By Don Rush

Tucked away on a dirt road in the northwest of Oxford Township is a 2.5 acre parcel of land that is hopping with activity – that’s because at any given time there are 30 to35 dogs living there.

The K-9 Stray Rescue League, 2120 Metamora Rd., is a state and federally licensed, nonprofit group formed in 1990 to save dogs “on the euthanasia list at animal shelters.”

“We’ve been here about 34 years,” said the group’s board president, Deb Pullen. “The original owner wanted to help out dogs. She would go to the old K-Mart in Lake Orion and find a dog and then try to find it a home. She finally got this place, and started building the buildings and kennels. We can house up to 60 dogs between the house and the buildings. We always keep kennels open for emergencies.”

The group works with shelters from across the state to find dogs, as well as accepts “surrenders” – when a dog’s owner dies, or finds out they can no longer handle a dog in their homes. 

“Our surrender population is huge,” she said. “You would be surprised how many calls we get a week for surrenders. We can get 15 to 20 surrenders a week. One of the things we do with surrenders is have our trainers talk to the people to try to get them help. If it still doesn’t work out, we’ll bring the dog in, check it out and see if it can handle the building. If it can, we’ll bring it in.”

According to Pullen, 65, dogs are checked out for physical and emotional issues.

“It all depends on how anxious the dog is. We check for everything. Does it have bite issues – we don’t want any of the employees or volunteers, or anyone hurt. We look for food aggression, or just plain aggression. If there is aggression, we are probably not going to take it in. We want everyone to be safe.

“We are not afraid to help dogs medically. From tooth extractions to double knee surgery to minor eye surgry. We actually have a Yorkie who is going in for double knee surgery in two weeks.”

Once a dog is accepted, they check to see if it needs to be spayed or neutered. If needed, those procedures are done on site. Then the dogs are put into a quarantine area for observation. “We don’t know what that dog has gone through, whether their person has died. Maybe it’s been in a bad situation. Was it abandoned, did the house burn down – lots of different things. So, it goes back to a quiet area.”

During the quarantine time, the dog will be evaluated and tested. “Can it be hugged? The reason we find this out is because people love to hug dogs. We check for how much we can touch the dog and the places we can touch it. Can we touch their paws or their ears? We grab their tales and we put together an evaluation sheet on every single dog that says with that dog until they leave here. This helps our adoption counselors what to tell adopters. It also lets our walkers and handlers know about the dog.”

One of the most important aspects of housing these dogs and getting them ready for adoption is not only exercising a dog’s body, but also its mind. “Fifteen minutes of using its brain is like a 30 minute walk,” Pullen said. “It’s sniffing, massaging and having fun with the dog.”

She said the adoption policy at K-9 Stray Rescue League is “strict.” “We don’t want the dog coming back. We pay attention to the adopter. Do they have a big enough place? Is it the right setting? For example if an adopter has small children, we probably would let them adopt a shepherd unless the dog is a puppy and it can grow up with the kids. Big dogs can knock down small kids. We want to make sure it’s the right place for the dog and the people. We want to make sure everyone is happy.”

For adoptions there is a survey on their website potential adopters must complete.

Pullen said they also use volunteers, who must apply then go through a training and shadowing process before becoming a full-blown volunteer.

The group has two fundraising events each year, a November wine-tasting and a golf outing in September.

For more information about the K-9 Stray Rescue League visit their website, K9Stray.com or call them at 248-628-0435.