Atlantic Rottweiler Rescue Foundation was founded in September 2005 by Vikki Jasmin. We are a 501c3. The rescue is located both in Raleigh, and Mooresville NC. Our Raleigh location is run by Vikki Jasmin, who receives help from numerous foster homes in her area. Vikki is also predominantly responsible for processing all of our applications, she does fostering as well. Vikki lives with her husband Chuck and also owns 2 Rottweilers Itty Bitty who is handicapped and Taz who is a rescue from a puppy mill.
Our Mooresville, NC location which is run by our President, Suzi Faulkner, owns a boarding kennel, 4 Paws, and she donates part of her kennel to ARRF. 4 Paws is our main facility where the majority of the foster dogs are housed. At the facility, Suzi and her staff rescue, rehab and rehome the homeless rottweilers. Suzi also coordinates rescue parades every year where anyone who rescued a pet from ARRF can participate in the parade and walk their dog in the show ring. Suzi is also very active in the fight against BSL. Suzi lives with 5 rescue dogs, 4 Rottweilers and 1 Akita, Suzi also owns Dodger, ARRF'S Mascot.
Vikki and Suzi dedicate all of their spare time to the rescue and their mission of helping to save their breed. Aside from their full time jobs, they spend every spare moment during the day and on weekends perusing shelters and websites looking to rescue an unwanted Rottweiler, pull them and get them into their program. This takes a lot of hard work and dedication.
Vikki has been doing rescue for 7 years and Suzi has been doing rescue for 15 years. Between the two of them, not only do they manage a great partnership in running the rescue, they maintain a very valuable friendship. Mostly though, it is their love of their breed that always keeps them going.
Information on how rescue works:
WE'LL START WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND. RESCUE IS NOT A SERVICE FOR YOU .... PERIOD. NOT FOR YOU TO FIND A DOG, OR TO GET RID OF YOUR DOG. Rescue is a service for the dogs. We care about them, the dog is who we are here to help. Helping you find the dog of your dreams is a result of that, but our main concern here is the dog and what is best for each individual dog.
RESCUE IS NOT A SHELTER THAT YOU CAN JUST STOP BY TO VISIT, PICK OUT A DOG, AND TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU WHENEVER THE MOOD STRIKES YOU. THERE IS NO PLACE TO DROP BY AND WINDOW SHOP, NO BUSINESS HOURS, AND NO TIMES WE ARE OPEN. Rescue is a group of people that love their breed. Those people open their homes and hearts to the dogs, give them a place to live, and love them until they find a loving home. We take applications, screen them, and then have people come and visit with the dogs in our homes .... See .... no shelter involved. There is a volunteer's home on the end of any phone number you are given. Please respect that.
RESCUE IS NOT DIAL-A-DOG, DIAL-A-PERSON THAT WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR TROUBLES, DIAL-A-PERSON TO UNLOAD MY DOG. I’VE HAD IT FOR 10 YEARS AND IT SIMPLY DOESN’T MATCH THE FURNITURE ANY MORE. Rescue is a phone number or e-mail that reaches right into the home of a volunteer who has little time to deal with the guilt you are feeling over giving up your dog or tossing them out like last night's leftovers. They have even less time to deal with you see-sawing back and forth between keeping the dog and giving it up. If you’ve taken the trouble to find a rescue and call or e-mail, then 99% of people have their minds set on getting rid of the dog. Don’t lie to us or to yourself. Simply tell us the reason you are giving the dog up and answer the questions we ask. If we are going to help you, the least you can do is help us speed up the process. Please do not think us cold or callous, but we don’t have time for every person giving up a dog to cry on our shoulders. We’ve heard all the reasons for giving up a dog before..... including : * allergies, moving, house-training issues, money issues, new baby, too hyper, barking, sick, injured, nasty, uncontrollable, landlord doesn’t allow, parents said no, owner died and nobody wants the dog, divorce, marriage, too many animals, doesn’t like new dog, doesn’t like old dog, chases cars, chases cats, sheds too much, too much trouble, new job, wants too much attention; to the the other extreme, which includes * it’s cross-eyed, it’s ears dont stand up, it doesn’t match the new couch, it looks at me funny, he doesn’t like it here, and he’s told me he’s not happy. We’re not cold-hearted, we simply have too many things to do and not enough time to do them all and still listen to how sorry you think you are about getting rid of your dog. If you have done everything you could do before coming to rescue, you should not feel guilty. We understand things happen in people’s lives that make hard choices a necessity. We are not judging those who have done everything they could yet still have to give up the dog. We just want those who haven’t taken the responsibility seriously to understand that we are not here to offer emotional support to them when they’ve made a stupid decision and refuse to take responsibility for it. Rescue should be one of your last resorts. Try obedience training, try crate-training, try everything you can before you make the decision to give up your dog. When you’ve done all that you can, then call us and let us know why you’re giving up the dog in the least amount of words you can. We’ll ask questions, you answer them. Quick, Simple, and Honest.
