Abandoned pets find homes via Hawaii Dog Foundation

By Mary Young
Special to The Advertiser

Trinity Pardee, 3, welcomes the new addition to the family, Maka, a pit-bull mix who was found roaming and with cuts all over his body on a roadside in Makakilo. With help from the Hawaii Dog Foundation, Maka now has a permanent home. Photos by Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii Dog Foundation A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in January. Animals served: 35 have been adopted, and more than 40 have received medical care. Ten pets are now up for adoption. How readers can help: Provide financial support and foster homes for rescued dogs. Contact: 838-1315; P.O. Box 30171, Honolulu, HI 96820 More rescue organizations: Hawaiian Humane Society, 946-2187 Hawaii Cat Foundation, P.O. Box 10696, Honolulu, HI, hcf@hicat.org Cat Friends, 686-2287, P.O. Box 240052, Honolulu, HI 96824 Exotic Animal Rescue Network, 545-2783

"It's one of those drains that you can't fall into," says her new owner, Airman 1st Class Frank Corralejo. "Somebody physically opened it and put the dog in there."

Elizabeth Mulligan, a Wai'anae resident who looks out for abandoned animals, received a tip about the trapped puppy, rescued her and took her to the Hawaii Dog Foundation. The new nonprofit organization was founded in January, joining the ranks of rescue organizations in Hawai'i (see sidebar).

The golden brown poi dog, now called Nala, spent the night with a foster family. The next day, she was adopted by Corralejo and his wife, Vanessa, who live at Hickam Air Force Base.

Finding a home for 6-week-old Nala was easy. But many of the dogs brought to the Hawaii Dog Foundation have medical or behavioral problems that would make them very difficult to place. Foundation members — about 15 volunteer families, at this time — give dogs foster care until they are ready for permanent placement.

At adoption, the new owner is asked for a $65 donation to help pay for neutering surgery (required), shots and other medical costs. The foundation also interviews families to ensure a good match, and follows up with a home visit or phone call.

Since late April when Nala was rescued, her weight has increased from 7 to 12 pounds. Physical signs of abuse and stress — singed whiskers, bald spots — are diminishing, and she is less apt to shrink away from being touched. Nala's constant companion is Wu, a gentle pit bull the Corralejos previously adopted from the Hawaiian Humane Society.

Careful, my nails

Roo, an older Chihuahua terrier mix, has been used repeatedly for breeding. When she outlived her usefulness, Roo was abandoned in the Wai'anae Mountains. Mulligan found her living in a ditch full of scraps left by pig hunters. "It smelled like death up there," said Mulligan. "She was rail thin when I first started feeding her, and it took me three months to gain her trust so I could rescue her."

After a few weeks in foster care, Roo was adopted by a Hawai'i Kai couple. "Now she lives with people who take her to get her nails done," said Mulligan.

Mike Teehan, a Salt Lake resident and retired civil servant, is president and founder of the Hawaii Dog Foundation. Teehan said he established the organization to help the Hawaiian Humane Society.

"Usually the dogs that we get have serious medical problems or would normally be, I guess, not so adoptable and would need a lot of work to get to the point where they would be adoptable. The humane society is so overburdened that sometimes they don't have that luxury."

The foundation's goal is to ensure that every dog on the island has a safe existence — that no healthy dog will be euthanized. When money is available, Teehan plans to open a "no-kill" shelter for dogs awaiting adoption. Ideally, the shelter also will be a sanctuary for unadoptable dogs to live out their lives.

Hawaii Dog Foundation is modeled after Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a large no-kill shelter for homeless pets in rural Utah. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with an annual budget of about $25,000, its activities are financed by donations and in-kind contributions from veterinarians, pet stores, and others.

Love me tender

Priscilla Pardee and her three-year-old daughter, Trinity, take Maka for a stroll in Wahiawa. Maka was once a likely candidate for euthanasia.

Kaulukukui and her husband, Todd, took Maka to a veterinarian. Maka was diagnosed with heartworm. The couple paid for medical treatments and began looking for a permanent home for Maka because their apartment lease did not allow them to have a dog.

"We had a lot of heartache, and we cried a lot of tears over, well, how are we going to find him a home," Sachi Kaulukukui said. No one wanted to take him. Even the Hawaiian Humane Society was unable to place him.

Then Kaulukukui came across the Hawaii Dog Foundation's Web site. She contacted Teehan and got Maka's picture posted on the site. Within a few weeks, Maka had a permanent home.

Maka's new owner, Priscilla Pardee, is an Army wife whose husband is in Afghanistan. Kaulukukui brought Maka to his new home to meet Pardee and their three-year-old daughter, Trinity.

"It was a match made in heaven," said Kaulukukui. "Maka, immediately walking in, was happy to see them. ... the daughter hugged him."

Pardee says Maka follows her everywhere. "He'll climb up on the couch and put his head on my chest and sleeps and he snores," Pardee said. "He's very, very affectionate."

"I never met a sweeter dog. It amazes me," she said. "All he wants is loving."