Rescue pets waiting for happy homes

A Modesto rescue groups wants you to bring a wagging tail home for the holidays.

Wags and Whiskers Rescue held its annual open house Saturday, welcoming the public to tour the no-kill facility and take home a new pet. The nonprofit was founded in 2011 and rescues dogs and cats slated to be put down from shelters statewide. The volunteer group, which moved its headquarters to the old Stanislaus County animal shelter facility on Finch Road in Modesto two years ago, has more than 100 animals available for adoption.

“This is really a push to get them a home so they can have a home for Christmas,” said Wags and Whiskers founder Jodi Baur. “When you look at these dogs, every single one of them was going to be put down. And people think if a dog is slated to be put down at a shelter that it’s a bad dog. But that’s not usually the case.”

Baur had previously worked with the Humane Society in Wisconsin before moving to California. When she came here, she was shocked by the euthanasia rate at the county shelter, which she said is about 90 percent of adult dogs. But Baur does not condemn local Animal Services for the high rate; instead, she says more animal owners need to be responsible and educated.

“People blame the shelter, but it’s not the shelter’s fault,” she said. “It’s society.”

Right now, Wags and Whiskers is near capacity with about 130 dogs and more than 30 cats. The group does not have the space to accept drop-offs or strays.

The open house, which included food, crafts and an information fair, was an opportunity to get the word out about pet adoption and the rescue’s services. Besides providing dogs and cats for adoption, Wags and Whiskers also runs a low-cost spay and neuter program, training and boarding services.

But it was the four-legged friends that were the center of most of the day’s attention. A steady stream of people came to visit, checking out the dogs in kennels and playing with the cats in cages.

Modesto couple Dwayne and Paulette Kinner came to find a new fur baby. The retirees recently had their cat of more than a dozen years die and decided it was time to add to their family again. They looked at various rescues and settled on Wags and Whiskers. Dwayne Kinner, who spent his career as a social worker helping neglected and abused children get adopted, said the idea of helping an animal in a similar situation just felt right.

They left the open house with a 1-year-old tan-and-white terrier mix named Ariel.

“These are all animals who need help. It feels good to be able to offer even one animal a sense of security for life,” he said while cradling Ariel and petting her head. “You’re going to have it made, girl.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 7:13 PM with the headline "Rescue pets waiting for happy homes."