Home > Out of the Cage! > July/August 2005 > New York Breed Rescue Network: Long Island Bulldog Rescue: Managing the Downside of Breed Popularity

New York Breed Rescue Network

Long Island Bulldog Rescue: Managing the Downside of Breed Popularity

Tank had been in his new home barely a week when he awoke in the middle of the night and began barking wildly. Startled from their sleep, his new family thought Tank needed an emergency run outside — until they noticed the smell of smoke. From his window, Tank's guardian discovered a brush fire in a neighbor's yard that had begun to burn out of control. He immediately called the fire department, which responded quickly and extinguished the blaze.

The firemen made quite a fuss over Tank when they learned that he was the hero responsible for alerting his family to the danger. It appears that Tank's alertness was responsible for rescuing them from the fire.

That Tank behaved heroically isn't really surprising, given that, by the time he was a year old, he had been passed from one home to the next for reasons completely out of his control. His last home had been promising until the family discovered that he suffered from a partially torn ligament, which would require a $2,000 operation to repair. But Tank's new family — and what appears to be his permanent home — didn't balk when Long Island Bulldog Rescue (LIB Rescue) told them of Tank's special needs. And for the warmth with which they welcomed Tank into their home, they were rewarded with a hero dog.

For the past six years, LIB Rescue has been finding good homes for orphaned Bulldogs from Long Island, New York City, and throughout New York State. Laurette Richin expanded LIB Rescue after becoming involved with the Long Island Bulldog Club. She began by rescuing and re-homing a handful of Bulldogs from local shelters. But as the breed has become more and more popular, the number of Bulldogs needing homes has grown. Last year, LIB Rescue placed 67 Bulldogs in new homes, and already this year has found homes for more than 50 dogs.

"A Bulldog's face is both his fortune and misfortune," says Laurette. "They're cute. That's why they appear so often in the media. But often people acquire a Bulldog without understanding that they require a lot of attention — they're extremely social dogs — and they also need training." As a result, more and more Bulldogs are ending up in shelters and with rescue groups. According to Laurette, the flood of Bulldog puppies being brought into the U.S. from Eastern Europe isn't helping, as the breed's numbers are rising to keep pace with its growing popularity.

To help stem the tide of homeless Bulldogs, LIB Rescue is active not only in the rescue and re-homing of Bulldogs. Through its website and outreach at puppy matches, schools, and other community organizations, it educates people about the characteristics and special needs of the breed, to increase the likelihood that people who acquire Bulldogs are equipped to keep their life-long commitments to them. The group serves as a resource to shelters, working with them to find suitable homes for the dogs so they don't end up back at the shelter.

Laurette and a select team of volunteers, including Sue Jacobsen, Dave Hudson, and Bob Catanese, who share a mutual love for the breed, provide foster care for their charges until lasting matches can be made. Laurette says that most adopters come to LIB Rescue through its website, (which is a part of the Long Island Bulldog Club's website), attendance at LIBC Puppy Matches, and through word of mouth.

LIB Rescue acquires some of its adoptable Bulldogs from AC&C shelters. According to Laurette, since joining the Mayor's Alliance and its New York Breed Rescue Network, "communication with the City shelters has improved vastly — helping us get dogs to families who understand the breed so they don't wind up in the shelter system again."

Being a part of the network has provided LIB Rescue with other advantages, too, including access to transfers using the Mayor's Alliance transport van (Laurette has only nice things to say about van driver Joe Pastore), and strong communications with other Mayor's Alliance member groups. "I recently had the experience of discussing one dog with another Alliance member, and it resulted in my finding homes for two other dogs of other breeds," says Laurette. "Another time, LIB Rescue was invited to an adoption event where another group had a senior Bulldog, and I was able to find him an appropriate home."

"Most of all, I feel supported, and not so alone out there," Laurette continues. "The communication and responsiveness of the Alliance members has been wonderful."

Click here to learn more about Long Island Bulldog Rescue, meet some of its adoptable dogs, or find out how you can support its efforts through donations or volunteering.

The New York Breed Rescue Network (NYBRN) is a sub-coalition of groups within the Mayor's Alliance who have chosen to concentrate on the placement of purebred (or nearly pure) dogs and cats. These groups view puppy mills, pet shops, and irresponsible breeders as the problem, and believe that by combining efforts toward a common goal, they will make a real difference. For a list of NYBRN member groups and links to their websites, click here.