From doggie daycares to pet-friendly activities, there are always things for pups and furparents to enjoy together in Los Angeles. Aside from these, there is a thriving community dedicated to dog rescue. Dharma Rescue, a non-profit organization, is one of them.
The term Dharma Rescue came from the notion that the highest level of “dharma”, or cosmic law in Hinduism, is non-injury to all living creatures. Dharma Rescue takes pride in giving animals medical care, shelter, rehabilitation, and even spaying and neutering. They also serve authentic, holistic, fresh food, unlike other facilities.
Dharma Rescue has recently received attention for its dedication to a program called Disabled Animals Who Generously Serve or DAWGS. The program takes in disabled and senior canines and trains them to be therapy dogs that serve in airports, schools, and senior centers.
According to the organization’s founder, Susan Fulcher, they partnered with a local school where many pupils have learning disabilities. The pupils relate with the DAWGS since they, too, have some limitations, and the dogs are content simply visiting the children, offering love and attention, and receiving it in return.
DAWGS started in 1995. When Dharma Rescue began rescuing dogs, many of them were elderly, sick, or disabled – the ones that no one seemed to want. Where others saw suffering, Fulcher saw a second chance for these dogs to live. So she set to work teaching them how to behave, beginning with Joey, a beloved paralyzed dog.
Fulcher discovered Joey in an email from an Orange County shelter before he was about to be euthanized. The staff adored him very much that he was personally delivered to Fulcher so they could see where he would be living. When she witnessed how Joey engaged with people at adoption events, she had an idea. He could be a therapy dog, she thought. And the rest is history.
Fulcher noted education, money, and obtaining volunteers as issues. However, these do not dissuade the group. Fulcher intends to continue encouraging people to adopt their rescues and allow them to fulfill their newfound mission as therapy dogs.
Credit: Dharma Rescue
