News - Local News

POSTED: Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008

OldDog Haven gives home to aging animals

BELLINGHAM - When Judith Piper and her husband rescued 14-year-old Liza, a black Labrador retriever in need of a home, the experience of getting to know the older dog in her last years convinced the couple that more senior dogs were in need of help.

They took in a few more older dogs and in 2005 started OldDog Haven, a non-profit agency that takes dogs 8 years and older from shelters and homes where they aren't getting proper care and places them with families from Blaine to Chehalis.

"We saw that there was a real need for this and we wanted to do it," said executive director Judith Piper. "Really do it, the right way."

Currently, 118 dogs are awaiting placement in an adoptive family or a final refuge home - a foster home where a dog can spend the end of its life.

Piper said the biggest obstacle facing the organization - which is funded entirely through donations - is a lack of foster homes for the dogs.

There are approximately 50 foster homes at any given time but few of the people can take in multiple dogs, which leaves about half of them sitting in shelters.

"There just aren't enough places for these dogs to go," Piper said. "We always need volunteers."

Piper currently has 15 dogs at her home.

Another major challenge for the organization is paying veterinary bills. OldDog Haven provides medical help to the dogs, including dental work, surgery, flea treatments and prescription costs, among other things.

Piper said she pays approximately $19,000 per month in veterinary bills, but the non-profit has a dedicated network of supporters who make frequent donations to the group.

Some members, like Blaine resident Jeannie Scholl, also put together fundraisers for the group.

Scholl will host the Birch Bay Dog Walk at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Birch Bay State Park. Registration for the one-mile walk is $20 and includes a raffle ticket. More tickets can be purchased separately, Scholl said.

All profits from the walk will go to OldDog Haven.

Scholl adopted 9-year-old Bella, a white Chihuahua from OldDog Haven, and said that the organization gives dogs that otherwise wouldn't be adopted a chance.

"When Bella was in the shelter, she was skinny, unhealthy, had almost no hair and was scared to death," Scholl said. "You would look at her and think, 'I can't take care of a dog like that.' But OldDog Haven gets them looking better and gets them healthy, to a point where people can successfully adopt them."

For more information or to volunteer with OldDog Haven, go to olddoghaven.org.

For more information about the Birch Bay Dog Walk, go to birchbaydogwalk.com.

Reach Katie Regan at 715-2220 or katie.regan@bellinghamherald.com.