Debora Wilcox knows the pain of losing a beloved pet.
In fact, the Wahoo resident has lost two.
It happened in May 2005. She and her husband, Glen, had taken down part of their fence and were laying sod. Their big yellow Labrador retriever, Sam, took off running, followed by their 8-year-old chocolate Lab, Elliott — who they’d raised from puppyhood.
“We never saw them again. Never,” Wilcox said. “We drove every country road. We went everywhere, to Omaha, to Fremont and Lincoln, and called. I probably went to Omaha for a full year.”
During that heart-breaking time, Wilcox noticed lots of other dogs that no one was looking for. Since then, Wilcox, a Web site developer, has worked to help stray dogs in Saunders County and near David City find homes. She’s formed a non-profit corporation — Saunders County Lost Pets-Pet Rescue — and hopes someday to have a building to house the animals, who now are boarded with a veterinarian or stay with foster families.
Without her efforts, the strays would be euthanized.
Wilcox began her work by helping strays picked up by law enforcement. Any dog picked up in Wahoo or Saunders County goes to Green Acres Animal Clinic in Wahoo and is there for five days. Wilcox pays to have the animals spayed or neutered and vaccinated.
“We give them all the vet care,” she said.
At first, she paid the bills herself. Since forming the corporation, she’s had some contributions by other people.
In 2008 alone, she’s helped 95 dogs. She helped around 100 in 2007. As varied as the dogs she’s helped are their stories. The dogs include:
n Louise. The little black and tan cocker spaniel had matted fur on her ears and underside. She had one bad eye.
“We fixed her eye and had her groomed. We got her spayed,” Wilcox said, adding that someone adopted the dog right from the veterinarian’s office.
n Andy. This 9-month-old male Labrador retriever had no manners. A woman from Mead took him into foster care and ended up keeping him.
n Monty. This big, black Labrador-Boxer mix became a trained assistance dog for a York woman with a deteriorating eye condition. The woman, who’s had two other assistance dogs, worked with Monty herself.
“He’d do anything for a treat. It’s easy to train a dog like that,” said Wilcox, now a certified dog obedience trainer.
n Herbie. This little shih tzu came to Green Acres in horrible shape. Green mold was growing in his hair, which was so matted that he had to be shaved. He was malnourished.
Wilcox ran a newspaper ad for the dog. A Mead family took him home. One time when they brought him by the Wilcox home, Herbie came dressed in a big red sweater.
“We get a lot of puppies,” added Wilcox, noting two of those were chow puppies left with food in a cornfield.
She’s also seeing more strays now.
“Over the last couple months, we’ve had more dogs. I had five in one week and then three and two and three. I hope people aren’t dumping their dogs, but it seems like a few more are coming in,” she said.
Wilcox discourages people from dumping dogs.
“There are a lot of other options,” she said.
Wilcox is grateful to local veterinarians, which besides Green Acres, includes Prairie View Animal Clinic in Wahoo and Urban Veterinary in Malmo and Bar S Veterinary Clinic in David City.
“There are some very great vets who help me out,” she said. “They’re wonderful, compassionate people and I couldn’t do this without their help. Care is a huge part of what we do.”
Just this year, she’s also found a woman who will handle the cats and is thankful for that.
“This is an all-volunteer organization. We couldn’t make it work without the volunteers, walking, fostering, grooming, cleaning up after the dogs and cats,” she said.
She added those adopting animals are asked to make a donation to the rescue so the organization can help other animals.
Eventually, Wilcox hopes to get a building to house the animals and has planned annual fundraisers. In September 2009, she’s planning a 5K run.
Area residents also may make donations through her Web site at sclprescue.org or via mail to SCLP at 1168 N. Hickory St., Wahoo, NE 68066.
“It’s a tax deductible donation and we’re all unpaid volunteers. All the money goes to help the animals,” she said. “It’s important to me that the animals who come into the rescue get the help they need. We’ve held dogs for 135 days. We hold them until we find new homes for them — until we find that right family.”
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