Eva Ziehl, founder of Daytona Beach German Shepherd Rescue, poses with her dog, Gabriel, a rescue from a shelter in Palatka. Photo by Rachel Mills
Chief hangs out with Adrienne Bishop, volunteer and event coordinator for Daytoa Beach German Shepherd Rescue. Photo by Rachel Mills
Trooper and his trainer, Keith Dorough, Director of Training for Ground Zero Emergency Training Center. Photo by Rachel Mills
Anneke Vandertouw poses with her two French Bulldogs at the fundraiser. Photo by Rachel Mills
The Daytona German Shepherd Rescue held a fundraiser on the front lawn of The Casements on Saturday, Sept. 12.
The money raised goes to helping abused and mistreated German Shepherds, German Shepherd mixes, and Belgian Malinois dogs to get into a safer living environment. The money from this event helps subsidize paying for vet bills, dog food, toys, and other necessities when dogs transition into foster care.
“We get calls, texts, Facebook messages all day, every day, with people wanting to surrender their [dogs],” said Adrienne Bishop, a volunteer for the rescue and the event organizer.
Bishop said having foster homes is the key factor in helping dogs recover after traumatic experiences.
“All of the dogs that we get from shelters go to foster homes,” said Eva Ziehl, founder of Daytona Beach German Shepherd Rescue. “If we have local foster families, the more we have, the more dogs we can save.”
Ziehl was a volunteer at a rescue in Miami where she got to meet the dogs in person and see what happens behind the scenes. She met dogs she knew she may never see again.
“A lot of dogs don’t make it out alive,” Ziehl said. “I just wanted to help. And I [knew ] if we could find people to give them temporary homes, and donations to get them vet care and training, and then find them forever homes, we’re going to do it.”
That was her inspiration for starting the Daytona Beach German Shepherd Rescue.
“The program is great,” said Kieth Dorough, director of training for Ground Zero Emergency Training Center in Oklahoma.
His program trains dogs to search through debris after catastrophes, attacks and natural disasters.
Dorough, who has ties to the Daytona area, received a call about Trooper, a dog from the Daytona Beach German Shepherd Rescue.
“I got Trooper probably about six months ago now,” Dorough said. “Somebody from a high-rise sent a video of him limping down the street. They rescued him, and we got him through the rescue.”
Now, Trooper is in his final stages of training to assist search and rescue teams, FEMA and fire departments.
“Once the search is over for live victims, that’s when [Trooper will] come in and do what they call a recovery and start looking for deceased victims,” Dorough said.
Ziehl said if you take care of the dogs, they will become a best friend. She loves their loyalty and their protective nature.
“Once you have a German Shepherd, you’re safe for life,” Ziehl said. “My greatest hope is that people spay and neuter their pets so we don’t have as many in the shelters.”
For more information, visit dbgsdrescue.org.
