If you haven't heard, Willie, a puppy that came to us through our partners is Texas was lucky enough to be in this years Puppy Bowl.
You can watch him and the rest of team Ruff on Sunday, February 11th at 2 pm on Animal Planet!
It was an honor and a pleasure to host the official adoption party for a special boy and his pup. Our heartfelt gratitude to Elmcrest Children's Center for giving Elvis such an amazing start, to Blue Prints Dog Studio for their generous training package to continue his education, to Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital of Manlius for seeing him off to a healthy start and to Make-A-Wish Central New York for the opportunity to make a wish come true.
It doesn't happen often, those moments that render us speechless, but this is most definitely one of them.
We are humbled and in awe of the love and giving done in honor of a legend like Betty White. Donations to honor her legacy and animal advocacy found their way to organizations big and small across the country and will no doubt help improve the lives of the animals she loved. Surely, she was smiling down at what was happening in her name.
It truly was a gift from above for the dogs of HHDR - we are beyond grateful for all of those that chose us to meet the #BettyWhiteChallenge and when the day was done $40k was donated to help us fulfill our mission.
Thank you for being a friend.
Click here to view coverage from our friends at News Channel 9!
The results are in and they are nothing short of amazing. Over $2.4 million dollars was raised in 33 days to benefit 32 animal welfare organizations dedicated to making the world a bit kinder and more humane.
We are humbled and grateful for the 873 donors that gave $148,135.86 to HHDR and to Staffworks that will add another $23,500 through their SaveALife annual campaign making your gifts go farther in saving the lives of shelter dogs.
These donation will be put to work providing medical care, transportation, training and TLC to so many dogs as we search for their place to call home. We thank you.
We thought by now we would be out seeing all of you at golf tournaments, breweries, restaurants, store fronts........but, here we are again revealing our spring T-shirts virtually. ((sigh))
But.....they are really cute, don't you think?
Order yours and get some for all those dog loving, HHDR supporting friends and family you love. Time is limited! There are even youth styles (also available in adults sizes) for all those junior rescuers in your life.
We thank you for your support.
We have partnered with Best Friends for Strut Your Mutt! Join us for this virtual walk event. For this virtual event, you can join us no matter where you live. You can walk on one day or several days throughout October 2020.
Join our team and Strut Your Mutt! Start a personalized page where family, friends, and coworkers can sponsor you to walk. Your $15 registration fee counts as a donation to HHDR and allows you to maximize your fundraising efforts by tracking your miles through the ResQWalk app. You can quickly and easily create your own page allowing others to sponsor you in support of HHDR.
1st place- Wins a space on our Humane Education Mural & a gift basket valued at over $300.
2nd place- Wins an 11x14 portrait of their pet (click for sample) & a gift basket valued at over $250.
3rd place- Wins a gift basket valued at over $100.
Click here to learn more and to sign up!
Thank you to everyone who supported us by sending photos of your pets to send them on a Corona Escape!
Blot, Brady and Mickey are bringing 40 of their friends from Alabama and they will all be searching for their NY families on Saturday, May 30th. We will share them all tomorrow and hope you are as excited as we are to get back to saving lives.
Being shut down since March 22nd has not been easy. If you can chip in a little gas & travel money to help this group make the journey it sure would help us make up for lost time and lost revenue.
As with the rest of the world, we will be making some changes to keep everyone safe while visiting our dogs and meeting your new best friend.
We will not be accepting any donations of household items such as towels, blankets, and sheets. Donations of items such as dog food, toilet paper, paper towels, disinfecting wipes, dog toys, leashes, etc will be accepted. A full list of items we are always in need of can be found on our website.
We will require anyone visiting to wear a mask and practice the 6-foot social distancing recommendations.
We cannot allow access to people who just want to visit our dogs. Only those with a fully processed application can enter our kennel area. We strongly encourage you to make an appointment to view our dogs and limit your visit to one adult member of your household and resident dog(s). We will allow you to bring the potential new family member home on a trial basis to meet additional members of the household.
For now, we will be closed on Sundays and Mondays to the public. We will remain open Tues ~ Saturday Noon to 6PM.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in helping us keep everyone safe. One day, one dog at a time, we will figure this all out together.
We think we are all feeling the effects of the stay-at-home orders. We long for the days of traveling safely in the world, taking in the beauty of nature, hiking with our best friend and relaxing on the beach.
Our volunteers sure do miss the Crate Escapes - those fun-filled days where they busted out a dog or two and took them on an adventure.
So we are filling the void with Corona Escapes - for a donation our team of Travel Agents will book your pet on an escape and send you a photo of their adventure.
We are sensitive to the current economic climate, so you decide the amount you are able to give. Every dollar is received with a grateful heart and every dollar will make sure we are ready to hit the road to go get the ones we left behind the moment it is safe to travel.
So click here! Submit a photo (the higher the quality of photo, the better the results) and let our team of travel agents help your pet escape. You just don't know where he/she will end up - there are no limits to where they may travel or what adventure they may enjoy.
We love all pets! This opportunity is not limited to the dogs!
Like many of you, we are doing our best to figure out how to navigate this new world we find ourselves in. With all the mandatory closures and warnings and the spread of the Covid-19 virus we have struggled to determine what our role and responsibility is in these trying times. We have been trying to find the impossible balance of saving dogs while protecting human life.
We will be closing the doors to our new home to do our part to flatten the curve and keep people home. We will re-evaluate in two weeks, listening to the advice of the experts and move forward in the best way that begins again to save the lives of our canine companions and keeps our community safe.
