'Shy' Golden Retriever Being Wheeled to 'Euthanasia Room' Saved in Final Moments by Rescuers (Exclusive)
"She is a completely different dog," Clare Callison of Austin Pets Alive! tells PEOPLE of a post-rescue Darla the golden retriever
Austin Pets Alive!
Darla got a second chance seconds before it was too late.
In July, the 8-month-old golden retriever was set to be euthanized at Laredo Animal Care Services, an underfunded, overcrowded open admissions shelter in Texas.
On her euthanasia date, the young dog had to be loaded into a wheelbarrow to be taken to the euthanasia room because she was too frightened to move on her own. Luckily, Darla's wheelbarrow trip took her past where Clare Callison, the director of national operations for Austin Pets Alive!, was working.
Austin Pets Alive! is a nonprofit animal welfare organization dedicated to saving animals from euthanasia. As part of this effort, the shelter works with overcrowded kill shelters throughout central Texas on programs designed to curb pet homelessness.
Callison was at Laredo Animal Care Services with a team from Austin Pets Alive! "vaccinating animals" when she "turned around and saw a golden retriever in a blue wheelbarrow."
Austin Pets Alive!
"I knew it was around the time of day when the shelter does routine euthanasia for opening up kennel space," Callison tells PEOPLE.
The rescue worker asked where the golden retriever was going. "The employee said, 'To the euthanasia room,'" she recalls.
Callison followed up with a few more questions about Darla, including asking why the dog was slated to be euthanized.
Austin Pets Alive!
"I learned that it was just because she was shy, which is pretty common in a loud shelter in a stressful environment," Callison says, adding that she approached Darla after asking her questions and found the dog to be "shy for sure," but open to pets and physical affection.
After experiencing Darla's openness to love, Callison pulled the dog from Laredo Animal Care Services and moved her to a no-kill shelter partner through Austin Pets Alive!'s transport program.
"I sent her photo to one of our partners, Mile High Lab Mission in Denver," she says.
Austin Pets Alive!
Austin Pets Alive! already had a transport flight planned with Dog is My CoPilot to Mile High Lab Mission for a few other canines, so the organization was hopeful the Colorado shelter had room for one more.
"Immediately, they said yes to taking her," Callison says of Mile High Lab Mission.
On July 29, after receiving a complete vet exam and a clean bill of health, Darla flew to Denver, where her foster family set up through Mile High Lab Mission was waiting.
"She landed there, and instead of going into another shelter environment, she went right into a foster home," Callison says.
Mile High Resue
"And the pictures and video we got of her are pretty incredible," she adds. "We knew Darla would be fine, but it happened within minutes. She never wagged her tail in the shelter, but she was wagging her tail immediately at her foster home."
Darla is now focused on relaxing at her foster home and "running after toys."
"She is a completely different dog," Callison says.
The shelter director hopes Darla's story and rapid transformation encourage animal lovers to get involved with animal rescue.
"There are dogs like Darla, purebred golden retrievers, that are at risk of being euthanized because of a lack of resources. There's a place for everyone to be able to contribute and help with this problem," she says.
Mile High Resue
"If people want to help any shelter right now, they should foster. We feel that even if we had a 2% increase in fostering across the country, that would solve this problem. And not everyone can foster, so obviously there are other outlets, like adoption, volunteering, and donations," Callison adds.
Along with caring for dogs like Darla, Austin Pets Alive! is working to address the systemic issues affecting pet homelessness.
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"We're really working across the country, especially in Texas, to address those root issues of why animals are coming into shelters in the first place, like the lack of resources for people facing hardship with their pets and lack of access to affordable vet care. So we're looking to make more robust systems that help people when facing those challenges, so bringing animals into the shelter isn't the only solution for them," Callison says.
"By helping the person, you are helping the pet."
To learn more about Austin Pets Alive! and support the nonprofit's lifesaving work, visit the organization's website.
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