1
[pen scratching paper]
[dog snoring]
[dog whimpering]
[dog continues snoring]
[Ron]
Hey, guys.
Hello, babies.
[Danny]
Get in bed, girly.
Hey, good morning,
darlin'.
[dogs whimpering]
-[Danny] No, no.
-[Ron] Oh, Teiren.
-[Ron] She's scared, I think.
-[Danny] I know. She doesn't
know where to go.
[dog whimpering]
- Do we have any
we're not feeding?
- No.
[dog barks]
[dog yawning]
[dogs barking]
- Here you go.
Mona, there you go,
girly.
It's okay.
Rowdy's not eating,
and Dominique's being
real picky.
[dogs barking]
Hey, guys.
[dog barking]
[dog whimpering]
[Danny] Okay, little ones.
-[Ron] You were the hungriest.
-[dog barking]
All right.
Humphrey, you settle down,
man.
Hey, Maisie.
You silly girl.
- Good morning, Amelia.
There's your food.
- Come on, Gus!
Come on, Tito.
Are you coming?
Good boy.
I know! I know!
I know, come on.
-[dog grumbling]
-[Danny] What? You sleeping
in this morning?
You sleeping in?
[dog snoring]
[dogs barking]
[birds chirping]
[dogs barking in distance]
[dog barking]
[Ron]
Amelia, stop that.
What, Tito?
What, Tito?
When we started rescuing dogs
15 years ago,
I never dreamed
we would have a real rescue.
And I never dreamed we would
have a rescue this size
that has taken over, you know,
our whole home, our lives.
Okay.
[dogs barking]
Oh, hush.
Dominique.
Dominique, come on.
[Ron]
We have 71 dogs
in the house currently,
and I don't really know
of any other rescues
that just let dogs live
in their house like we do.
Want me to bring you lunch,
old guy?
[Danny]
Most people who rescue dogs
have kennels separate
from their houses,
but we'd saved so many animals
that had been victimized
or injured.
And we don't always know what
we're getting into with that.
And that's why living with them
sometimes is so important
'cause we really find out
what we need to know
before they get adopted
by someone.
What happens sometimes is--
yes, it is.
We've told you
this story before.
We've told you a lot.
She was going stir-crazy being
in the shelter for too long.
We'd have felt terrible
if we made her stay
in the wrong conditions
for another week, even.
So, it's gonna work out
for this sweetheart,
I can promise you that.
[Ron]
I remember how excited
when we hit
the 1,000th adoption.
Danny and I thought
we hit the lottery, you know?
We were like, "Can you believe
we made it to a thousand?"
Okay, family walk...
[Ron]
And right now, I mean,
we're only a hundred
and a few dogs away
from hitting
the 10,000th adoption.
Let's go.
Come on.
-[Danny] Boys, come on.
-[Woman] Come on. Come on.
[dog sniffing]
[Ron]
Hi, guys. Hi.
How are you guys, huh?
Doggies.
Doggies, hi.
[Ron] We get the majority of our
dogs from animal shelters.
A lot of the shelters have
what they call "red code day,"
which is euthanasia day.
Sometimes I can get 100 e-mails
from 20 shelters
asking us to take dogs off
their euthanasia list.
This is just one normal e-mail
from one shelter.
These are all,
as you can see, it says,
"final date," "expired,"
"critical."
So these animals are about
to be euthanized today.
Over 4 million animals
are euthanized
every year in America.
It's very, very sad.
You look at their faces,
you look at their eyes,
and they're just begging
for someone to save 'em.
[dogs barking]
Hello.
That's a pretty color.
Yeah, she's beautiful.
This little guy here.
That's the one
we're checking on.
[woman]
She's very sweet.
Housebroken.
A lady got her off Facebook
and she didn't want her anymore.
This one came from a hoarder
and he still needs some work.
-Okay.
-They came in really, really,
really, really shy.
We've got three left.
They're probably
the nicest-looking hoarding dogs
I've ever seen.
-And there's Chester.
