Every Dog And Dog Rescue Has A Story: Calvert Humane Society Wants To Tell Them

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Ever wonder what inspires animal rescuers? Prince Frederick’s own Calvert Humane Society is ready to share their stories. The Humane Society is hosting an event to share rescue journeys and promote a special PBS documentary.

Calvert Humane is a proud sponsor of the episode “Running With The Big Dogs” of the “True North: Honest Stories of Finding Home” series on PBS. To celebrate, and to help spread the word about rescue efforts right here in our community, Calvert Humane Society and Northeast Community Center are hosting an event on Sunday, May 3, from 3-5 p.m.

The event will feature a sneak peek of the documentary, plus live, inspiring stories from real-life rescuers, adopters and volunteers, plus vendors, giveaways, treats for dogs and humans, and, of course, opportunities to foster, adopt or support rescue efforts. The keynote speaker is Samantha Radisch of RescueDogzPR, who will tell her own inspiring rescue story.

“Running With The Big Dogs” is the story of Amigos de los Animales, a shelter in Loíza, Puerto Rico. The shelter was founded by Adrienne (Adri) Galler Lastra in the wake of her mother’s death. Galler turned her mother’s home into a free-range shelter for dogs, and runs it with the help of staff and volunteers.

Amigos de los Animales works with shelters in the United States to help find dogs homes away from Puerto Rico, where an estimated 650,000 dogs live as strays.

They work in their own community, too; plenty of people in Puerto Rico have adopted from Amigos de los Animales, including the mayor of Loiza.

Alicia Wiman, Calvert Humane Society’s board secretary, said rescue partnerships are a vital part of efforts across the world; in the last three months, Calvert Humane Society has gotten six dogs from Puerto Rico.

“Even though our own local needs are great, we also need to develop these partnerships,” Wiman said. “We never know when or why we’ll need each other. And everyone in the rescue community believes that no matter where the need is located, we should try to help each other if we can.”