My Journey that led to Puppy Protection…
Hello, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Nancy, I have been training dogs professionally for 30 years but unofficially I have been at it from the time I was a little girl. They say some things you are just born with, and the passion and understanding I have for dogs has been with me my entire life.
My compassion for all animals has also been with me since as long as I can remember. As a child, I would try my best to nurse injured animals back to health, prevent other kids from being cruel to animals and I would sob if an animal was hurt or died in a movie. The first job I ever had was rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing turtles at the Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach, Florida. It was then that I realized I wanted to build my life and career around the most wonderful and loyal animals on the planet…DOGS!
I began rescuing dogs on a very small scale for many years. This, eventually led to me founding my own 501 (c) (3) not for profit dog rescue-Puppy Protection of Palm Beach in 2006. It was through my rescue work that I encountered some of the most severe cases of abuse, neglect and trauma that I have ever seen. These dogs came from many places like the kill line of my local animal shelter, from dog seizure cases and off the streets. Saving dogs that others have discarded, rehabilitating them, and then finding the perfect forever homes has been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life.
In 2012 I made a big move to Greenville,South Carolina. One of the first things I did was to reach out to the local animal shelters and volunteer my dog training and rehab skills to them. I began to work with my local high kill shelter, Greenville County Animal Care which led to me starting a social media group called Foster Friends with the sole purpose of saving dogs and cats from the “kill list”. A kill list is a daily list of animals that at any given moment will be the first put to sleep due to lack of space throughout that day. I thought that if I could find them a temporary place to go, (foster homes), we could start to save their lives. I rallied people in the community to spread awareness of how many healthy, wonderful animals were being killed every day in our local animal shelter and how by simply giving a dog or cat a temporary safe space in their homes they could prevent them from being killed.
Shortly after, I decided to continue on with my own dog rescue in Greenville,SC and renamed it Match K-9 Rescue & Rehab, Inc. Along side with Foster Friends I continued to save dogs and puppies off the kill list at the local animal shelter as well as down in Clayton County, Georgia where every dog resembling a Pit Bull of local breed ban laws. Again, my rescue mission continued on for years.
As I approached 50 years of age I began to shift my rescue efforts in a new direction. This led to the third and last name change for my rescue organization-Puppy Protection. Puppy Protection rescues retired breeding dogs and overflow puppies from specific breeders before they go to auction. I’ve had many people question this decision as some of my rescue colleagues view it as supporting the breeding industry. I have a very different perspective on it.
Long story short, Dog breeders exist and will always exist.
Without dog breeders we would not have all of the wonderful varieties of dog breeds that currently exist all around the world.
Q-Are there truly responsible dog breeders?
In my opinion, YES.
Q-What is a responsible dog breeder?
In my opinion, a responsible dog breeder, breeds only for the betterment of the breed.
That means not breeding dogs who display negative traits whether that be referring to temperament, (psychological) or physical, (meaning defects or medically compromised dogs).
A responsible breeder will also set parameters for their breeding stock. This means having a thoughtful and responsible plan for each dog- as to when to begin breeding, when to stop breeding and the care of that breeding animal during the entire process. It also means caring for each animal produced by the breeding animals. This includes, physical care and psychological care.
I personally go to the greatest lengths to assure the breeders I choose to rescue from are meeting and exceeding all of these standards.
Q-What can I expect from a Puppy Protection rescued dog or puppy?
-Every dog/puppy we rescue is fully vetted, vaccinated and dewormed prior to transport to Puppy Protection.
-Every dog/puppy we rescue has been well socialized with children and a variety of animals including dogs, cats and livestock.
-Every dog/puppy we rescue is transported to Puppy Protection with the highest standard of care.
-Every dog/puppy we rescue is fully vetted a second time by our rescue veterinarians. This includes all pertinent vaccines, spay/neutering, microchipping, deworming, and full treatment of any existing medical issue.
-Every dog/puppy we rescue is behaviorally and psychologically evaluated and receives any training that is required. This means we begin leash training, crate training and house training immediately. We also begin off leash recall and basic obedience. This assures the each dog and puppy we rescue has all the skills necessary to be the best companion and family member in its new forever home!
-Additionally, Puppy Protection offers full support for the duration of each dog or puppies’ life. This means our adopters are welcome and encouraged to reach out to us at any time for advice, help and support. This can be something as complex as training help or something as simple as product recommendations. We are alway here for our adopters and their rescued pets!
How You Can Help
There are so many ways you can help!
- Donate financially via PayPal, Zelle. This is a fast and easy way for you to make an immediate difference in a dogs’ life! Just send donation to: [email protected]
- Donate by shopping on Amazon.com through Amazon Smile.
- Donate by shopping through iGive.com
- Foster a dog through our program: Foster Friends
- Become part of our Foster Friends Volunteer network
- Donate supplies from our amazon Wish List
- Donate gently used dog items, cleaning and medical supplies from our “In Need Of” list
- Share our adoptable dogs via social media
- Partner your business with Foster Friends for fundraisers and speciality events
