Blog the Change October 15 2013

Today, for Blog the Change, I want to talk about the Doberman Assistance Network.

DAN was founded in 2007 and went into business in 2008, "when people from the Doberman community realized the need and came together to assist this intelligent, affectionate, and often misunderstood breed" (from the DAN site). I didn't realize it was such a young organization, actually. They try to accept owner surrenders. They work with breed specific rescues, and they work to pull Dobermans from shelters and organize transport to get the dogs to safety.

I love the Doberman breed, and I feel like this is "my" breed. In a way, even as a writer, it's hard to articulate how important this kind of work is. There are so many dogs who need help. There are so many breeds who need champions, big and small. The way people treat dogs, casually, like puppy factories or toys or garbage. And then the people who care about the breed pick up the pieces.

Most recently, I posted about Sweetheart (the picture of her is graphic and very sad, be warned), a dog who was taken in as a stray in Charlotte, NC. The update on her is that she is Heartworm negative, and accepting food. Maybe she just needs love and groceries, and DAN can provide that, until she's well enough to go to a home.

But that's just the most recent DAN case I've blogged about. There are any number of them who aren't quite so touch and go, who don't necessarily make it onto Facebook. There are dogs pulled from kill shelters with time running out. There were dogs who had nowhere else to go, when their breeder who passed away. I hear people say "It's just a dog" when they hear impassioned please for help, and when they hear outrage at the treatment of dogs. And yes, they are "just" dogs. Which means it's up to us, as humans, to watch out for them. To be responsible for them, and help them, and make sure they aren't cold and afraid and hungry.

If you're interested in sponsoring a dog (Nola and her litter are still listed on their site), you can visit the DAN site. They don't currently have anything in eBay (and remember the lovely collar my aunt won the bidding for?) but they do have a lovely 2014 Doberman rescue calendar. They also have an Amazon wishlist and a store with DAN merchandise.