Looking for a new furry best friend? This Saturday, June 22, Rochester’s Red Rose Animal Rescue will be at the Tractor Supply Co. in Rochester from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a meet-and-greet adoption event featuring rescue dogs Valentine and Elena.
“This will be a smaller event focusing on two of our sweet pups that have been in rescue far too long,” stated a Facebook post. “...We have not had one adult dog adoption in months.”
Elena is an Australian cattle dog-American pit bull mix while Valentine is a great Pyrenees-German wirehaired pointer mix. Both dogs are female, spayed and up-to-date with vaccinations. Tractor Supply Co. is located at 6312 196th Ave. SW.
No adoptions will take place on site unless an adoption application with Red Rose Animal Rescue has already been pre-approved. Applications can be submitted ahead of time on the rescue’s website, or submitted on site during the event itself.
Founded in 2021 by Marcie Dingerson and her son, Red Rose Animal Rescue is a foster-based rescue that focuses on not only rescuing animals from the streets and from cases of animal neglect or abuse, but also spaying and neutering them.
“We are 100% spayed and neutered. It’s the only way to get ahead of the massive issue,” Dingerson said in an email to The Chronicle last week.
On average, Red Rose Animal Rescue spays and neuters 125 animals a month, driving to different clinics, including some as far as three hours away. The majority of the animals come from Lewis County.
Last week, Dingerson took a group of both kittens and feral cats all the way up to a clinic in Lynnwood “as we continue to try and make a dent in the massive spay and neuter problem Lewis County has.”
Thanks to the efforts of Red Rose Animal Rescue and other local Lewis County rescues, a small dent in rescue numbers seems to have occurred.
“Our cat numbers are actually pretty low right now,” Dingerson said. “Last year, we had 350 cats and kittens in rescue. This year, 113 today.”
That number changes frequently and didn’t include 22 “bottle babies” Dingerson was also taking care of last week.
Additionally, Dingerson organizes a once-a-month community spay and neuter run where she transports up to 30 cats and four to five dogs up to a clinic in Mason County which offers spaying and neutering services much cheaper than available in Lewis County.
Including Valentine and Elena, Red Rose currently has 50 dogs in foster care along with 113 cats. At any given time, the rescue works with between 40 and 60 different volunteer fosters to house the rescues — with some taking cats and dogs — along with adult cats being housed at Petsense Grooming in Chehalis.
While kittens and puppies usually find homes fast, it’s the adult foster animals who are not being picked, which is why Red Rose is featuring two of them at Saturday’s event.
“We have decided to stop in-taking of puppies until our adult dog numbers are lower. These sweet dogs deserve homes just like the puppies,” Dingerson said. “Each and every single one of them has a story.”
To learn more about Valentine, view her petfinder profile page at https://tinyurl.com/yc82t8h4.
For more information about Elena, view her petfinder profile page at https://tinyurl.com/47rx73bb.
Red Rose Animal Rescue’s adoption application can be filled out and submitted online at http://redroseanimalrescue.org/application.asp.
To find out more about Red Rose Animal Rescue and its services, including how to apply to be a foster and to view other animals available for adoption, visit http://www.redroseanimalrescue.org/index.asp.
For updates on rescues and upcoming adoption events, follow Red Rose Animal Rescue on Facebook and Instagram.
