All-American Mutt Rescue finds safe places for pups

The All-American Mutt Rescue started with one wayward mutt.

Danny and Cindy Torrence noticed the stray watching them as they fed their own dogs in their backyard in Huddleston. They’d put out a bowl of food for the stray, too, but she’d only eat when they went back inside.

The stray eventually had a litter of pups in a nearby vacant lot. When the puppies were a few weeks old, she brought one over to their yard and lay beside it.

“When she saw I could see the puppy,” Cindy Torrence recalled, “she would leave.”

One by one, over the course of two weeks, the stray would bring over a pup until all eight were safely at the Torrence home.

The experience prompted the couple to start a dog rescue in 2008. Now, the nonprofit, home-based animal rescue organization has safely placed about 200 dogs in new homes.

And the Torrences have created a web of community support that includes area humane societies, a pet groomer, a dog trainer — even their regular Federal Express worker helps out, bringing treats for the dogs along with delivery packages.

“He usually comes to the fence, counts how many dogs are out, and then gets a treat for each one,” Cindy Torrence said.

The rescue depends on such relationships. “There’s strength in numbers — we do our thing, but we partner with each other in the interest of the dog,” she said.

Foster families are part of that support, providing a safe home for the dogs while they await adoption, freeing up space in shelters that use euthanasia.

The Torrences currently care for about 40 dogs at their home, which live in outside kennels and a climate-

controlled sun porch. A few adult dogs even live inside their home.

Monica Rife, owner of a pet grooming business in Bedford, grooms the foster dogs for free.

“Dogs come in with their fur matted and a lot of people won’t look at a dog like that,” said Rife.

The rescue league also enlists out-of-state help at times, like another no-kill rescue league in Connecticut that is sending volunteers later this month to Huddleston to pick up 12 puppies.

“They’re another group just like we are,” Cindy Torrence explained. “They already have adoption families lined up for them.”

Until a couple of weeks ago, Cindy Torrence worked full-time at J. Crew, but left to focus on the rescue work.

Danny Torrence works as an engineer in the Lynchburg District office of the Virginia Department of Transportation, but still commits a lot of his time. “It’s sort of like working two full-time jobs,” he said. “That’s where the volunteers help out.”

They have about eight “very faithful” volunteers that come from word-of-mouth and “next thing you know they start to come … on a regular basis,” he said.

They help with maintenance, feeding, and perhaps most importantly, training the dogs.

Basic obedience is vital for a dog’s adoption potential.

Sue Wedlick, a friend of the Torrences, has been training dogs for “years and years and years.”

She uses a treat and a clicking sound to reinforce positive behavior. Eventually the treat goes away, then the clicking stops until the “bad behavior just fades away.”

And the work pays off.

The Smith family, of Roanoke, adopted Choo Choo after they saw how well she interacted with their young daughter.

They came across the rescue on petfinder.com while looking for their first dog. The family had met Choo Choo the previous week.

“We really got a lot of one-on-one time,” said Kathie Smith. “We wanted to make sure she’d be happy with us and we’d be happy with her.”

A successful pairing like this comes after careful work by the Torrences, who spend time counseling people to make sure they can care for the dog.

That work includes an application, reference checks and a meet-and-greet, where family and dog can get acquainted prior to finalizing an adoption.

“Bringing a puppy home is like bringing a newborn baby home,” Cindy Torrence explained. “It changes your life.”

The rescue league charges a $150 adoption fee, which includes vaccinations, spaying or neutering as well as the cost of implanting a microchip in the animal to guard against it getting lost and ending up in a shelter.

“Being in a shelter is a very stressful situation for even the most balanced dog,” she said.

The foster home, she believes, allows for the dog’s true personality to show, making it more adoptable.

“This is their home so they’re comfortable, they can choose to interact or not interact with visiting people.”

Sometimes, the mutts end up staying right where they are.

Like Emmie, the stray dog who started the rescue effort.

Today she lives with the Torrences, and has become a “momma dog that teaches the other puppies,” Danny Torrence said.

Her puppies, meanwhile, all found new homes.

“She knew she needed someone to take care of them,” Cindy Torrence said.

“It’s instinct.”