Rescue Dog Up For Adoption In Denver: 'Sweet, Affectionate'

DENVER, CO — A dog named Raj is up for adoption in Denver through the animal welfare organization RezDawg Rescue. The nonprofit rescues stray, feral and abandoned pets who are struggling to survive on Native Reservations in the Four Corners Region. The rescued animals are then vaccinated, spayed/neutered, treated for any medical issues and placed into a foster home.

Raj is just 8 months old and weighs around 36 pounds. In Raj's bio, RezDawg volunteer Jackie Vlcek wrote that "he was picked up in pretty bad shape and scared to death."

"I was still very scared when I first got to my foster home but with lots of love, I am really starting to enjoy the good Ole dogs life as an included family member. I am still a bit shy but once I warm up I am sweet and affectionate as can be," Raj's profile post read. "Since I love my dog buddies so much and still need some confidence building it is probably best for me that I go to a home with another playful dog."

For more information about how to adopt Raj, visit RezDawg's partner website. You can also support pets like Raj through a donation, or by becoming a foster home.

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Steven Sable, RezDawg Rescue's communications director, said many dogs and cats are in danger on reservations, and there are simply not enough resources to help those animals.

"Some of these animals have just horrific backstories," Sable said. "There was a dog named Jack not too long ago that came in that had a horribly broken hind leg, and when we x-rayed it we found out he also had shotgun pellets near his spine."

As RezDawgs has become better known on reservations, many are taking newborn puppies and kittens — that in some cases would've been left for dead — directly to volunteers at the organization's local clinics.

"We focus primarily on relieving the animals' suffering by taking them off the [reservations] and finding them loving homes, but we're also involved in ending the problem completely, so we do regular spay and neuter clinics," Sable said.

He said the clinics at the reservations are low cost, or in many cases, no cost.

Thanks to donors, foster homes and volunteers, RezDawgs rescued more than 1,600 animals last year.