Adopt This Puppy

We’re thrilled to feature an adorable, adoptable rescue pup on this issue’s cover! Our cover pup Piper is a 13-week-old Shepherd/Husky cross, rescued from Northern Canada and available for adoption through Cross Our Paws rescue. Piper is already tall for his age and should tip the scale at 65 to 70 pounds when he’s all grown up.

We also photographed two other Cross Our Paws rescue pups (yes, this is the best job ever). Piper’s littermate Anjo, a little girl with one blue eye and one brown, also joined the shoot, along with Olive, a four-month-old Lab mix. Olive is a Cross Our Paws “foster failure”—our photographer, Tanya King, started out fostering her but quickly decided to keep her. We can see why!

All three pups were rescued by Cross Our Paws Rescue, a BC-based, 100 percent volunteer run group founded in 2006. Many of their dogs, like Piper and Anjo are rescued from remote Northern communities. To date, Cross Our Paws has rescued over 600 animals with the help of about a dozen active volunteer foster homes that have opened their hearts and homes to help homeless dogs. Cross Our Paws does not have a shelter facility so their fosters are absolutely essential to their rescue efforts.

The group focuses on local rescue efforts, with most of their dogs coming from BC, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. Bonnie Graham, the organization’s co-founder and adoption coordinator (both volunteer positions), notes the dogs that come into their care “vary from a German Shepherd to a French Bull Dog”—i.e. there’s dog to suit your fancy no matter your preference!

Want to help? Bonnie shares three ways you can get involved

Adoption
“There is a huge over-population problem globally. Adopting a homeless dog saves a life.”

Fostering
“Fostering a dog can be one of the most rewarding volunteer jobs on the planet. It provides the dog with some stability and basic training and helps get them ready for their new journey in life. Many times foster homes fall in love with their foster dog and have first option to adopt permanently.”

Escorting
If you travel a lot, you can escort a rescued dog by being his travel companion! If you fly frequently (Cross Our Paw’s rescues are mostly travelling from Northern BC, Alberta, or the Northwest Territories to Vancouver, though other rescues focus on other areas) you could escort a dog. This mostly consists of checking the dog in when you check in, picking him up upon arrival at your destination, and then passing him off to the rescue. Talk about an easy way to make a difference!

If you’re interested in adopting our cover pup Piper, fostering, or escorting a rescue, contact crossourpawsrescue@gmail.com! Check out all of the dogs currently up for adoption through Cross Our Paws at crossourpawsrescue.com