MARCH/APRIL 2016
25
The Haven for Dogs
Rescues Homeless Pets
Manager’s dedication to
animals continues
by Martha Evans Sparks,
Staff Writer
Nancy Victor has always liked animals. She remembers being asked
as a child to care for a neighbor’s
dog while the owner was at work
because the dog would not eat.
“I was paid, but I would have
done it for free,” she said.
She volunteered in dog rescue as
a teenager. In her 20s, she was an
animal control officer in Woodford
County (formally called a “dog warden”). She continues her dedication
to taking care of animals in her role
as the manager of All Creatures Inn,
a boarding kennel for cats and dogs
in Lexington.
But that’s not all Victor does.
She and several others also run The
Haven for Dogs, Inc., a rescue service. The Haven is an all-volunteer,
not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization based in Lexington. Victor
says the Haven’s mission is to place
abandoned and homeless dogs into
loving, responsible homes. The
Haven is not a shelter. All the dogs
and puppies awaiting adoption are
housed in volunteer foster homes.
This is done to keep the animals
healthy until they are adopted and
to provide them with lots of human
interaction.
“We started out as a larger rescue,”
said Victor. The rescue endeavor has
gotten smaller for several reasons.
“There are now several other dog
rescue groups in Jessamine and
surrounding counties. So they
have taken a lot of what we used
to get,” Victor said. She especially
recommends the Jessamine County
Friends of Animals as an alternative
rescue service.
Although she also believes the
lower numbers may be because
more people are now having their
animals spayed or neutered, Victor
strongly believes Kentucky needs
tougher spay/neuter laws. Victor
also gives a nod to Jessamine County’s Trap/Neuter Return (TNR)
program, where feral (wild) cats are
trapped, neutered and returned to
the wild.
In past years, the Haven has taken
in as many as 200 homeless dogs in
a year. Now it has about 50 a year.
All the dogs at the Haven receive appropriate veterinary care, including
heartworm tests, vaccinations and
microchip identification. All Haven
dogs are spayed or neutered.
Every person who wants to
adopt a Haven dog must complete
and sign an adoption application
and have it approved by a Haven
volunteer. The potential owner must
Nancy Victor,
The Haven for Dogs, Inc.
also have an interview with a Haven
volunteer to verify the placement
is appropriate. If for any reason the
new owner is unable to care for the
pet he or she has adopted, he or she
is asked to return the animal to the
Haven.
When a rescued dog is adopted,
Haven volunteers help the new
owners maintain successful placement of the dog. The new owner
may receive discounts for boarding, grooming and dog obedience
training at selected businesses. The
Haven charges an adoption fee of
$90. This partially offsets the costs
for veterinary care and boarding in
the foster home.
Victor, who has six dogs and three
cats in her personal household,
admits she has been what she laughingly calls a “foster failure” some-
times. “It’s when you foster dogs and
then you don’t let them be adopted,”
she said. “We flunked a few times.”
The Haven is always looking for
volunteer temporary foster homes
for their dogs or puppies. If you
would like to help or want more
information about The Haven, call
(859) 887-8733. Visit the Haven’s
Web site at www.havenfordogs.com
or see its dogs at Petfinder.com.
Jaime, The Haven for Dogs, Inc.
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