April 19, 2021
Angie Persch of Jacksonville has made rescuing dogs her life’s work! With the help of volunteers and donations, she has created a dog rescue to help save as many unwanted, neglected, and abandoned dogs as possible. She does this at her own home, and devotes every day to taking care of and helping to find homes for all the dogs that come to her rescue.
I have always been a big advocate for “adopt, don’t shop” when it comes to animals, and I saved all three of my dogs from animal shelters and rescues. This cause is very close to my heart, so I wanted to help out in any way I could! Angie was kind enough to answer some questions I had about how her rescue works.
- Tammy (T): How and when Rockin P Rescue begin?
- Angie (A): We got incorporated in 1999, almost 22 years ago. We started out as primarily a boxer rescue. I grew up with boxers and that’s the breed I knew about, so being able to tell people about boxers and to know what type of people we needed to place them with was easier. I love all animals, but I knew I needed to focus, or otherwise I would just save everything. So many people who did that got overwhelmed and just quit. So I got started with boxers.
- T: This building that the dogs are in is fairly new.
- A: It is, we’ve been in it 2 years now. It was all built all by volunteers and money from donors.
- T: How do you determine which dogs you bring in to your rescue?
- A: It’s really just about space, that’s the biggest issue. People reach out to us, whether it’s private people or shelters, the space determines if they can come in or not. Because I focused on boxers for so long, I have a higher placement rate with the boxer/bully breed. I can turn those over easier than other breeds.
- T: Tell me about the care and attention they receive here.
- A: They get fed first thing in the morning, then we start letting them out in the play yard. Everybody gets at least an hour in the play yard every day. If they’re good with other dogs, then we can pair them up and they can play with a friend. Then we rotate the dogs throughout the day so they’re not just in their kennel all day. Their kennel does consist of an 8’x4’ inside area with their bed and food and water. They also have their 10’x4’ outside area where they can go potty or go lay out in the sun. They get all of their vaccines, they get microchipped, they get heartworm tested and treated if they’re positive, and they’re also on monthly heartworm and flea prevention.
- T: What other organizations do you partner with to help take care of the dogs or to help get them adopted?
- A: We partner with Encore Enrichment Center for Shelter Dogs and they help with the training of our dogs. We get 2 weeks with them, every 4 to 6 weeks. They come here and pick them up for the day and bring them back in the afternoon. They work on basic obedience, or if it’s a scared dog, they work on socializing the dog. Whatever the dog needs, they help us work with them. As far as other groups, we partner with different shelters, because we have been around for a long time, shelters reach out to me if they have dogs they know I might be interested in. We’ve started trying to move dogs around to different areas up north, so there are different groups that we partner with to help move the dog if we’re having a tough time.
- T: About how many dogs get adopted out of the rescue?
- A: Usually we do about 130 a year, but with the kennel, our numbers have been increasing. Last year was the first year our kennel was actually open, but Covid made things a little harder. We’re planning on doing a lot more than 130 this year.
- T: Do you take the dogs out for public events and adoptions?
- A: We do, and it depends on the events and where and what time of year it is. We don’t adopt on site, because our adoption process is different from a shelter. We do virtual home visits and a lot of checking. We place our dogs as inside dogs so we know they’re going to be a part of the family, rather than a home that will tie them out in the yard. So we do take them out to be seen and people can visit and fill out applications at events. As far as it being about the time of year, our dogs are mainly bully breeds and they don’t do well in the heat, so an event in the summer that’s only outside, we won’t take dogs there because they’re used to being inside. Our kennels are all heated and cooled, so they’re a little spoiled!
- T: Since you’re a non-profit organization, you rely on volunteers and donations.What are the things you typically need?
- A: We are always in need of volunteers, that’s what helps me the most at the kennel. Cleaning, playing with the dogs, helping to keep the area looking and smelling nice. We have 12 kennels, so it’s a lot of cleaning all the time. There’s a lot of work that goes into this, so we’re always in need of volunteers. If you don’t want to work in the kennel, we need help with events. We also need help with transporting dogs to or from other areas. Really, if you have a talent, we could probably use it!
- T: Where can people go to find out more about your organization and the dogs that are available?
- A: We have a website, www.rockinprescue.org. All of the information is on there, you can see the available dogs, there’s foster applications, and adoption applications.
I hope you enjoyed this Spotlight interview with Rockin P Rescue!
