Whole lotta wagging going on

The region’s newest effort aimed at finding forever homes for unwanted, abandoned and rescued dogs got off to a terrific and very public start with a little help from friends and a few glasses of wine. South County Tail Waggers’ first annual Wine & Wags adoption faire found homes for nine canines when dozens of volunteers and dog lovers showed up at Fortino Winery in Gilroy on Saturday, April 29.
“We were hoping for a solid 40 people so we were pleasantly surprised,” said Marguerite Murphy, the group’s co-founder and treasurer, when about twice that number of people attended. Murphy and Karen Oneto, who were joined soon after by Ariana Stauble, started the organization in November 2015.
The three Gilroy women have since been joined by hundreds of Facebook followers and volunteers, including three more board members: Meredith Newton, Cindy Reed and Kelli Lopez. The unique nature of the dog-human bond is what inspired the group’s motto, “Saving Each Other.”
It appears on the logo, the silhouette of a dog being hugged by a pair of hands. “We feel that when you save a dog they turn around and do things to help save humans, assistance dogs, therapy dogs, they just become your best friend, they give us back more than what we have given them,” Oneto said last September right before a fundraiser also hosted by Fortino Winery.
In addition to the winery and its events coordinator, Debbie Sanchez, other benefactors have included donors of last week’s raffle prizes. They were Image & Design, Danny & Dina Fiorio of Baskin Robbins, local artists Alyson Calhoun of New Life Creations by Al, and Jennifer Wanzong and Z-Best Composting.
Even before their first public adoption event, group members worked furiously behind the scenes to save dozens of dogs with the ultimate goal of building South County’s first no-kill sanctuary. They hope the facility will be able to take in many of the more than 1,000 dogs a year rounded up by Gilroy and Morgan Hill police alone.
“We will succeed in building a sanctuary, that South County will forever be proud of,” Murphy said Tuesday. “Things with SCTW have been going incredible, but we are working literally around the clock,” Murphy said before the faire. “We have placed over 60 dogs in their forever homes, and have over 40 Tail Waggers at any given time in our foster program.”
“Tail Waggers” is what the group calls the critters they find then keep till a home is located, often paying for the medical attention needed to bring sick dogs back to health. And while the search goes on, the dogs do a bit of rescuing themselves as they visit humans in need of a bit of tenderness while preparing themselves for new homes.
They have visited with kids at Rebekah’ Children’s Services and adults at Live Oak Senior Center. The ultimate plan is to have the dogs visit children, schools, libraries, hospitals, senior centers and more, according to Murphy. “Our sanctuary will also be a destination the way Best Friends is—they get 30,000 tourists each year,” she said, noting a very successful rescue program in Utah.
And that’s not all.
“Our sanctuary will provide a place where seniors that are able and still want to work, can come and volunteer, adults and teenagers too, [and] we will also provide free day camps for kids during the summer,” she said.
Planning for the sanctuary is already well under way and soon fundraising will begin. “We have started working with the realtor Lisa Blagof, and are looking at properties for our sanctuary,” Murphy said.
Modeling themselves after the Utah group, she said the sanctuary will be the nonprofit part of the operation, while a for-profit arm will provide dog boarding, training and daycare.
“Our sanctuary will be the first of its kind in South County,” Murphy said. “Our dogs that are looking for their forever home will be working dogs, in keeping with our mission, ‘Saving Each Other.’”
To that end, she said two of SCTW’s dogs recently graduated from a program called Unchained, which fosters empathy and respect in at-risk youth through animal advocacy. “Our dogs go twice a week to the juvenile detention center, and professional trainers teach the kids how to train our Tail Waggers.
It parallels our mission perfectly,” said Murphy. “These kids are helping our dogs get ready for their forever homes, and our Tail Waggers are teaching the kids patience, empathy and compassion,” she said.
Last week’s event also was the group’s official ribbon cutting, signaling it’s officially open for business and accepting donations. Gilroy Mayor Roland Velasco and Gilroy Chamber of Commerce folks attended, along with nearly 30 high school kids from the Gilroy Early College Academy, or GECA, who earned volunteer hours by helping at the faire.
If you want to learn more about SCTW, volunteer or donate, you can find all the information you need at its website, www.sctailwaggers.org. SCTW’s next big event is scheduled for July 15, when it will host a 5K Wagathon. The Christmas Hill Park run is being billed as a “family fun event,” according to Murphy. And of course, she said, it will be dog friendly.