Basset Hound Adopt-A-Thon - Huge Success!

Simon and His New Best Friend!

ABC's Basset Hound Adopt-A-Thon held at Camp Bow Wow, Tonawanda, NY on Sunday was a HUGE success.  In addition to the 16 dogs that ABC transported from four Southern Basset Rescues (Belly Rubs Basset Rescue of TN, Basset Hound Rescue of GA, N. Texas Basset Rescue, Dakota Rescue of TX) there were also five dogs relinquished in NY that were adopted.  (Three of the Southern Bassets were placed into foster care to work out health issues before being placed up for adoption).  18 homeless Bassets were placed into pre-approved permanent homes!  This was the result of three weeks of hard work volunteers spent to set up and coordinate the transport, review potential adoptive homes and review the Basset's individual personalities with the goal of providing the perfect fit for each approved family.  ABC had received a flood of adoption applications after they transported 5 Basset Hounds on New Year's Eve from a Texas breeder which was widely publicized.  With so many approved families wanting to adopt a Basset Hound in Northeastern NY the ABC board decided to put out the call to Southern Basset Rescues which are overloaded to the breaking point with homeless hounds.  This was a groundbreaking event, the first cooperative undertaking between so many rescues to re-home homeless hounds.  Hopefully, it will be the start of many rescues following ABC's lead in re-homing hounds across the country in the future!

Copper from TN and his Adopted Family

Over the weekend, in an impossibly short period of time, six ABC volunteers made the trip to Maryville, Tennessee to meet the rescue groups at the Assured Storage Facility and begin the 12 hour drive North to Camp Bow Wow.  It was dubbed the Basset Hound Underground Railroad by one Georgia Rescuer.  Round trip for Neil Gates and Justin Beabes who drove the ABC van from NY was 1700 miles, 2 gas fuel ups and only 2-3 other breaks. They arrived at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in Tonawanda.  Their arrival was closely watched via Camp Bow Wow's webcams in realtime by hundreds of excited folks.  The weather had been snowy in the North, with freezing rain to the West and all involved were anxious that the transport arrive safely.  Southern rescue foster homes watched with great relief as their foster hounds walked into Camp Bow Wow, noting their excitement and relief on Facebook.  The hounds themselves were amazingly calm and seemed to take these changes in stride, a tribute to the great network of support and understanding ABC has for this breed.  Thanks to the Assured Storage Facility that provided a location for the meetup and overnight stay of the volunteers and hounds!  And thanks also to Camp Bow Wow who housed the hounds overnight for free and hosted the Adopt-A-Thon!  (We also heard the owners adopted a hound!)  They provided the perfect venue for this event.  Special thanks to all of the Rescues that gave up their beloved hounds to travel to NY to find forever homes in order that others might have a foster home!

The hounds themselves, groomed and bathed prior to the event seemed to take it all in stride, appearing at least to be picking out their new families!  Following is a touching video Justin Beabes captured of the event:

ABC volunteers posted updates in real time as the hounds were adopted.  The FB comments are a real testament to the commitment and love the foster homes provide for these hounds.  It was really an inspiration to read the excited happiness and tears of joy they posted on Facebook as each Basset was adopted.  In fact, not just the foster homes, but hundreds of others from many states posted their excitement and congratulations on Facebook.  Many noted this was an inspirational event, not just for the dogs and volunteers but for everyone involved in rescue.  This certainly has to be a first for a rescue event of this kind.  Laura Johnson, ABC volunteer, seems to have said it all in her FB comment:  "The dogs come first, and the humans that care for them have a never ending supply of love, dedication and work ethic. Thank you ABC, you make the world a better place, not just for the dogs, but a blessing for those that are given the opportunity to help out."

The world certainly does seem a better place!  The looks on the faces of the happy families and the wagging tails of hounds seems to say it all.  And as Gary Penny, Chairman of ABC, always says,

"It's all about the dogs!"

Stay tuned for pictures of the hounds and their new families.  Please send any individual stories and pictures you have of the hounds to bellaroo@optonline.net.  We will post them here on the ABC Blog.