Red Leash Rescue 2023 Year in Review

As we enter into the holiday season, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year.  And what a year 2023 was!! Red Leash had our busiest year yet, finding loving homes for 76 dogs and counting!!  This was no easy feat, as the nation’s vet shortage was hitting us hard, making it challenging to schedule much needed dentals, eye surgeries, mass removals, etc, that our seniors desperately needed.  Thankfully, our amazing vets at High Ridge Animal Hospital and Easton Veterinary did everything they could to accommodate Red Leash and get it all done!  We couldn’t do what we do without them or the generosity of our amazing donors.  Please know 100 percent of your donations go to the care of the dogs

Community Engagement

Red Leash was also quite busy this year attending a wide variety of events.  These events allow the community to meet our current dogs and learn more about us and what we do.  This year we attended Bark in the Park, The Westport Dog Festival, Luckypalooza and New Canaan Dog Days to name a few.  We also teamed up with corporate sponsors like Verizon and Earth Animal to do events.  Our beloved mascot Carl, who we sadly lost this year, attended a book signing event with esteemed author W. Bruce Cameron (A Dog’s Purpose).  We were also grateful to be featured as the cover story for a local Fairfield Magazine and lastly,were the exclusive rescue for a special ‘Dogumentary’ screening in Fairfield about the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary.  A big thank you to all our volunteers who help make all of this happen, with a special shout out to the ‘Crazy Shelter Ladies’, who never miss an opportunity to find new and creative ways to fundraise for us.

Our Dogs

An Exciting Start

One day, we were at the shelter evaluating all the dogs and a relatively young one was laying on our lap with her belly up.  It was then that we realized–she was pregnant!! As a senior dog rescue we are not usually dealing with puppies but of course we couldn’t leave her there so our amazing fosters Cindy and Jill stepped up.  They saw it through the unbelievable birth to nurturing the four little puppies.  It was a beautiful way to ring in the new year!  Winnie and her puppies are all doing great and keep in touch regularly.

Before + After

While the majority of our dogs could fit into this category, we wanted to highlight a few that stood out this year.  Often, dogs arrive at the shelter severely matted.  This was one of the worst cases we’ve seen. You couldn’t even see poor Mindy’s eyes.

We pulled 2 small dogs out of the shelter with some of the worst teeth we’ve ever seen. This had to have been painful for these sweet babies but they still had the friendliest dispositions.  Rocco and Quinn went in for their dentals and came out feeling like a million bucks! All three are happily adopted.

Biggies + Littles

While we of course rescue dogs of all shapes and sizes, some of the biggest - and tiniest stand out in our memories.  There was beautiful Otto- the deaf, white boxer who was returned to us but lovingly adopted by his foster family. Then who could forget ‘Marvelous Marlee’- 4 pounds of feistiness. At 12, she’s wobbly in her gait but take your eyes off her for a minute and she’s on the move!

Together Forever

It is very difficult to adopt dogs out as a bonded pair.  Especially two 15 year old seniors, each with their own health issues. We never promise we can do it, but sometimes we just have to try.  Romeo and Buttercup came to us through our vet after their owner could no longer care for them.  We split them up into different foster homes and noticed they were crying all night. It broke our hearts so one of our fosters stepped up and took them both.  They immediately settled down, happy to be together.  After a long, hard search, a very special family drove 5 hours to come get them and make them a permanent part of their family.

In Memoriam

Saying goodbye is always hard, this year we lost our hospice dog Kaylee and Carl, who was our beloved mascot for 7 years. We also said goodbye to some of our alumni-  Banks, Casey, Cocoa, Dolly, Edie, Evie, Ernie,Ginger, Hector, Herbie, Hermoine, Mocha, Max, Mickey, Nico, Nipsey, Neo, Maxie, Ruckus, Slim Jim, Stella, Sadie, Squire, Veronica and Wally, if we missed anyone please forgive us.

Each one was special to so many people.  They’ve left a ripple in the world that extends far past their lifespan. Knowing each passed in the arms of someone who loved them is the very reason we exist

Supporting Our Mission

Thank you to everyone who has made an impact on our program. Our slogan has become  “We are small but we are mighty” and that’s because of you!  As 2023 comes to a close we humbly ask you to consider Red Leash Rescue as the recipient of your end of year donations so we can keep this pace going- together we can make a difference…one dog at a time. You can find links to donate on our website Donate — Red Leash Rescue