A Doxie Story: Hearts4Doxies

A new journey begins <Full story below in the Q&A>

A love, A bond, A connection intertwined forever. <the story below in the Q&A>

Meet Hearts4Doxies

Do you know about Hearts4Doxies?

Author and doxie lover, Valerie Mallinson and I recently got together so I could meet her two senior doxies. Both Fred & Ginger (adorable names!) were recently adopted from Hearts4Doxies, a rescue that focuses on hard-to-place fosters and rescues. I needed to know more about this local rescue so below is a Q&A with Patricia, the mastermind behind Hearts4Doxies.

Before we look at the organization’s mission though – Fred & Ginger have special needs and a fund has been set up to assist with their surgeries!  Hearts4Doxies helped care for these two seniors before Val adopted them and are still paying for his recent nasal oral fissure surgery from a badly pulled tooth. There will be ongoing vet care for these special needs seniors too. The link to their fundraising page is: https://www.gofundme.com/fred-ginger.

“Ginger is functionally blind from cataracts, but that doesn’t slow her down on walkies even one bit. If she can’t see you or doesn’t know what you are up to, she plays Barko-Polo to locate you! Fred’s had an adventurous life. Despite birth defects leaving him deaf and vision impaired, he’s been on a wild ride—missing a toe, gaining a scar that goes up and over his forehead,” according to Valerie.

It’s clear that Valerie and her husband, Steve, are already in love with the pair after a few short months. “When Steve and I decided to open our hearts again to having rescues, we made the conscious decision to seek out dogs who were often overlooked due to age or special needs. Working with Hearts4Doxies is such a treat. They put all their efforts, time, love, and money into hard-to-place fosters and rescues. Fred and Ginger came to us after two months in a shelter and another three months in excellent foster care. They are the best love bugs ever. It’s been less than two months and we can’t imagine not having them around,” enthusiastically shared Valerie.

_______

You can clearly see why I wanted some details on this wonderful rescue organization – they’re clearly making a difference for hard to place animals.

Patricia’s purpose and passion? Meet Hearts4Doxies.

Q. How many doxies do you currently have in the program? 

A. Currently, I have 8 -most are seniors, a special needs (down doxie), a bonded pair and some younger who have been abused/neglected.

Q. How did Fred & Ginger come your way?

A. Fred & Ginger were sent via an email from a local rescue asking if I would help. I immediately said YES to taking in this bonded senior pair knowing how urgent and critical their situation was.

Q. Do you pull from local shelters? Where do your hard to place doxies typically come from?

A. Yes, I am able to pull from certain local shelters when a rescue only is placed on the dog(s). Our hard to place doxies mostly come from owner-surrenders and Craigslist.

Q. What doxies do you currently need foster families for right now you’d like to mention?

A. I would like to have mentioned a senior (11 1/2 years old) who is partially blind that needs an immediate foster home. I would love to give him a safe, soft place to land with a doxie savvy home. The criteria for a foster home is specific to each doxie’s needs – a Foster Questionnaire is used, along with a home and reference check.

If you would like to foster, please email us at hearts4doxies@gmail.com.

Q. In addition to Fred and Ginger – what’s your most memorable adoption story you’d like to share? 

A. Ohhh that’s a tough question – I have so many that picking one is hard!  With that said, it would have to be a senior named Axel, a down doxie that was placed for free on Craigslist. I answered the ad explaining the dangers and asked if I could take him into the rescue to provide him with the opportunity for a pain-free, happy quality life. When the owner brought Axel, it was a heart dropping moment I will never forget. He had been paralyzed for almost 9 months, dragging himself on the concrete where sores and open wounds were throughout his belly and back legs, yet his spirit was alive and he was full of life. Axel was adopted by a dear and special lady named Lori who has a heart for specially-abled pets.

His health was restored and through Barbara Techel’s National Walk N’ Roll Dog Foundation, we were donated a wheelchair by Eddie’s Wheels. Lori brought Axel a life filled with mobility, freedom, happiness, love and quality. One of my most favorite pictures of Axel is attached – he was and always will be our Super Man!

<see pics above in the beginning> The other photo is when I first picked Axel up and transported him, and, lastly, an unbreakable bond, Lori & Axel. Being a wirehair, Axel had such a silliness about him that instantly, all you could do is smile!  Sadly, he passed away of an illness after 1 1/2 years but in those years Christine, he was so, so very loved and his memory lives forever. Lori’s undeniable love touched and taught many – his passing took a piece of her heart.

Q. A re-homing assistance program is really unique – what made you want to focus on this niche? 

A. The re-homing program was founded because of the great need to give owners another option from putting their pets down, bringing them to a shelter, placing them on Craigslist or giving them away to the unknown – especially since I help the most urgent, most vulnerable and the hardest such as seniors, bonded pairs and paralyzed doxies.

Hearts4Doxies has evolved from initially networking/partnering with trusted rescues asking if they had availability to take a surrender in. Because the need was so great, I began to build our foundation with amazing volunteers who foster, transport and donate, stretching from Idaho, through Oregon and Washington State.  By having foster homes (which are the bridge and backbone to rescues), the most urgent of dogs now had a quicker response to be saved, a loving environment, time to decompress, training to address any behavior issues and prepared to be successful for the next part of their journey. This bought time and time is always of the essence. I took it one step further and began to fundraise each month by holding auctions on our Facebook page and with those funds, we provide as much of the vetting possible to take the financial burden off rescues which as we all know, is crucial! By doing the ground work upfront, a rescue is now in a much better position to take someone in and when they do, it allows us to save more dogs. We have this wonderful teamwork approach! It’s a WIN WIN but the biggest winners, are the furry ones.

Additionally, it is also very important to help people who love their dachshunds keep them instead of surrendering. This means I will do my best to fundraise and provide some funds for things such as: a vet specialist & rehabilitation (for a doxie who has gone down), behavior assessment needed for training, spay/neuter or simply, a vet visit. It brings such pleasure to change a fur baby’s life by donating a wheelchair to a family who can’t afford one, a stroller to a senior with arthritis who can now enjoy the scents, sounds and the fresh air on walks and being a part of the family.

In the last 4 years, I believe I have helped over two hundred doxies/doxie mixes and other small breeds have a safe, happy, healthy, quality forever life. I also do much of the transporting which means I have driven well over 60,000 miles bringing doxies home covering Oregon, Washington State and British Columbia. Just so you know, I work full-time for King County Veterans, I am a single-mother of a college aged son named Colin and have 4 doxies Ella, Emma, Murphy & Sawyer.

Q. Why Doxies!! 🙂 (Of course I know why! but want readers to know more about what makes you tick) 

A. Being a Doxie Mom of 4, these special wieners bring such joy and companionship!  They have a “human” quality about them and there is a reason why they are called “velcro” dogs. Not only are they loyal, intelligent, protective, funny, big kissers and stubborn, they are happiest when they are with you, when they are a part of the family dynamic! Whether it’s laying next to you watching tv, burrowed under the blankets in the big bed, going for a car ride, a walk or taking a nap, a doxie thrives on human connection. Take that away, and you break their spirit. It is because of their need to be loved, give love, that fuels this passion deep within my heart. Thus, Hearts4Doxies…Last but not least, I have a deep devotion to special needs, education and spreading the word that wheelchair doggies can and do live a happy life. It is a mission to teach this important message to never say never.

Meet Fred & Ginger!