When Baie D'Urfe resident Anne Dube saw how many dogs are left without homes in Montreal, she knew she couldn't turn her back.
Named after a dog brought to the SPCA as a stray, Dube's non-profit organization, Rosie's Animal Adoption, became a haven for neglected and abused dogs that may not have had a chance otherwise.
"They weren't going to be able to put her up for adoption because she had a pierced eye," said Dube of Rosie.
Dube took the two-month-old dog in, and began a non-profit adoption clinic to save others like her that would be put down because they are misplaced, unwanted or neglected.
"When you go to the pound and you see the dog sitting in the cage, and one by one if they could talk, they would say 'Take me, I don't deserve to be here, I'm a good dog,'" said Dube.
Dube's foster care and adoption care programs began in 2001 and are based in Kirkland. They've served as an inspiration, said volunteer Diane Allen.
"I don't think most people realize how big a difference she makes," said Allen. "For every dog she saves and brings into Rosie's, she also works on saving others through making arrangements with other rescues or shelters."
Fans of Rosie's Animal Adoption, Debbie and Jacques Demers have two dogs Anne has saved.
"I think it's a wonderful way to give a dog a second chance, to find out their issues and then find them a forever home," said Debbie Demers.
All the effort and constantly being on call at shelters pays off when neglected dogs are adopted thanks to her clinics, said Dube.
"At our adoption clinics, people come with their adopted dogs and you see how much they love them," she said. "They become cherished pets again."
