November 25, 2013 at 3:52 p.m.
No dog left behind: Northwoods woman works to rescue dogs from around the country
No dog left behind: Northwoods woman works to rescue dogs from around the country
Stef Schneider was browsing the Internet one day when she stumbled onto a little online inspiration.
"I ran into a website called 'Death Row Dogs' and there were all these pitiful faces of dogs that were set to be euthanized" Schneider said. "It was heart wrenching and I thought I should do something, so I started flying out (to California) to grab some dogs and fly them back."
Her initial goal was to bring three dogs back from a kill shelter in California, one she said is one of the very largest in the country.
She flew out in May and immediately knew three dogs wouldn't be enough. She adjusted her goal to nine.
"I have always been an animal lover," Schneider said. "They can't help themselves. There are things in place to protect so many things, but I feel like we fall short on animals all the time. I went out there and was grabbing as many as I could. If I could bring them back, I was saving their lives and the people in California started giving me donations to get the dogs out of there to find them good homes."
The idea was to bring back the dogs and find them foster homes or spots in local shelters where they were more likely to find new homes. She said sometimes she would save dogs just minutes away from being euthanized.
"The shelter closes at 5:30, so at 5:28, if the dogs are still there, I'll have someone grab them for me," she said. "Things happen where you don't want to leave any behind, so I may come back with more than I planned for."
Schneider began doing more research.
"When I found the website, it peaked my interest," she said. "I didn't realize how many adoptable dogs with no issues were out there. Anything under eight weeks old is euthanized right away, and that's a lot of puppies. I called a place in New York right away, but they kind of block out-of-state rescues. California has a huge population problem, so I looked up the top kill shelter."
Schneider has made many more trips than she ever anticipated and has blown by her adjusted goal of nine saved dogs.
To date, she's brought back a total of 89 dogs from the shelter in California and only 12 of her most recent arrivals are still looking for homes.
While she's brought back a variety of dogs, there's a certain type she knows will easily find a home in northern Wisconsin.
"There is a big demand for small dogs," Schneider said. "They were just throwing away poodles and chihuahuas. There aren't a lot of breeds like that around here, so there are plenty of people that would love to have them."
There are naturally a lot of challenges that come along with saving such a large number of dogs and bringing them across the country.
"Having the resources to take care of them until they find a home is definitely a challenge," Schneider said. "I had friends lined up to foster for me, but it cost me a lot of money because I didn't know exactly how it would work. I had never done anything like this before."
The logistics also proved to be a challenging at times.
"I've flown for all of my pickups except one," she said. "I was once stuck out there sleeping in a van with 17 dogs for three days. So there have been some interesting times."
While she's only been at it for about six months, 89 dogs is certainly an impressive number. Schneider said she has no intention of slowing down either.
"As long as there is a demand, I'll keep doing it," she said. "Across the state, the shelters don't seem to have very many little dogs, so there's a high demand for them. Other shelters have gotten ahold of my name from California and they've spread it around, so now I'm even picking up dogs from shelters in Texas and Florida."
Schneider has even found an unexpected reward for her efforts. She's learning a lot about various dog breeds.
"My goal was to stay away from pit bulls," she said. "I was aware that there is a population problem, but I wasn't really drawn to the breed. I saved a few of them though, and I just fell in love with them. Now, I'm saving a lot of them and really love it. There's also a big pit bull population problem in southern Wisconsin around Milwaukee, so I'm looking into getting involved there too."
Now, Schneider is turning her efforts into a nonprofit organization called It Matters to One Animal Rescue.
"Everyone says you can't save the world," she said. "The way I see it, it matters to each one of these dogs."
Schneider uses the organization's Facebook page to help find homes for the dogs. She posts pictures and descriptions about each one. It can be found at facebook.com/itmatterstoone.
She also uses Paypal to help raise money for the rescues. She accepts donations at itmatterstoone @gmail.com.
She's also holding a fundraiser at Rummy's in Sugar Camp on Dec. 21 where there will be live music, raffles, paddle wheels and even a visit from some of the adoptable dogs. Schneider said she relies on the help of others to maintain her rescue project.
"Donations help get me through," she said. "I'd still be at nine dogs if it wasn't for all of the people who have donated to help keep this going."
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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