Rescue Spotlight: Beastly Rescue

Welcome to the ultimate destination for celebrating the unsung heroes of the dog rescue world. At Rescue Spotlight, we're dedicated to highlighting the remarkable journeys of rescue organizations and the incredible individuals behind them.

Whether you seek heartwarming tales of second chances, inspiring stories of rescue missions, or practical insights into the world of dog adoption, you'll find it all here.

Today, we're privileged to interview Reedu Wood, one of the devoted people behind Beastly Rescue You can find a direct link to their Instagram here.

Here is their story:

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What inspired you to start or become involved with this rescue organization?

Wood: I started this rescue organization back in 2009 when I volunteered my time at a no-kill animal shelter in NYC, Animal Haven. It was there that I learned about the plight of NYC's homeless animals and the super-high euthanasia rates at our underfunded, overcrowded, mismanaged municipal shelters.

Can you tell us about a particularly memorable rescue mission or adoption story that stands out to you?

Wood: We don't do a lot of international rescue, but in 2017, we took in a dog from the streets of Cairo, Egypt. We had been moved by his story -- he had been shot 25 times by a BB gun. He was the most resilient dog ever and was aptly named, Hero. We found him a home in the suburbs complete with a mom, a dad and two school-aged children all behind a white picket fence. This family is everything for any dog, let alone a dog who literally came from nothing. I still remember the smell of the spring air the evening we brought him to his forever home. It was ripe with so much hope and possibility, which is not always typical of rescue work.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a rescue organization, and how do you overcome them?

Wood: Getting our dogs adopted lately has been our biggest challenge. It used to be 90% through adoption sites like Petfinder.com but that has slowed considerably. Or people are just not adopting the way they used to.

How do you select the dogs that your organization takes in, and what criteria do you use for adoption?

Wood: We can only take in dogs who can be 100% vetted, meaning they are healthy enough to be spayed or neutered. We do not under any circumstances adopt out a dog who is not fixed. Even our seniors get fixed. Taking in severe medical cases is not really an option for us as both me and my rescue partner work full-time and do not have the luxury of taking our dogs to multiple vet appointments.

In what ways do you work to rehabilitate and socialize dogs before they are adopted?

Wood: All our dogs go from the shelter or directly from an owner who is surrendering, to a foster home. We have found that this is best way to acclimate them and set them up for success -- to put them in a home that emulates what they will have in their forever home. Food, love, shelter, security, etc. In the 13+ years we have been doing this, we have had to emergency board a total of seven dogs. Which is unheard of with most rescues.

What role do volunteers play in your organization, and how can people get involved?

Wood: Our greatest need for volunteers is as fosters. That's really the only role we consistently need to fill. Other than that we have two full-time volunteers. One who helps with photography and transport and another who consistently fosters and scours the shelter's intake site for dogs who need rescuing. We are a team of four women who work really well together.

Can you share some success stories of dogs who were once in your care and have now found loving forever homes?

Wood: Gosh there are just so many that it's too hard to choose! People can search #BeastlyAdoption on our socials to read our adoption stories. We take the time to really tell the story about how dog and human came together, and not just, "Buddy's been adopted! Happy tails Buddy!"

How does your organization collaborate with other rescues, shelters, or animal welfare organizations?

Wood: Most of our collaboration is done through social media as well as a direct line of email to shelters we partner with.

What initiatives or programs does your rescue have in place to promote responsible pet ownership and prevent pet homelessness?

Wood: In all honesty, we probably don't do enough in this space as we lack the time and resources to educate the general public. But we are 100% supportive of social media pages that do work in this space and will comment, like and share. Always.

Looking ahead, what are your organization's goals and aspirations for the future?

Wood: To increase the amount of foster homes we have as well as increase adoptions so that we can rescue more dogs. It's funny that it's not money, because I feel like most rescues are always crying for money. With us, money comes and money goes. It has always worked out. Our biggest need and our biggest reach is for homes.