RESCUE IS NOT A PERSON SITTING AT THE COMPUTER OR PHONE ALL DAY JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO CALL OR E-MAIL. WE'RE ALSO NOT RUNNING HOME DAILY HOPING WE'LL HAVE LOTS OF E-MAIL AND ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGES. WERE NOT RUSHING TO RETURN YOUR CALL OR E-MAIL .. Rescue is a group of people who already have a life, a family, a full-time job, their own dogs, foster dogs, 50 e-mails a day looking to adopt or give up a dog, 20 phone messages a day looking to adopt or give up a dog, calls from shelters needing a rescue to take a dog who is about to be put down, not to mention applications to process, vet appointments for foster dogs ... and countless other things that rescue involves. Of course, this does not include the volunteer eating, sleeping, and having a life, I almost forgot.
RESCUE IS NOT A WAY FOR YOU TO FIND A PURE-BRED DOG FOR LITTLE OR NO MONEY. Rescue is a safe haven for dogs of a specific breed, with people that know and understand the quirks and personality of that breed, and have the knowledge needed to handle that breed, its medical requirements, and who can assess an application to be sure it would be an appropriate home for that breed.
RESCUE IS NOT A BABY-SITTING SERVICE FOR YOUR DOG, A KENNEL,OR A PLACE THAT WILL TRAIN YOUR DOG. Rescue is a place that dogs who are homeless, about to be homeless, or in a shelter, come into where they will receive the medical attention, physical attention, and behavioral attention they need. Rescue is most times the only thing standing between a dog and a lethal injection.
CAN I GET A DOG FROM YOUR RESCUE THAT IS NOT SPAY ED OR NEUTERED? Rescue is not a place where you can pick up a "girlfriend" for BUTCH or a"boyfriend" for FIFI so that you can irresponsibly mass produce puppies, sell them to homes that may very well want them for Pit Bull bait, toys for the children, something for the kids to take care of, or something to neglect and then later abandon. Rescue is responsible about the reproduction of their breed. In fact, rescues believe that they only breeding that should be done is by the FEW responsible breeders out there, and only to improve the breed. And by the way, responsible breeders are not those folks with "free puppies" signs or ads, and doesn’t include Jane down the street who has a few Chihuahuas she allows to breed whenever they feel like it and then charges $500 for a puppy. Responsible breeders are folks that care about their puppies and take pride in placing them in loving homes where they will be cared for. Responsible breeders have quality pups who are lovingly raised, given proper care, and sold only to homes that are appropriate for the breed. All rescue dogs are spayed or neutered before adoption so that no "Accidents" happen. You won’t get a dog unaltered, don’t even bother to ask.
RESCUE IS NOT A PLACE THAT WILL TAKE THE MOST VICIOUS, NASTY, AGGRESSIVE DOGS AND KEEP THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, LIVING HAPPILY EVER AFTER IN THEIR OWNERS MIND WHILE THE DOG IS MISERABLE. Rescue is a place wher e the nasty dogs that are not safe for anyone to own, handle or be within 5 feet of are humanely put to sleep where they will be happier, and people will be safer. If YOU don’t want to deal with your dog that bites, whom you’ve loved for 6 years, what on earth makes you think that someone else would want it biting them or their family? We do work with every dog to see if they are just frightened, or have an issue that is fixable, or if they are just nasty. Those who are scared or have an issue that is fixable we work with and allow them time to adjust and overcome their fear. Those who are nasty are put to sleep - PERIOD. Some people think a rescue that euthanizes is horrible, and that’s fine, but let us fill your house up with dogs you cannot sneeze around without getting bit and let us see you still save the lives of 60+ dogs a year.
RESCUE IS NOT A MAIL ORDER SERVICE TO FIND YOU THE DOG OF YOUR DREAMS, THE DOG THAT LOVES KIDS, CATS, EVERYONE, DOESN’T BARK TOO MUCH, IS PERFECTLY HOUSE-TRAINED, IS 3 POUNDS, DOES TRICKS ON COMMAND, AND KNOWS HOW TO ACT IN EVERY SITUATION. Rescue is the place that gets calls from shelters and owners who have a dog in need. Sure, we may come across a dog like the one described above, but chances are it will be adopted quickly and it will be a long time before we see another one like it. We work with each dog to make them better pets than they were when they entered rescue, but we aren’t miracle workers. Every dog has his own personality, and that is what matters. If you want a dog that fits a few certain requirements - okay, that’s realistic. But trying to find one that matches perfection is not going to happen any time soon, and if one comes in that is perfect we have a line 5 miles long of people waiting for it...
