southern California and giving them a second chance at adoption.
Black dogs often have a harder time getting adopted because their coloring prevents them from showing up well on camera in certain lighting conditions. People also sometimes have superstitions against black dogs.
“We’ve never wavered from our mission of rescuing the underdogs,” Hilary Velardo, a 13-year volunteer with the nonprofit, said in a phone interview. “The logo of Labradors and Friends is a black dog, which are really the overlooked dogs in the shelter system. You’ll see a theme — we have black dogs, we have medical dogs and senior dogs, and those are usually the ones that are overlooked.”
[Read: These Dogs Are Getting Left Behind in Orange County Shelters]
While the group’s name suggests they focus mostly on Labradors, the nonprofit rescues dogs of all breeds that need help.
Labradors and Friends often pull dogs that end up on a euthanasia list from shelters in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and San Bernardino Counties. The nonprofit also pulls dogs from Orange County Animal Care and sometimes takes owner surrenders.
Labradors and Friends takes in approximately 350 dogs annually.
Most of the pets spend their time in foster homes with volunteers, but some dogs stay in boarding facilities while undergoing medical treatment or while they’re waiting to get picked up by a future foster or adopter.
The group utilizes two boarding facilities in Orange County. Volunteers regularly take the rescued dogs on pack walks to get them socialized and used to being around people and other pets in public.
Velardo has been fostering with Labradors and Friends since she first started volunteering — to date, she’s fostered about 20 dogs as they wait for a permanent home.
She first fostered a dog named Marta.
“She was this terrified dog,” Velardo said. “I brought her home, and she was terrified for weeks. One day, I got home, and her tail was wagging. She looked me in the eye, and I cried.”
Eight months later, Marta was adopted.
“It was very frustrating at times because I didn’t know if I was doing the right thing for her,” Velardo said. “Just watching her blossom was the best feeling.”
Volunteers can foster dogs indefinitely until they’re adopted, or they can take dogs for as short as a weekend to give the pet time outside a kennel.
“Fosters are what make the rescues work,” Velardo said. “Fosters really give that dog an experience that a boarding facility or shelter never could. They’re in a home environment, they’re getting a routine down, they’re hearing the hustle and bustle and feeling the love of a family. They’re getting these experiences that allow this dog to know it’s okay when it’s adopted.”
Karen Vaughn, a volunteer with Labradors and Friends, got started with the group in the early part of this year. She previously volunteered at OC Animal Care, the county-run shelter, before finding a new home at the rescue.
“We can take the dogs out on real walks,” Vaughn said. “We can take them home if we want. We can take them to the beach, to restaurants, to get their puppuccinos … We’ve had dogs with broken legs, we’ve had sick dogs, and you actually get to see the dog get rehabilitated and become this beautiful dog and find a home.”
Vaughn is a “foster fail” — meaning she signed up to temporarily foster a dog and ended up adopting the pet herself.
She decided to foster a dog named Hope, and after seeing her transformation, she adopted her and changed her name to Happy.
At the time, she wasn’t looking for another dog.
“I brought her to an event, and she pancaked. She just laid flat on the ground and would not move,” Vaughn said. “Before that event was over, she was in my lap. Despite these dogs’ horrendous lives they had, it’s all in their past, and they have so much love to give.”
She adopted Happy in June.
“Rescuing these dogs from kill shelters and seeing the transformation that these dogs get, a second chance in life, it just makes me so happy,” Vaughn said.
Some of the dogs featured in this article are available for adoption. To review dogs available for adoption from the Labradors and Friends Dog Rescue, click here.
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.