Furever Dachshund Rescue (FDR) is a non-profit corporation and a federal 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that is housed in Woonsocket, RI, USA, and is comprised of volunteers located throughout the USA and Canada. Founded in March 2011, FDR was started by a small group of experienced animal rescuers that, according to their founders, ”had big ideas and big dreams” to help rescue Dachshunds in need of forever homes. The FDR founders, consisting of Laura Coulombe, DeeAnn Jones, Liz Mitchell and Jessica Wall, saw all of their, as well as their volunteer’s, enthusiasm catch on and FDR has quickly grown. Like with all volunteer-based charities, the FDR can always use more help. FDR has no plans of slowing down as there are a lot of little “wiener” doggies in need of help. In order to learn more about this 100 percent volunteer-based group and all of the fabulous work that they do, I visited with my friend Angela Craig, who serves as FDR’s Social Network Coordinator.

About FDR and Dachshunds

Angela greeted me warmly and jumped right in, “FDR’s mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home abandoned, neglected and stray Dachshunds. We place them into volunteer foster homes and give them veterinary care, love them and screen potential adopters for the perfect, loving home!” It’s important to not just rescue animals but to provide them with safe surroundings, proper health care, and it’s crucial that future adopters are accurately reviewed to ensure a perfect fit for both the adoptee and adopter alike. It sounds like FDR gets this right, and they do it all with a good sense of humor and care and compassion for animals and humans alike.”Yes, Mattie, we do,” said Angela, “we work towards educating people to succeed as canine owners and help them provide a loving, nurturing home for these wonderful furbabies. We supply them with additional education regarding breed-specific traits and medical issues.”

held with care

There are various issues associated with certain breeds. I am a Shih Tzu, and we have a propensity toward renal and eye issues; Dachshunds gravitate toward more length-based concerns. FDR works to educate people, letting them know that Dachshunds can have problems with their backs that could potentially result in paralysis; “this is known as Intervertebral Disc Disease, or IVDD,” offered Angela. It’s very important to keep Dachshunds trim through a good nutritious diet, try to keep their environment back friendly–limit jumping, interview to find breed-knowledgeable veterinarians in your area, and harnesses tend to be excellent for walking your little Dachshund about. “There’s a great resource to learn more about IVDD; it’s called Dodger’s List,” said Angela. Make sure you visit Dodgers List to learn more about this important topic.

“Another of our goals is to teach awareness of pet overpopulation,” said Angela, “and the importance of spaying and neutering and vaccinations.” She continued, “Bad breeding techniques can also be prevalent in Dachshunds. I spoke about this with Anipal Times back in 2011; you can let your readers know that they should review the Double Dapples article. It has a lot of important insight and highlights quite possibly the worst example of bad breeding in Dachshunds which can cause deafness and blindness.” Make sure to revisit the Double Dapple article; it is very educating. “Also, we also work towards educating about euthanasia, puppy mills and the consequences of purchasing as opposed to adopting animals from a rescue or shelter.”

The Programs

Loving seniors

The FDR has a lot of great programs and outreach activities that have helped hundreds of Dachshund dogs and their owners, or would-be owners.  Their Seniors Loving Seniors Program is geared for the more experienced pet owners, age 60 and older, to be matched with a loving senior animal to adopt. Seniors make great family additions, as they tend to be more mellow and get along well with family members— human and animal alike. Senior animals may outlive their owner, or their usefulness, and so FDR works to match these types of animals with older humans — the love and bond they give, receive and share is simply beautiful. Their Furever Friends Program was started because FDR wanted to help other dogs that they come across when they are pulling Dachshunds from shelters. “Mattie, sometimes it is too difficult to see a dog that needs help and to just walk away because it’s not a Dachshund,” said Angela, “so we rescue them and find homes for many other breeds as well.”  Their Volunteer Transport Program is comprised of dog-loving people who selflessly crisscross the USA and Canada to help rescue and transport four-legged passengers — it doesn’t have to be a team, just if you have extra room in your car and would like a little fuzzy companion for a while. “That’s right Mattie,” said Angela, ”every bit of help in the transport program makes a difference, it allows Dachshunds to meet their forever families in situations that usually would not be possible due to distance.”  FDR also has a virtual sponsorship program where, if you can’t foster or adopt a little Dachshund, you can contribute financially to their care and re-homing costs.  “Oh, and shopping, Mattie,” chimed in Angela, “don’t forget our shopping, people love to shop!”

Thank you

FDR volunteers

Angela let me know that they have helped a plethora of animals, mainly Dachshunds, due to their fabulous volunteers. “We value all of our team members and so appreciate them! Our volunteers give their time and effort to promote teamwork and camaraderie. As a non-paid volunteer group, we know time is valuable and appreciate others who have big hearts and want to help the canines in need!”

Furever Dachshund Rescue is a great group of volunteers who are working collaboratively to rescue, foster and place little fuzzy animals — what’s not to love about this great group? If you’d like to learn more about Furever Dachshund Rescue please visit their website, Like them on Facebook and tweet them on Twitter at @4EverDoxiRescue and check out their beautiful and fun YouTube videos— Dachshunds wiggle a lot! Make sure you thank them for all their hard work and commitment to helping animals—on behalf of The Anipal Times, we love you, Furever Dachshund Rescue.

Read “Rescue Me” to tour the world and meet some great people and organizations dedicated to sparing the lives of animals. If you know of an individual, group or organization that could be featured in “Rescue Me,” please email me mattiedog AT anipaltimes DOT com or @MattieDog on Twitter.

Tagged as: @4EverDoxiRescue, doxies, Furever Dachshund Rescue, rescue