-You are cute.
-He's a rat terrier mix.
-Hey, Chester.
And how old is he?
[woman]
He's about four years old.
He came in as a stray.
Is he pretty settled,
though, normally, or...?
[woman]
He usually is, yes.
He's been outside,
so he's all hyped up.
He's been runnin'
in the yard.
[Ron]
It's hard to pick up dogs
that are on euthanasia
because you already know
they don't really have a chance
I will ask them if they can
give me any description
on their personality,
if they're friendly,
if they're aggressive,
if they're dog-aggressive,
cat-aggressive.
And, I mean, we don't want
to pick the perfect dog.
We want to pick a dog
that we can help and save
and hopefully rehab.
As you can see,
this one is active.
-And it's black, so it's gonna
be kind of hard for us.
-Right, right.
So, maybe,
maybe that would be one.
[Danny]
We don't need another one
that's hyper right now.
We've got about four
of those.
Let's look, now.
[Danny]
Shelters, by law,
they have to take every animal
dropped off here.
We receive 5,000 animals a year
at our animal shelter.
We can hold 125.
If we're overloaded,
then we have to make room.
He came in, in a trap,
through Animal Control.
They'd said that he was mean
and vicious
and to be careful 'cause
he would eat us for lunch.
Well, ahem... here he is.
-[Ron] Doesn't look it.
Seeing their faces and knowing
they're going to die...
that drives me harder
to want to save more.
I don't think I could ever
turn my back on this
'cause I couldn't live
with the guilt
of walking away from all
those faces that need help.
He needs a really good,
special home.
-Someone that's gonna
take care of him.
-Do you wanna go home, hmm?
[Ron]
It's a funny emotion
because there's a part of me
that would love
to be selfish and say,
"We've rescued
almost 10,000 dogs.
"We're gonna go pick up.
We're gonna go travel.
"We're gonna go live
the rest of our life
and have a good life,"
but my internal insides
won't let me do it.
[Woman]
This is Apollo.
He was runnin' on the side
of the road, stray.
He's been very friendly.
He was injured as a puppy,
um, so he does have a bum leg,
so we've had no interest
in him whatsoever.
Apollo, do you want
to go home, huh?
You wanna go home
and get out of here?
[Ron]
The ones that are very friendly,
very cute, furry,
those get adopted immediately.
What we usually try to do
is try to get a lot
that are not very popular
to get adopted,
so that they can get
a home.
[woman]
And that's Moose.
We'll get you
ice creamies.
-I think this dog has...
-Yeah, come on.
...basset, Pekingese,
cocker spaniel...
...golden retriever, setter...
-Come on.
-Huh?
...and a little chow.
Not to mention bloodhound
and Afghan and...
-Well, look at the coat.
-That's beautiful.
It's got the coat
of an Akita.
Let's put Akita
in there, too.
-Look at it.
-[woman] Oh, it's beautiful.
You look like a loaf
of bread.
[woman] Watch it-- watch it run
now. Come on, Moose.
-[Danny] It's just a rectangle.
-[woman] Moosey!
Is that not the cutest thing
you've ever seen in your life?
-[Ron] That is precious.
-It's not but eight weeks old.
-Moose!
-[laughter]
[Ron]
Looks like a cocktail table.
[Danny]
Not everyone's born
with the very same gifts
and the same luck.
Because of that,
they have to have
a little extra help,
and I think that ideology
has gone with me
through my entire life.
You need some skin work,
don't ya, huh?
[Danny]
Growing up, my mom always said,
"Don't buy a dog.
Let's save a dog."
I remember when I really wanted
a Dalmatian.
Mom said, "There's always people
for those,
"but there's not people to take
the animals from shelters
where so many
will be euthanized,"
and that's where we went.
I'd always pick the one
with the saddest eyes.
They were wormy,
they were skinny...
and something about the eyes
is what always sold 'em on me.
They'd look at me
in some sort of way
and that's the one
I'd have to have.
This is Lily.
She's super sweet.
