Cuddly Canines Rescue was started in 2000 by sheer accident. Surfing the shelter websites looking for a 2nd dog to add to our family, I came across a website (www.AMRT.net) that was looking for volunteers to go into shelters & take photos for the website. Hey, I could do that! I had a digital camera & a 2 year old daughter who would happily sit in her stroller (most of the time) while mom took photos of all the cute doggies. I started going into the shelter 3 times a week, always thrilled to see that a dog who had been there on Monday was no longer there on Wednesday, fully believing that it had been adopted......and was playing in someone's backyard & sleeping on a comfy dog bed. Everything changed when the shelter asked me to start coming before they opened, so they could provided an employee to open the cage doors, allowing me the chance to get better photos. It also gave me the sad opportunity to witness those Monday dogs being hauled out in Wednesday's barrels, headed to a rendering plant, never to see a home or a warm bed or a grassy back yard. What a wake-up call! Like so many other people, I had absolutely no clue of the pet over-population problem until I witnessed it firsthand. Young, healthy, highly adoptable dogs being euthanized every single day. So...........I decided to rescue one & find a home for it. Then another. Then another. Like so many rescuers just starting out, I was going to save them all! It took me awhile to realize that just wasn't going to happen. We have to leave so many deserving dogs behind because of the sheer volume that are abandoned in the shelters, but we hope that, as our motto says, "Saving one dog may not make a difference to the world, but it makes a world of difference to the dog."
Over the years, Cuddly Canines has grown by leaps & bounds thanks to the wonderful network of truly dedicated volunteers & foster homes who believe in our cause. They came for one purpose, to help the dogs, yet have stayed because of their continued support of each other & dedication to the dogs. Our close "family" of volunteers are the heart & soul of the rescue.
Nancy Bashir