How Dino Rescue came about…

DINO – Dogs In Need Organization – Creating Success and Sanctuary in Calgary

A passion for rescue and an abandoned puppy, who wandered into a café in Mexico one fateful morning, began what has become a strong and loving partnership for Cheryl Macdonald, Donna Ohlson, Kathie Nosworthie, and the forgotten and deserted pets they rescue and rehabilitate into better lives every day.

DINO (Dogs in Need Organization) began in October 2012 when Macdonald, Ohlson, and Nosworthie decided to pool their skills and mutual drive towards animal advocacy to create an organization geared towards the successful rescue and sanctuary of homeless pets.

During a trip to Mexico shortly after founding DINO, the women met their first soul in need of sanctuary.

“We were at a café early one morning and a terrified puppy came sliding in. She had been doused in motor oil someone had thrown on her. She was absolutely frantic! She was vomiting and desperate. We snatched her up, raced to a shower and cleaned her up as best we could.”

The puppy, or “Peanut” as she soon became known, was the first happy creature welcomed into DINO and thus began what would become a successful safe haven for animals just like Peanut who found themselves without help or a home.

DINO is a not-for-profit organization who open their arms and resources to dogs from puppy mills, abused or abandoned pets, strays living on the street, or dogs DINO is alerted to from kill shelters; sometimes minutes before they are to be euthanized. Last year DINO took in dogs from the nearby Calgary Humane Society as well as other rescue organizations when those shelters were at capacity.

“Dogs with passports” are often among the biggest groups DINO takes in; these are animals from out of the country, often from large urban centers.

“Shelters in the US get hundreds of dogs per day. We grab the lucky ones, provide medical attention and find them loving, forever homes.”

Today the DINO organization has a bountiful number of dogs. With no government funding or consistent revenue stream, fundraisers and fees from adoptions are DINO’s only means of raising money for food, spay / neuter initiatives, and other medical expenses.

“It’s always so tight but we just keep moving forward. It’s the right thing to do; what other choice is there!”

DINO’s diligent network of rescuers, volunteers, and loving foster homes make the sometimes arduous but ultimately rewarding task of finding companions for dogs who are alone in the world not only possible but successful.

“It’s time-consuming and stressful, but it’s worth it,” says DINO. “We just wish we could take save them all.”