2 groups focus on adoptions of older dogs, those with behavior issues

Summer is upon us and dog lovers would like to see support for two small nonprofits rise in tandem with the mercury at the RAD Dog Rescue & Gorda Gives Back Golf Tournament.

The event is Saturday at the Golf Club at Vistoso in Oro Valley.

RAD — Rehabbing and Advocating for Dogs — and Gorda Gives Back are both volunteer-run organizations that primarily aid dogs from the Pima Animal Care Center.

“Not only are we completely volunteer-based, but we are completely foster-based, so we don’t have a boarding site,” said Jenifer Land, a program analyst at Raytheon who founded RAD about 18 months ago with Brooke Basteen and Cara Ryan. “We wanted to focus on hospice dogs and senior dogs and dogs with extreme medical conditions who have a harder time getting out of the shelter environment.”

Since then, the trio have facilitated 34 adoption placements; they currently have 11 dogs in their rescue. Of those, three have medical conditions, three are special needs with medical and behavior challenges, one is elderly, two are puppies and two have specific behavior issues.

“I have a big heart for the butt heads, shall we call them — the ones with more of a behavior side to them. I have a foster fail, Zeus, that was a behavior challenge who was returned to the shelter and we were able to work through a lot of his issues, so that is where my heart is,” said Land, who also takes care of a dog with valley fever.

Land is on a mission to promote the adoptability of senior dogs and dogs with medical challenges.

“You walk through a shelter and everyone wants puppies, so young dogs and senior dogs get passed over time and time again. A good percentage of them come from a home and have lived their entire life with a family and been relinquished because they are sick or old,” she said. “None of them deserve to die in a shelter and whether they are a couple days or a couple years old, we want to give them the support and medical care they need until they find a forever home.”

Land also emphasized that while health conditions can be expensive to treat in dogs, misconceptions about the actual cost are common. She encourages people to learn the details and consider rescue dogs that might be ideal pets in spite of challenges.

She cited Sweet Pea, a stray boxer-pit bull mix who is being fostered, as a perfect example.

“When she was found, she was skin and bones — just a hot mess with open sores all over her body. We found out she was diabetic and blind, but you meet her and she couldn’t live up to her name any better. She is the sweetest and most forgiving dog . . . and she knows how good she has it now and how fortunate she is. We have her insulin levels pretty stable and it is $25 a month, so that is not bad, but people hear ‘diabetic dog’ and automatically think, ‘That is too expensive,’” Land said.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

In spite of the expense, rescued animals often offer distinctive camaraderie and inspiration for their adoptive families, according Land.

“I wish people could learn from dogs. They don’t hold grudges. They really move on from the negative parts of their lives and that makes you hopeful for the future. If we could all just forgive and move on a little bit more like they do, we might have less problems,” Land said.

For those interested in adoption of a rescue dog with behavioral issues or those facing behavioral issues in a dog adopted from PACC, Gorda Gives Back offers additional support.

Inspired by Gorda, a pit bull terrier who was surrendered to PACC six different times for behavioral issues due to separation anxiety, the organization is dedicated to providing behavioral training to improve the relationship between dogs and their families in an effort to keep the dogs in their homes.

“Often a dog is not well behaved because it doesn’t understand how to be well-behaved. Everyone who owns a dog should go through basic obedience training with the dog; it strengthens the bond with dog and makes for a much better relationship in the home,” said Amanda Jansen, a dog trainer and veterinary assistant who is the director and founder of Gorda Gives Back.

Jansen emphasized that separation anxiety and behavioral issues are common among dogs that have spent time in a shelter. Behavioral issues can range from failure to walk on a leash properly and dog reactivity — growling and lunging at other dogs — to inability to tolerate other dogs or cats in the home and issues with potty training and crate training.

Since its inception last year, Gorda Gives Back has provided behavioral training for seven dogs with a success rate of 100 percent.

“We have helped the dogs to stay in the homes with their adoptive families or foster families who have seen the dog through to adoption. If we can get help to the dog before it goes back into the shelter, it saves the shelter and it saves the dog. If more people knew about our services, we could help more dogs,” said Jansen.

Education and awareness are priorities for Jansen, who said that many dog owners don’t have a clue that training is important.

“Dog ownership is more complex than it used to be. Dogs are more high maintenance; we have made them more a part of our families instead of working dogs. They feel the need to be included with the family and need more attention and have a more intimate purpose in our families,” she said.