Our motto is we can’t save every dog, but at least we can save one dog at a time.”

Susan Dawson, co-founder of Rescue Pals

By Cyrus Guccione
Mail

While making their rounds looking for abandoned pets throughout town, Rescue Pals volunteers found four dogs abandoned in the parking lot of Petco.

All four of the dogs were siblings, three of which were successfully rescued while the fourth was fatally stuck by a vehicle on Shea Blvd.

“These dogs have really been through the wringer,” says Susan Dawson, co-founder of the Fountain Hills pet adoption nonprofit Rescue Pals.

Together with Christine Schaeken and their team of volunteers, Rescue Pals has helped rehome hundreds of dogs since 2008. And while two of the dogs have recently found new homes, nine-month old Rocco was facing some internal complications.

“I diagnosed Rocco with having a heart murmur,” said Dr. Lynne Hoban who provides wellness exams and vaccinations for Rescue Pals at Friendship Pet Hospital.

To see what was causing the murmur, Rocco needed an echocardiogram. Hoban referred Rescue Pals to the Animal Medical & Surgical Center in Scottsdale where Rocco was diagnosed with pulmonic stenosis, a heart valve disease that  makes it difficult for blood to flow to the lungs.

“They said he’s not going to make it without doing something,” Dawson said.

Doing something meant putting Rocco through cardiovascular surgery, a procedure that costs approximately $7,000.

“In a week’s time, we were able to gather the money for the surgery,” said Dawson. “We have some fabulous donors that just really stepped up and realized, ‘You know what, we’ve got to do this for this puppy. It’s not fair to him.’”

As Rocco went into surgery, Dawson was reminded of a similar instance when Maddie, an elderly boxer was dumped near Target. Maddie had a mass that needed to be removed which cost several thousand dollars. The community stepped in again to help Maddie and today, she is living her best life with her new parents, Nancy and John Stahl.

Like Maddie, Rocco too is fully recovered and happy to be alive.

At nine months, Rocco is potty trained, crate trained, listens well and is a very good puppy.

“You would never even know he had surgery,” Dawson said, who is going to be very selective on who adopts him.

Adopting a pet

As Rocco gets ready to find his forever home, Hoban says new potential pet parents should take time to consider if their living situation is suitable for a pet.

Those who are planning to move, Hoban says to ensure their new home is pet-compliant with enough space for the pet to live comfortably and safely. Those who travel for work should consider the financial responsibility involved in pet-sitting or boarding.

Pets require daily care, attention and interaction. Hoban says potential pet owners should consider the time they can devote to feeding, exercising, grooming, training and playing with their pets.

“These animals are discarded like an old pair of shoes…their only crime is they don’t have a home,” Hoban said. “Adopting a dog or a cat is a big commitment. Make sure this is a commitment that you can make.”

Volunteers sought

Donations of time and care from the community are always needed at Rescue Pals and at Pal’s Inn Pet Resort which houses the dogs rescued in the community.

“Christine and I started Rescue Pals 16 years ago we’ve given them their second chance at life,” Dawson said. “Our motto is we can’t save every dog, but at least we can save one dog at a time.”

Dawson thanks the community for their generosity and for helping give these animals a second chance at life. 

To volunteer or for more information, send an email to rescuepals85268@gmail.com, send a message to Rescue Pals on Facebook or call 602-550-1330.

Rescue Pals is located at 11669 N. Saguaro Blvd.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Cyrus Guccione can be reached at cguccione@iniusa.org.