We will be monitoring messages and accepting adoption applications so when we resume operations, we can hit the ground running. If you are able, we would be grateful for your support to see us through.
Stay safe out there. Wash your hands and stay home as much as possible. We hope to welcome you back and help you find your new best friend soon.
In order to make sure we are providing the safest possible environment for our adopting families, our staff, and volunteers, we will be making a few changes over the coming weeks.
Visiting our dogs will be limited to those with a completed application. We will miss welcoming those who like to stop in and meet them, but for now we ask that you not visit unless you are interested in adopting and have completed the process to do so.
We will no longer be able to accept donations of household linens and towels; however, we would sure be happy to see you arrive with toilet paper and other items on our wish list.
We will continue to operate our life-saving transport program and will implement some changes like adding in appointments for reserved dogs to reduce that noon-time crowd we love to see when they arrive. Some of our other activities such as trainings and workshops will be rescheduled.
Our facility will continue to use the hospital-grade disinfectant we have had in place for years with increased attention on commonly touched surfaces.
Our normal business hours will remain in effect and we will continue to monitor the situation with our sending and transport partners as well as changes in the need of our CNY community and adjust accordingly.
Stay safe out there and wash those hands!
Did you know, from December 3, through December 31, The Staffworks Fund will match your donations to Helping Hounds! This is a fantastic way to double your impact.
Staffworks will match the first $10,000 dollar for dollar. If we reach our goal of $100,00 Staffworks will donate the max of $30,000!
Click here for more details on the Staffworks Save A Life Campaign.
Our 2020 Calendar, featuring the winners of our HHDR Mascot Contest, can now be purchased online!
Our calendars make excellent gifts and the holiday season sure is sneaking up on us fast. Be sure to buy one for yourself and for all of the dog lovers in your life!
For a limited time we are offering the ability to share the naming opportunity of a kennel at the new Helping Hounds facility with another dog-loving member of the community.
Click the link to below for details.
For information on all our naming opportunities and to follow along with the renovation progress click here.
Exclusive Helping Hounds gear is now available for a limited time. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Helping Hounds. There is a variety of items for purchase including hats, coats, raincoats, fleeces, and even youth items. Order yours here before time runs out.
October 5th from 11am to 3pm at the rescue.
Click here to register online as a vendor.
Registration is $25 for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.
Your dog could be the HHDR mascot for 2020. Enter your pooch for a chance to win!
Syracuse, NY (April 26, 2019) – Helping Hounds Dog Rescue welcomed Crystal DeStefano, APR and Katrina Crocker to its Board of Directors at the organization’s April board meeting. At the meeting, DeStefano was elected to serve as president of the board and Crocker will serve as vice president.
“Crystal and Katrina were specifically recruited this year to join the board and help lead Helping Hounds through our next exciting chapter,” said Kathy Gilmour, Executive Director at Helping Hounds Dog Rescue. “Our organization is in the midst of great transition as we prepare to move operations to our new space located in the Town of Cicero. This move allows us to act on our mission through expansion of services, and to better meet the needs of the dogs we rescue and our family of adoptive parents. Both women bring extensive leadership and business experience that is necessary during this period of growth.”
Crystal DeStefano is the President and Director of Public Relations for Strategic Communications, LLC, a public relations firm located in Syracuse. DeStefano holds a degree in finance and marketing from SUNY Albany and earned her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) in 2012. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for WCNY and is active in the Public Relations Society of America as a local-chapter board member and as the northeast regional representative for the national organization. DeStefano is a long-time supporter of Helping Hounds and adopted her dog, Oliver, from the organization in 2017.
Katrina Crocker is the Vice President of Communications at the Central New York Community Foundation where she has worked for more than a decade guiding strategy and relationship building for one of the area’s largest nonprofit funders. She holds a degree in advertising from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Prior to joining the board of directors, Crocker was a Helping Hounds volunteer, applying her expertise in communications and online tools to the management of the organization’s website since 2014. Crocker adopted her dog, Penny, from Helping Hounds in 2018.
The Helping Hounds Dog Rescue 2019 Board of Directors and Officers:
Crystal DeStefano, APR, President
Katrina Crocker, Vice President
Lester Burt, CPA, Treasurer
Jen Pichoske, Secretary
Sam Deeb, CPA
Dr. Heather Danboise, DVM
Leigh Neumann, Immediate Past President
Kristin Norfleet, Esq.
For more information about Helping Hounds Dog Rescue, to view dogs available for adoption or to donate to the organization, visit helpinghoundsdogrescue.org
About Helping Hounds
Helping Hounds Dog Rescue (HHDR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization funded by donations, fundraisers and adoption fees, that works to find forever homes in the Central New York area for rescue dogs. HHDR has earned the Better Business Bureau’s Accreditation and offers a Donor Safeguard Policy to all who provide contributions of any value.
HHDR provides a compassionate approach to dog rescue by matching homeless dogs from overcrowded shelter systems with loving homes. Their team of dedicated staff is well supported by an army of more than 300 volunteers and as a result they are able to successfully place over 1,700 dogs annually into loving homes.
Media Contact: Erin Zacholl
(315) 382-0895 or erin@helpinghoundsny.com
Helping Hounds Dog Rescue is a 501 (c) (3) non profit organization funded by donations, fundraisers and adoption fees, that works to find forever homes for rescue dogs in the Central New York area.
7268 Caswell Street
North Syracuse, NY 13212
(315) 446-5970
info@helpinghoundsny.com
Hours:
*A fully processed application is required in order to visit.
Mondays: Closed
Tuesday-Friday: 12:00pm-6:00 pm
Saturday: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Sunday: 12:00pm-3:00pm
