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Meet Little White Dog Rescue

By Eric Forrest on December 8, 2014

Little White Dog Rescue is our latest Rescue Friends profile! Read about this great organization, meet their board members and take a peek (and maybe adopt!) some of their current dogs available for adoption.

Q: What is your organization called and where are you located?

A: Little White Dog Rescue is a 501c(3) dog rescue organization that consists entirely of foster homes rather than a shelter. Our foster homes are spread throughout eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. We hold “meet & greet” events almost every weekend at locations around Omaha and Council Bluffs so interested families can meet our dogs.

Q: When, why and by whom was the organization founded?

A: The current make-up of Little White Dog Rescue includes just one of the original founders – A.J. Anderson-Long. Others have taken on other rescue work or gone to the Rainbow Bridge.

Q: Are there board members, a president or officers for your group? Who are they and what do they mean to the group’s success?

A: The LWDR Board of Directors includes our officers and three at-large members. They are:

President – Cindy Goodin

Vice President – A.J. Anderson-Long

Treasurer – Becky Hitner

Members – Terry Barker, Jennifer Petersen and Lorie Jenkins

Just as importantly, we have many Task Managers who take on the tremendous load of the day-to-day operations of the group. These volunteers coordinate the intake of dogs, place them in foster homes, plan events, process adoption and volunteer applications, manage the tremendous amount of data we must keep in order to run a professional organization, communicate with the public about our dogs and our events, and so much more. Our Task Managers are Stevan Huey, Amber Shepherd, Stephanie McNulty-Barnes, Virginia Minear, Maureen Wiese, Cindy Goodin, Terry Barker, Jennifer Petersen, Amy Hutfles, Mandie Liess and Lorie Jenkins.

Q: What is your organization’s mission and how do you execute it?

A: Like all rescue groups, our goal is to find loving, forever homes for dogs who have been displaced through no fault of their own. Our dogs come to us from shelters, puppy mills, breeder releases, and owners who can no longer care for them. We survive solely on our adoption fees and donations from generous individuals and companies.

Q: How many people volunteer for your organization?

A: In addition to our Board and Task Managers, we have about 65 active volunteers. We also include our 6800+ Facebook followers among our volunteer force, because they help us reach out to over 1,000,000 people with our messages about our dogs, our events, and the very important “adopt, don’t shop” philosophy adhered to by all rescue groups.

Maureen and Lou Lou

Q: How many animals do you rescue, foster and place in a year?

A: Last year, we placed just over 300 dogs in loving homes. We expect to do slightly more than that this year. We currently have one very senior dog in hospice foster care, which means he is not available for adoption but will be cared for by LWDR in his foster home for the remainder of his life.

Q: Tell us what a typical day for your organization entails.

A: Lots of emails, phone calls, and social media posts! At the foster home level, a typical day looks like the day of any pet parent – feed, love, poop!

Q: How can animal lovers in the area help you in your mission? Donations? Volunteers?

A: Our greatest obstacle with regard to the number of dogs we can save is the number of foster homes we have. We always need more qualified foster homes! If we can find a safe foster home to put a new dog in, we will find the money to take care of the dog! But like all rescue groups, we always need more money, too. Our vets and groomers offer us discounted services, but there is always a huge expense associated with caring for our dogs. We currently need additional volunteers to help with marketing and social media efforts.

Here at Pets in Omaha, we’ve interviewed many rescue organizations and have defined the “Three Pillars” of success that every one of them needs. ALL rescues need volunteers, which include caregivers and foster homes, monetary donations to continue doing great work, and lastly, awareness. We hope this interview provides a bit more awareness for the rescue. Always remember the first two though, readers. If you are able, donate or find out how you can volunteer for the organization.

For more information about the group, find Little White Dog on the web at www.littlewhitedogrescue.org

Want to volunteer or foster? Find the application at http://www.littlewhitedogrescue.org/volunteer-application

If you haven’t already, follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/littlewhitedogrescue

Little White Dog is also on Twitter. Follow them @LilWhiteDogNE

Want to adopt from Little White Dog? Here are some current dogs available to you! (Please note all may not be available at the time you are reading this… visit their site for all current pups waiting for forever homes.

: Rocky

: Fancy

: Scout

: Max

: Pippa

: Bernie

Thanks to Lorie Jenkins of Little White Dog for providing this information and thanks to everyone involved in the group that helps its success. Here’s to LWDR and all their efforts!

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