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As our week-long celebration of National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week comes to a close, PetMeds talks to John about his organization, Coconut Grove Dog Rescue:

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Tell us a little bit about your shelter:

Coconut Grove Dog Rescue is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit animal welfare and rescue organization located in Coconut Grove, Florida. ?Our Mission: Make sure all abandoned dogs in the Coconut Grove Sailing Village of Miami Florida never make it to MDAS. Ever!!

There is a massive dog overpopulation issue in Miami-Dade County. Through decades of a culture that supports backyard breeding, rejects the concept of Spay/Neuter and doesn?t encourage adoption over buying, the number of unwanted dogs has skyrocketed. The County?s Animal Control Department (MDAS) euthanizes over 35,000 animals each year, with only about 8,000 animals saved through adoption.

Not all abandoned dogs were ?success stories? and the strays and other abandoned dogs in the park has consistently increased since the beginning of the current economic recession. Landlords are finding dogs in abandoned homes and apartments; neighbors are finding the same thing?.This must be stopped.? Coconut Grove Dog Rescue works to find foster and permanent, loving homes for these animals left to fend for themselves.

Together, we can all make a difference. Coconut Grove Dog Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and many wonderful people and local businesses have been extremely generous in donating funds and services to assist this cause. We appreciate those efforts as do all the animals we have rescued. Make a difference and save a life!

Coconut Grove, as an affluent and dog-friendly community, has long been a popular dumping ground for unwanted pets, most likely because those abandoning their pets assume that someone in the community will give the dog a home. Blanche Park, in particular, has dozens of regular daily visitors, many of which have become somehow involved in the dog rescue process just by being a park frequenter. Many have fostered, donated, gone to fund-raisers, and adopted through this community effort.Not all abandoned dogs were ?success stories? and the strays and other abandoned dogs in the park has consistently increased since the beginning of the current economic recession. Landlords are finding dogs in abandoned homes and apartments; neighbors are finding the same thing?.This must be stopped.Coconut Grove Dog Rescue works to find foster and permanent, loving homes for these animals left to fend for themselves.

How did you become involved in helping to rescue animals?

When I was at the dog park a cute little dog came running to me and found out she was a puppy in needing of rescue and she melted my heart.? She is the spokes model for our organization named Cinnamon.

How do you feel your animal shelter differs from those in your area?

First we are not a shelter we are a community based organization that helps the community with those abandoned dogs by trying to find foster families to foster the lost or abandoned pet until we can find their forever home.? Secondly we have our own ?Chip Reader? where we use it on a daily basis as we get 2 -3 calls a day for lost dogs and we go to them or they come to us.? Thirdly is our adoption procedure which is 3 steps.? Day 1 a 3 hour midday visit to potential adoptee with client pet; Day 2 a 4-6 hour home visit with potential adoptee and client pet; and Day 3 and overnight stay with adoptee and client pet.? Doing it this way we have found a 100% success rate between adoptee and client pet.

What does National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week mean to you and your organization?

That is nice to know that such an organization exists where if I need assistance I can go to them.

Do you have a favorite adoption story you would like to share?

Two come to mind.? One is Lady Coco and she was about 6 years old and was a brindle bulldog that was used as a puppy mill and was found on her last legs roaming the Grove.? She had over 100 ticks taken off and when we took her to the vet they found another 100 or so between her toes and ears too.? She was fostered for about 6 months and we brought her back to health and she was adopted 11/1/2011 by a great and loving family and she is still in the neighborhood and we see her from time to time.? She is so happy to be in her new forever home.

The other is Cinnamon, the one that I saw in the dog park running around on my birthday on 9/20/10 and she had been found running the streets at 4 months old near our Vet.? The person that had her originally named her Petunia but to me she was more a Cinnamon.? I adopted her that very day on my Birthday and today she is thriving with her adoptive sister Luna (below), our Golden Retriever.? Cinnamon is a happy go lucky young lady!

We know the work you do is selfless and many may even say underappreciated. What do you feel is the most frustrating part of your job?

Getting community assistance from the people that do find lost dogs expect us to take them in right away and we don?t have fosters sometimes and sometimes they do keep the dog for a bit but sometimes they get mad at us when we tell them or ask them can they hold on to them for a bit of time until we put out our feelers for foster.?? This probably the most frustrating part of the rescue organization.

On the flip side, what do you feel is the most rewarding part of what you do?

Being able to find forever homes for those lost and abandoned dogs in our area and being able to see them when they are adopted locally.? We do try to find the best homes for them and we spend time with the potential fosters to be sure they are not lost or abandoned again.? They are so happy in their new forever that when they see me in the dog park they all come running to me!

Is there any advice you would like to give to pet owners, or potential pet owners?

By chipping and them putting their chip # in their cell # under the manufacturers name in their cell phone so when they have it there and their dog gets out or lost they can be contacted.?? Always chip your pet no matter what as it is worth the investment when they get lost so they can be reunited with their owners much quicker.

Lastly, what advice would you give to others wanting to become involved in animal rescue?

Be sure to be able to handle some of the worst conditions in these abandoned and abused animals.? You have to be loving, caring and patient with them as they have just gone through trauma and they will be scared.? If you will get involved be prepared to put your love into all you can do to help them find their forever home.