Ron Danta and Danny Robertshaw have devoted their lives to dogs.
“I would bring a couple of puppies from the pound to a horse show,” Robertshaw says, “and Ron would be one of the first people to come over and hold them, talk to people about adopting them.”
This mutual appreciation for helping animals and a self-described tendency to “jump in with both feet” led the couple to rescue dogs and save around 600 canines caught in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
After this heroic effort, Danta and Robertshaw officially dedicated themselves to dog rescue and founded the nonprofitDanny & Ron’s Rescue.
“There wasn’t ever a moment where one of us had to say to the other, ‘Are you up for this?'” Danta says of the decision.
Danny Robertshaw and Ron Danta in the infamous D&R Rescue Golf Cart seen around the horse shows.Julie Prickett / JP Photography
Before founding the nonprofit, Danta and Robertshaw funded their rescue dogs’ care with their own money, taking out home equity loans and pulling from retirement accounts to get the canines the care they needed.
Thanks to donations to Danny & Ron’s Rescue, the couple expanded their life-saving work and have now helped close to 14,000 dogs get a second chance at enjoying life.
The story of Danny & Ron’s Rescue was highlighted in the 2018 Netflix documentaryLife in the Doghouse; now, the nonprofit’s founders are giving animal lovers an even deeper look at their rescue’s unique story.
Danta and Robertshaw’s new memoirForever Home: How We Turned Our House into a Haven for Abandoned, Abused and Misunderstood Dogs—and Each Othergives readers an inside look at how the couple cares for hundreds of dogs at once in their own home and why each canine’s story is special.
Danny & Ron’s Rescue gives each dog a “Lifetime Promise,” the couple explains, “which is that they will never be in a shelter again, loose on the streets, hungry, or unhappy. They will never again be alone. Each dog is rescued into our own home — not in a facility away from us. We embrace them as our own, even as we try to find them forever homes where they can receive more individualized attention than we are able to give at our house since we have so many there.”
Danta and Robertshaw allow their rescue dog residents free roam of the house, where the pets can be in any room they want and enjoy time on the home’s couches and beds. The canines the couple takes in stay under their care until fitting adopters are found. Pooches that can’t find a forever family because of their medical needs or behavioral issues spend the rest of their lives with Danta and Robertshaw.
Currently, around 128 dogs are living at Danny & Ron’s Rescue, arriving at the nonprofit from abuse cases, overcrowded shelters, abandonment, and other upsetting situations. When the canines reach the rescue, the dogs lives become about joy.
Danta and Robertshaw hope that their passion for animal rescue is contagious and that those who read their bookForever Homeare inspired to help shelter pets and follow their dreams.
To learn and Ron’s Rescueand how to support the nonprofit, visit the organization’s website and readForever Home—available now.
source: people.com
