My family has adopted two dogs and a cat from the Columbus Dog Connection. I feel really fortunate to have these pets in my life and wouldn't if it hadn't been for CDC. My mom and sister went out looking for a dog a couple months after our dog passed away at 18 years of age. They came home from the shelter with a cute little puppy. After a couple of weeks they decided to get another dog, because they thought the puppy needed a playmate. They went to a Mingle with the Mutts event and saw a woman with a baby sling, but no baby. There were two pointy ears sticking out of the sling. As they got closer they to the woman there was a tiny little puppy with big pointy ears sitting in the sling. He had been through an ordeal being rescued in the middle of the night in a puppy mill raid and the vet said he wouldn't live through the night. Myrna wouldn't give up on him and she nursed him back to health. My mom and sister applied for adoption and went through an interview process. We were very lucky and thankful that we got to adopt Quamie. They had already had several attempts to adopt him by dog fighters looking for bait dogs. Luckily CDC does their homework. Myrna checked in with them periodically to make sure everything was going well. My mom and sister came to see me in college and when I saw Quamie it was love at first sight. He hasn't left my side since that day. Seven years later he has as much energy as he did the first day I met him. He is always at the front door when I get home jumping up and down and letting out happy high pitch squeels. He is a great cuddler, very affectionate, and loves to play. I feel very fortunate to have him in my life and can't thank the Columbus Dog Connection enough for what they do. The Columbus Dog Connection is very commited to the well being of animals and their humans. They take great care in adopting out their cats and dogs and their volunteers/foster families are true angels.
I have had the most amazing experience with my pup (Wrigley) from the Columbus Dog Connection! I was lucky enough to find Wrigley's profile online and contact the volunteer through this amazing organization who was fostering him. Wrigley was on death row in a shelter in Florida before the Columbus Dog Connection volunteers rescued him and brought him to his foster home in Columbus, OH. Wrigley is happy all day every day with the most personality I have ever seen in an animal. He could play for hours or lay right next to you for hours depending on what you were doing. This little 20 lb dog also trained for a half marathon with me, keeping up the whole time! He makes me happy every day and I couldn't feel luckier to have found him! The volunteers for this organization work miracles for amazing dogs and I am so so thankful for what they do!
There are no words that can truly describe the love, dedication and endless amount of time and tears that Kellie and her volunteers provide to the “dog world.”
The mission statement of CDC says – in part – “Our Mission is to re-home abandoned dogs, promote all rescues & shelters in Ohio…”. That service extends well beyond the dogs in Ohio. Back in 2008, CDC hosted a Habitat for Dogmanity event that resulted in 333 elevated dog beds being made in just one day. For their efforts, they ultimately won the Make a Difference Day State Award. Those beds did not only get delivered to rural shelters through all of Ohio but to rural shelters in Kentucky and beyond. CDC has shared their bed making experience on their website so others may do the same for their own shelters. States such as Oregon, Florida, Georgia, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana just to name a few have since hosted their own Habitat for Dogmanity events thanks to CDC’s generous sharing of knowledge, material and supplies.
Columbus Dog Connection has been a MAJOR force behind the Ohio Puppy Mill Bill. Kellie has spent endless hours working on the Bill and speaking to members of Congress. There is an entire section on the CDC website dedicated to Senate Bill 130.
CDC shares any and all their donations of food, toys, treats, etc that they receive with other rescues and shelters throughout Ohio and beyond. CDC has built and provided dog houses to those that have no shelter as well.
Woofstock is a huge annual event hosted by CDC in an effort to raise money and awareness of the shelter dog problem through Ohio and beyond.
CDC has always known the most efficient use of donations and endless blood, sweat and tears put into saving homeless dogs and cats was to get more spay/neuter services to the areas that needed it most. CDC finally saw their dream come true of having the first mobile spay/neuter in rural areas of Ohio. The mobile truck travels to rural counties to perform s/n services. This truck also affords them the opportunity to extend services to other rescues in order to help them serve even more homeless dogs/cats.
We are extremely privileged and proud to have volunteered with Kellie and Columbus Dog Connection.
Literally thousands of dogs owe their lives to them. May their determination to find a home for every homeless dog become a reality.
I am a board member of The Pet Orphanage, a small nonprofit animal welfare group in Logan OH. We host the Columbus Dog Connection low-cost mobile spay/neuter clinic almost every month. So many of our community members could not afford to "fix" their pets if we did not have their service. Dr. Jayme, Kristi and Ron take wonderful care of our doggy (and sometimes kitty) patients. They are professional, efficient and very, very caring. Although their visits mean long days for us and our volunteers, we look forward to our clinic days, and getting to work with Columbus Dog Connection to reduce pet overpopulation. And a big thank you to Mirna for setting this up!
II have had many roles in Columbus Dog Connection. I have been a volunteer where I have helped them move into their new office. I have been a foster mom to a few dogs and cats. I have been a client and I have adopted a dog and 2 cats from them. My business has also been a vendor at woof stock and have donated baskets to raffles. So I have seen a lot of different aspects of CDC and I am 150% impressed by their passion and all the hard work that happens everyday. The dedication they have to homeless dogs and cats in Columbus is overwhelming! They put their hearts/souls into rescuing, adopting out, spay & Neuter and much much more. I have so much respect for this organization and they will always have a special place in my heart.
Wish I could express how tirelessly these people work to make pet abuse, homelessness and euthanization to animals, just a part of horrible history. Wish I had lots of money to give them, I know how they work, their lives are dedicated to this cause. They put on events to raise money, have low cost neuter and spay, vaccines, have many volunteers that foster pets till homes can be found. They help out shelters and humane societies or private individuals that are in need, just trying to maintain these animals from euthanization; with care, supplies, shelters, medical treatments. etc. The Columbus Dog Connection is the most deserving. Dogs can fight our battles; are put in the line of fire, whether with the military or local law enforcement, they find lost children and keep them warm, they alert us of danger and protect us from harm. They are intelligent beings, loyal and loving, and deserve better treatment in this world. This organization is doing the right thing.
I adopted my dog Jackson (formerly known as Mel), a grey & black merle Australian Shepherd Mix, from Columbus Dog Connection in 2008. CDC had originally taken Jacks into their foster program prior to 2004. His foster family was wonderful, loving and took great care of him. They made every effort to ensure that the family that adopted him was screened & an appropriate placement. There are limits to what any rescue can do, and 4 years later the family surrendered my beautiful boy back to his former foster family. When he returned he was a changed dog- no longer the outgoing, affectionate boy they had known. He was now aloof, withdrawn and suspicious. It broke their hearts and they set about trying to restore his faith in people once again. His foster family hired me (I'm a pet sitter) to help care for their fosters which is when I met Jackson. One look in those sweet, sad eyes & I was hooked! CDC & his foster family allowed me to take him home for a week to see if we were a match and they never got him back! I lost Jackson to cancer a couple months ago, and when I called his former foster mother to let her know we were at OSU Emergency she jumped in her car & met us down there to be by my side and to support both me and my Jackson as we said goodbye. I will always treasure the 4 years I was able to spend with him and I will forever be grateful to CDC and to his foster family for opening up their hearts and homes to him not once but TWICE and never giving up on finding him a loving forever home. CDC- thank you for your compassion & to that amazing foster family, thank you for your endless kindness and love towards both me and my Jackson!!!!