Rufus's Rescue Story!

Welcome to my new occasional biog series, where I present to you pet rescue stories, all about pets that have been adopted by Torontonians through overseas/long-distance adoption organizations.

First up, Rufus’s Rescue Story: adopted by Liliana in Toronto, through Rescue Dogs Lebanon - CANADA

Thank you for telling me more about adopting Rufus, Liliana! Please share Rufus's story.

Rufus will be two years at the end of August 2022. He was rescued by an organization called Rescue Dogs Lebanon - Canada. 

He loves apples, steak and being with us. He has a trainer as he is very wild. He is not like a regular dog chasing after a ball. He is very curious about everything. Inspects every corner of a park and highly protective of us so managing his over excitement and recall is a focus right now. 

He lives in the Upper Beaches. We do not have a fenced back yard but he enjoys two floors and a balcony, plus multiple walks a day.

I came across (Rescue Dogs Lebanon - Canada) on Facebook. They had videos and photos of the airport arrival and an album with pictures of adoptable pets.

The founder lives in Toronto and there is a vet in Lebanon and a team of volunteers working around the clock.

Rufus was found with his mom and siblings tied up to a pole. The person that had them fed them bones (his food was licking bones) and mom was outside in the rain and heat. The volunteer convinced the man to give them up. 

So this young woman took the mom and the puppies with her. She feed them, took them to the vet and watched over them until almost four months of age. 

For those reading this who might be interested in adopting a pet from overseas, what was the process for adopting Rufus?

I saw the story (on the Rescue Dogs Lebanon - Canada Facebook page) and had had a dream of a dog called Rufus with a brown coat. My partner and I felt a connection with the puppies. I sent an email and Cynthia (the founder) called me within a week. We chatted for a good hour. I shared with her my home by video and pics of my previous dog - I wanted her to pick me!!! She liked me and asked me to complete another form, which I did. 

The application went through ok and I was able to get him and pick his name - Rufus (he happened to have a brown collar - just like my dream).

The rescue created a What's App group with the other adopter where they shared vet updates, videos, and pics. We became a family waiting anxiously for our babies.

There was a deposit paid closer to the arrival but they never asked for money right away.

We drove to Montreal Airport mid-December and all the puppies flew in with volunteers and a few other dogs, too. We met at airport and drove our baby home. 

He was scared after flying so many hours and new home. He would hide and sleep at first a lot. He was probably so sad. Every day though he was better and more playful. 

Rufus has been an inspiration and I started a foundation called Native Paws Initiative. https://instagram.com/nativepawsinitiative?utm_medium=copy_link

The organization aims to advocate for animals in Colombia (my home country) by working with non profits in northern part of the country.

Want to follow Rufus and Lilian on Instagram? @rufus_adogstale and @lilibaq

And you can also follow Native Paws Initiative on InstaGram!

For more information on Rescue Dogs Lebanon - CANADA:

We are a Non-Profit rescue organization, dedicated to helping abandoned and abused dogs in LEBANON, find their committed, forever home in CANADA. Thanks to our dedicated veterinary and volunteer teams, each case in our care is given a second chance.

https://www.rescuedogslebanoncanada.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RescueDogsLebanonCanada

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rescuedogsfromlebanoncanada/?utm_medium=copy_link