Dogtime salutes North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Boxer Rescue.
How did your organization get started?
Our organization got started in 2003 when we realized that there was a need for a Boxer breed-specific rescue in the western part of North Carolina. It became very clear in a short amount of time that the need was not just in the western part of North Carolina, but for all of N.C. and South Carolina as well. Additionally, we began moving some of our efforts in certain areas of Virginia as our volunteer base grew after a year or so. Currently, our volunteer base covers all of N.C., S.C., and part of Va.
What is your mission?
Our mission is to save as many pure bred Boxers and Boxer mixes as we can from high-kill animal shelters and from owners surrendering their dogs. To date, we have saved 1,261 dogs!!
How do most of your animals find their way to you?
The majority of our Boxers come from high-kill animal shelters in North and South Carolina. Over half of these shelters use gas chambers to euthanize animals.
What happens to the animals once they are in your care?
Normally, we would transport the rescued Boxer to one of our vets for an overall health check including vaccinations, heartworm testing, flea and tick treatment, spay or neuter if necessary, and any other medical attention required. The dog would then go into a foster home. We have volunteers all over NC, SC & parts of VA that foster BRBR dogs in their homes. The foster parents work with our dogs on basic obedience, potty training, and giving the dog a lot of love to help heal any emotional wounds or physical abuse the dog may have endured. It the dog is heartworm positive, it would be treated while in the foster family’s care as well. The foster Boxers are treated as members of the family so that they are well prepared for life in a home when their forever family comes along.
Tell us about a particularly compelling animal or inspiring rescue.
One of the most memorable rescues is the story of Promise. Over this past summer, one of our volunteers went to a high kill shelter to check on a Boxer that had come in as a stray. While she was there, she saw another rescue group loading several dog crates into a van. She went over to help load the newly rescued animals into the van and placed her keys and cell phone on what she thought was an empty, metal cage. These metal cages are what the animals are put into before they are wheeled into the gas chamber to be euthanized.
When she went to retrieve her keys and cell phone, she noticed a brown dog in the metal cage. She called one of the animal control officers over and asked if the dog was about to be euthanized. The guard said yes. Our volunteer told the guard that we were taking the dog to spare it from being euthanized. The guard said that the dog in the cage was injured and there were plenty of healthy dogs for us to rescue. Our volunteer said she did not care if the animal was injured because we were going to take the dog and get it the vet care it needed. The dog in the metal cage turned out to be a Boxer mix that our volunteer named Promise.
Promise had a bad wound on one of her front legs. The wound was old and badly infected and for this reason her leg had to be amputated. Within two days of her amputation surgery, Promise was running around in her foster mom’s yard and didn’t even appear to notice that her leg was missing! She was just so happy to be alive, rescued and pain free!! Promise is currently available for adoption and is an inspiration to all of us who rescue animals.
