Tailwaggers 911

By: Daryl L. Skaradzinski

For Tailwaggers911, figuring out how to stand apart in the field of dog rescue groups, with many of them focusing on a specific breed, took some thinking but ultimately was rather simple, according to its founder Dawn Boeselager.

“Tailwaggers911 is not an age specific nor breed specific rescue group.  Although it has rescued some purebred dogs, what we basically work with and rescue are mixed breeds of all kinds” said Boeselager.  Most of the dogs that Tailwaggers911 place originally come from high-kill shelters in the southern United States, such as Mississippi, “that have such high volumes of dogs needing sheltering (so) they’re fairly overwhelmed.”

“We are unique in that we have a foster to adopt program,” said Boeselager. “This allows potential adopters to see if the dog is a good fit for their home before they have to make the life time commitment.”

“Our foster to adopt program allows someone to foster a dog in-home for five to seven days,” explained Boeselager. “During that time prospective owners can see all the variables the dog will exist in. They get a true feel for how that dog will react in its new home, in what would be its natural environment with people coming and going, and the usual activities and noise of everyday households.”

Tailwaggers911 also gives families fostering dogs for final placement in other homes the final say in the adoption process and determination of what is best for the dog and for the prospective family. “With these programs we’ve had an excellent return rate--way under 1%--and we feel that that 1% is still adoptable, just because it may not have been the best match,” said Boeselager.

Almost everything can be done on the groups website—Tailwaggers911.com—from viewing dogs, to filing an adoption or fostering application, as well as viewing the status of dogs in the adoption process.

Completing an online adoption application starts the process and a confirmation email is then sent.  Tailwaggers911 then reviews the application, checks with a veterinarian and performs a background check of each applicant. When these steps are complete, the applicant is contacted to schedule a time to meet a dog.  Once the meet and greet has been conducted and the decision is made to adopt a specific dog, Tailwaggers911 brings the dog to the placement family for a home visit with the dog.

Boeselager got the inspiration for the group when she was fostering a rescue that “was in really bad shape. It had some issues that prevented it from being permanently placed and I took it upon myself to give it a good life.” At that point she realized it’s important if you’re doing rescue work “that you surround yourself with good people and provide the resources to make adoptions work.”

“When I first started this I found it difficult to gain the trust of the shelter community,” explained Boeselager. “They are extremely wary of what and why rescuers have come for the dogs and what they intend to do with the dogs, and so are naturally very cautious.”

“We provide leashes, toys, even dog food to get the dog started in its new family,” said Boeselager. “It took three years and a lot of effort from a lot of people to get where we are today.”

“It’s just not me, that’s for sure,” said Boeselager, referring to the work the group does. “I may have come up with the idea and developed the plan, but when you start something like this, obviously the immediate first step is to talk to everyone you know to see what they think, and rely upon family and friends first. There’s a lot of work and lots of details involved.”

"About 50 people are involved with Tailwaggers911", said Boeselager. This includes foster families, volunteers who help with transporting cleaning grooming, and exercising dogs, as well as  its webmaster, who updates the website frequently. That number doesn’t include some key sponsors, such as Fromm Four-Star Nutritional dog food.

Tailwaggers911’s long-term goal is to obtain funding to secure a facility to handle the overflow of dogs needing homes that can’t be immediately placed at the moment. It is applying for grants and funds to various organizations and is optimistic.

“I have to thank all the many wonderful volunteers who are really, really committed to dogs and donate all their time,” Boeselager said. “And it’s amazing that when you ask these people for more of their time how many are open to it and say ‘yes’.”