OCPoundHounds focus is to rescue primarily Pomeranians, Papillons, and Toy Hairless breeds such as Chinese Crested, Xolo’s (Mexican Hairless) and breed-standard Chihuahuas from local Southern California “High Kill” shelters, or from commercial breeding operations. The dogs we rescue from the shelters are those who have primarily been placed on the euthanasia lists for medical issues, cruelty and/or neglect cases, seniors, or just because the shelter is over-crowded and has to make space for incoming dogs. The commercial breeding operation dogs we rescue are those being auctioned, or are being retired from breeding and placed on Craigslist or surrendered to shelters, usually at around the 8+ year old age range. These dogs usually end up in the Sanctuary and Hospice part of OC Poundhounds, called One Last Good Home, which is based in SW Washington State and offers a last home for whatever quality time a dog has……
Once we commit to rescuing a dog we evaluate and focus on socialization, positive reinforcement behaviour training (NOT compulsion, Cesar Milan / military (prong and/or choke collars) but training as advocated by Kikopet.com, Victoria Stillwell, Patricia McConnell and Ian Dunbar. We meet all the veterinary needs of the rescued dog while in our care. We strongly advocate blood titering, versus arbitrarily vaccinating, and in core vaccination only, after titering shows any need for re-vaccination. If the potential Adopter believes in vaccinating annually and in such vaccines a Bordetella, Lyme Disease etc., and does not do due diligence to research as to why a Veterinarian would recommend such vaccines, then we are NOT the right rescue for you from which to consider adopting. We also support raw and home cooked diets, versus kibble and veterinary-prescribed diets. The Veterinarians we believe are advocating for the health of the dog are Dr. Jean Dodds and Dr. Karen Becker. We keep a dog in a foster-home situation at the OC Poundhounds part of our rescue organization for as long as it takes for us to make the right placement match between the dog and the adoptive pet parents. We do not place a dog on a first come, first served basis, but on who can provide the best home for our rescued dogs. Those with quality of life illnesses, certain behavioural issues (not aggression) from being caged long-term, or under-socialized in commercial breeding operations, we evaluate to move in to our One Last Good Home location. We only have a certain number of vacancies available, usually in the 8 to 12 range, so the dogs are given a personal home environment and are not “warehoused” in crates or runs, such as in shelters.
The adoption fee which is asked for a rescued OC PoundHound, any cash and gift donations are 100% tax deductible. This is used 100% towards veterinary care for our hospice, sanctuary and rescue dogs and when community spay / neuters, shelter “pull” (some shelters do waive their fees for a rescue partner) or auction fees.
A dog’s veterinary care can range from a simple spay and/or neuter to more involved surgeries (single or bi-lateral crypt-orchid, pyometria and hernia repairs), dentals, titering, micro-chipping, shelter fees as well as other veterinary needs such as kennel cough, demodex or sarcoptic mange, to more costly illnesses such as parvovirus, distemper, pancreatitis and bone or soft-tissue injuries which need extensive and multiple veterinary visits. Many of the senior rescued dogs coming out of the shelter system need hundreds, even thousands, of dollars of veterinary care to make them adoptable, or to join our small sanctuary without any continuing pain. 100% of the Adoption Donation requested for our dogs available for adoption is used for our rescue’s veterinary needs. Some need less care and others are more veterinary-involved, but every penny goes to the dogs’ care.
OCPoundHounds Small Breed Dog Rescue is a licensed, non-profit charitable organization, that has been recognized as both a California, Washington State and Federal 501(c)3 . We are proudly listed on GuideStar.org.
We are an all-Volunteer run, completely foster-home based rescue organization, with no paid Members, and a small centralized facility for our Sanctuary/Hospice dogs. We rely 100% on foster homes offered by caring dog lovers within their private homes . We have been rescuing small breed dogs in Southern California since 2005, and have been in rescue, both dog and cat, since 1986.
Owner Surrendered dogs, are occasionally accepted, and are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and dependent on having a foster home available. We believe owning a dog is a life-long commitment, but there are always extenuating circumstances. Taking an Owner Surrendered dog means a Shelter Dog has to give his or her life.
