Tuesday, February 21, 2012

My Favorite Animal Organization: NVSR

Guest post by Karen Hartman 

Ladybug, Periwinkle, Paisley & Sassy Pohnert pose for a holiday picture.
I haven’t dealt with many rescue organizations. Probably because the first one I ran across was so great that I didn’t look any further. That rescue is Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue (NVSR). It’s the most amazing group of caring, organized, and active rescue volunteers. These people have an incredible passion for Shetland Sheepdogs (also known as Shelties). This special combination of love and energy has helped rescue and rehome more than 900 Shelties since 1999.

I stumbled onto the NVSR website a few years ago and was really impressed! This site has all kinds of useful material, from general information on Shelties to details about adoption and rehoming. One page even features the Shelties that are ready for new homes, describing their age, size, and temperament and posting a picture or two of each dog.

Toby is just one of the wonderful NVSR Shelties looking for a forever home.
Reading the Sheltie descriptions, it’s plain to see just how much the NVSR volunteers care about finding those dogs forever homes. And they put that passion to work, participating in a variety of local events to raise awareness, interact with the community, and find potential foster and adopter families—events like the Richmond Pet Expo, the Scottish Walk in Old Town Alexandria, and the Reston Pet Fiesta, to name a few.  The volunteers often bring their own Shelties to these events, as well as ones that are ready for adoption, so people can spend some time with the Shelties and see if it is the right breed for them. 

Shelties and their families at the Scottish Christmas Walk.
NVSR booth and Shelties at the Richmond Pet Expo.
NVSR will take in any Sheltie in need regardless of age, except those with histories of repeated, unprovoked biting. The rescue doesn’t have a shelter, so all Shelties stay in volunteers' homes and receive veterinary care and necessary resocialization until they are placed in a loving home. For the remainder of the adopted dogs' lives, NVSR stays in touch with the adoptive families.

The rescue even has Hospice Care and Permanent Foster Dog programs for dogs that are difficult to place due to age or illness. And NVSR supports efforts to reduce pet overpopulation; all of its Shelties are spayed or neutered prior to adoption or, if not yet at a safe age to be neutered, placed on a spay/neuter contract at the time of adoption.

Puppies Simon, Alvin, and Theodore will be ready for adoption soon.
If you are interested in learning more about or donating to NVSR, sign up for the e-newsletter, Sheltie Spin, or join them on Facebook!

Anneka checks out a recent copy of Sheltie Spin.
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Karen Hartman, Sheltie-lover and volunteer for NVSR, is the proud parent of a little Sheltie named Buttercup.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed reading about the Sheltie rescue organization, Karen. Buttercup is a lucky little lady.

Monica Pawsibilities Are Endless said...

Love learning about GREAT rescues!

Landra said...

This sounds like an awesome group. Definitely enjoyed learning about them, and those pictures are 'oh, so cute'! Thank you Karen for sharing this rescue with us.

Wilkins MacQueen said...

Such lovely dogs. Hard to believe so many need to be rescued. What a wonderful group of rescuers.