Rocket Dog Rescue is a volunteer
nonprofit organization based in
San Francisco, California, devoted to
pet adoption and
animal rescue. It is the most prominent of several local private organizations that save dogs from
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
by caring for them and finding new families. The program places dogs from
animal shelters in the
San Francisco Bay Area into
foster homes while awaiting adoption. It also treats medical and behavioral problems such as
socialization issues,
neuters
New Waver was an Australian satirical musical project developed by Greg Wadley in 1990. It grew out of Wadley's prior projects, a zine ''Loser'', a mock political action group, Campaign Against Uninteresting Shops in Brunswick Street and a fict ...
and
spays the animals, and provides
vaccines, so as to make their animals adoptable.
History
The organization was founded by Pali Boucher, daughter of a hippie mother and Paul Boucher, a
program director of San Francisco radio station
KSAN (formerly "Jive 95"; now 107.7, "the Bone"). Pali is an
HIV victim and former
foster child and
drug addict whose mother died when she was ten.
After being
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
for more than ten years, she adopted an abandoned
coonhound puppy from the local
dog pound. She named him Leadbelly
[ and lived with him on the street for several more years. After spending six months in jail she then entered the Good Shepherd Gracenter,][ a women's residential ]recovery
Recovery or Recover may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* Recovery (novel), ''Recovery'' (novel), a Star Wars e-book
* Recovery Version, a translation of the Bible with footnotes published by Living Stream Ministry
Film and television
* R ...
program run by the Roman Catholic order, the Good Shepherd Sisters. She credits the program and her dog with saving her life.[ She claims to have rescued 150 dogs in the first year.][ In 2006, the organization was profiled on ]Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
's Animal Planet network in a one-hour documentary, ''Rocket Dogs''. By 2007, the organization had saved approximately 3,000 animals, and was spending $150,000 per year of donated funds on veterinary bills for sick animals.[
In December 2007, Boucher's home in Bernal Heights burned in a fire, making her homeless once again and killing three dogs, a parrot, and a pigeon for which she was caring.][ The group has housed most of their dogs in foster homes, and an emergency fund was proposed.
In 2014, Rocket Dog Rescue opened its Urban Sanctuary and Adoption Center in East Oakland. In 2017, Boucher and Rocket Dog Rescue were featured in an episode of Cesar Millan's TV series ''Dog Nation''.]
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.rocketdogrescue.org
2001 establishments in California
Animal rescue groups
Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco
Animal welfare organizations based in the United States