Bo the Rottweiler will have a benefit yard sale Saturday. Photo: Trained Dogs for Adoption.
New rescue organization holds fundraiser for dog's chemotherapy
by Timothy Rutt
Bo's had it pretty rough already.
A five year old Rottweiler who has lived in a kennel ever since he was a year old, Bo can be a handful.
But he attracted the attention of Catherine and Tom Peters, who have started a new rescue organization, Trained Dogs for Adoption (TDFA).
TDFA is a kind of rescue of last resort, specializing in hard-case German shepherds.
"TDFA started because my husband and I discovered there was a place in the community for difficult-to-place dogs," Catherine Peters said. "The tougher-to-manage dogs always seemed to speak to us."
As longtime dog lovers who've worked in rescue before, Catherine Peters said they started TDFA "because we have a lot of experience dealing with difficult behavior and difficult-to-manage dogs, and just wanted to do it our way."
Because they deal with difficult dogs, TDFA makes a long-term commitment to train and socialize them, and find the special kind of owners who will give them good homes, Catherine Peters said.
"Those kind of dogs kind of touch our hearts, and we have a soft spot for them, so we make a longer term commitment to them … They need someone to give them the gift of time."
The Peters recently moved to Altadena, in part because it's "an animal-loving community," she said.
So what's the story with Bo?
Bo was a long-time resident at the Azusa kennel where they house their rescues -- he'd lived there ever since he was a year old. "Bo had a difficult story and wound up a long-term resident at the kennel," Peters said. "We asked, 'who is he?' and were told well, he doesn't have any people."
So the Peters gave him some of their special brand of care: "We started taking him for walks and training sessions, and he was getting ready to be a great addition to someone's home," Peters said. "We took him to the vet and found out he had lymphoma. He's become part of our family and part of our community, and we couldn't just let him go. Bo is a special dog to us."
Bo has a good medical team behind him, Peters said. "Getting chemotherapy doesn't affect his happy disposition. He's gotten his first treatment, his lymph nodes went down, he's being monitored right now. He didn't have the usual things -- in dogs, the hair doesn't fall out, there's a little change of appetite, but we get to do the worrying for him, so he doesn't know."
What are his chances? "The prognosis varies from dog to dog, so we can't make any promises, that's just the way life is," Peters said. "We've got high hopes for Bo and we're going to do everything we can for him. So far so good."
But that treatment costs money, which a fledgling rescue organization doesn't have in abundance. So, this Saturday, Feb. 11, there will be a yard sale at the home of Dee and Jim Cardello at 1836 Roosevelt Ave. to raise funds for Bo's treatment.
There will be "the usual garage sale items, some baked goods, and craft items," Peters said. Bo will be there to say thank you, too and there may be dog treats.
What: Yard sale for Bo
Where: 1836 Roosevelt St.
When: 7 AM- noon Sat., Feb. 11
More information: www.traineddogsforadoption.org
