In 2001, Carrie Moore pulled a doomed dog she called Nevada from the Sacramento city shelter and ultimately found a home for him with a dog park buddy. "I started rescuing dogs in danger of euthanasia from local shelters one at a time and networking to find them great homes," she says, "and little by little I started meeting more people who were involved in organized rescue groups. After a few years I felt it was time to get a group together myself."
Officially launched in 2004, Sacramento Independent Animal Rescuers handles 250-300 dogs per year. Says Moore, "We generally focus on rescuing the underdogs, dogs that many folks would pass over--older, injured, sick, shy. We rescue them, place them in foster care, get them healthy and hopefully find them the perfect home!" (See Bubba's story.)
One of SIAR's current hopefuls is border collie mix Pepper, shown here, who's been unlucky in the shelter lotto and is looking for a lifelong companion. You?