- December 16, 2025
The Labrador Retriever Rescue of Flagler and Volusia counties gathered for its end-of-year celebration Saturday.
BY EMILY BLACKWOOD | STAFF WRITER
Marvin and Cheryl Hineman got a new addition to their four-legged family at the the Labrador Retriever Rescue's Labrapalooza in the Garden. Buck, a yellow lab with a rough past, officially joined the Hinemans and their other dog, Hershey, at Saturday's event.
"He's been shot; he's got a buck shot in him still and he's got some drag marks," Marvin Hineman said. "He survived all of that and he needs a good home full of love. We intend to spoil him rotten."
Laura Ortiz, District 6 coordinator for Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida, described the event as a crazy, year-end get-together for all of the volunteers and past pet adopters. It's also a fundraising event.
Unlike other shelters, this rescue organization is breed-specific.
"We've all had labs, so we know the breed," Ortiz said. "We are best at re-homing labs, and we know what families work best with them. We rarely get them back, that's why we call them forever homes."
A rescue volunteer and owner of two labs, Jenna Hoskin said that the labs the group rescues are often given up by owners who don't know how to handle the responsibility.
"Everyone wants go out and buy purebred puppies. Puppies are cute but then they grow up, and (people) can't handle it," Hoskin said. "Dogs are a lot of work, and I don't think people realize that when they are puppies."
Visit labradorrescue.net or facebook.com/LabRescueFloridaDistrict6.