I mean, super,
super sweet.
[Danny]
I mean, the problem
we run into sometimes
is when so many look
just the same.
They're nondescript breeds
of brown and black,
and it's hard to get people
to feel enticed by them.
-It is. You're absolutely right.
-That's the hard part.
[woman]
I think she's
heartworm-positive,
but I'm not positive
about that.
-Says it up there.
-Low positive.
Heartworm positive!
[woman]
Heartworms actually live
in the heart of a dog.
They're transmitted
by mosquitoes.
But people don't want
heartworm-positive dogs
because they're expensive
to treat.
We do 30 days of doxycycline.
Then they have to stay
totally quiet for 30 days
because when they get excited,
the dog can have a heart attack.
The next 30 days,
they get two more injections,
and then we keep 'em quiet
for another 30 days.
But, you know,
a heartworm preventative,
it's such a simple thing.
I mean, one pill a month,
your dog will not have
heartworm disease.
Look at her face,
just how she looks you
in the eyes.
Look at her.
Like, she's staring at you
right now just like...
Putting her nose
right on the glass.
Oh, they know how to pull
at your heartstrings.
Lily, I wanna go home, huh?
Get you treated for--
Oh, yes, you do. Get you
treated for heartworms, huh?
-[Danny] It's a deal.
You wanna shake
on the deal?
[Ron]
I think Danny and I both
were born
with a true compassion
for animals.
When I was a little kid,
even though I wanted
to go fishing,
I never wanted
to put the worm on the hook
'cause I felt sorry
for the worm
getting the hook, you know,
zigzagged through it.
[Danny]
I was saving animals
as far back as I can remember.
When I walked home from school,
kind of the bigger,
gruffer guys that were
a little scary to me,
sometimes they'd catch a turtle
and then they'd just knife
its head off just for fun.
And even though I was
sort of scared of the guys,
I'd make deals with them
and give them whatever I had
to take the turtle
so they didn't kill it.
[Ron]
I used to rescue baby robins
that fell out of trees.
We used to nurture 'em back
and then try to put 'em
on our finger
and teach 'em how to fly.
And horses and frogs and mice,
turtles in the road.
I mean, there-- if I see
a turtle crossing a road,
you know, everybody better stop,
'cause I get out of the car
and I help the turtle
cross the road.
I had a rooster we got
from the Tote-Em-In Zoo
because he was
in the lion's cage
and the lion had
already broken his wing.
And I pitched such a fit
that they ended up
getting the rooster with a net
and bringing him out of the cage
and then I took him
and, uh, helped heal him.
[laughing]
So...
Go, sweetie.
Whew!
Let's go on in.
[indistinct chatter]
All right, gang, meet Lily.
Hi, Lily.
Lily, you're gonna get
a nice bath
and get nice and clean
for us, okay?
[woman]
All right, sorry about that.
[hair dryer whirring]
All right, here we go.
All right.
Look at you, Apollo.
I'm so proud of you.
[indistinct chatter]
Good boy!
Think she's gonna
fall asleep on us.
[both laughing]
Lily, you wanna be
wheeled out?
Is that what you want?
Huh?
You wanna be wheeled out?
-Or you wanna walk out?
-All right.
Think we can walk out, sweetie?
Come on.
There you go.
We got a new
family member, guys.
Back up, Busy Bee.
Come on, Lily.
You'll be all right.
Okay.
This is part
of your new pack.
This is part
of your new family, huh?
[Lily barks]
Hey! Lily, stop.
[Lily growling]
Stop, Lily.
Might not be going
so well.
Lily.
[Lily barking and yelping]
No. No.
That's a no.
Hi, guys.
Hi, hi.
Okay, Lily.
Okay, Lily.
She'll wear the muzzle
for probably just
a few more minutes.
It's soft rubber.
It's totally humane.
They can eat, they can drink,
but the only thing is,
it keeps the rest
of our pack safe
until she learns
social skills.
We'll just keep doing this,
you know, ten times a day,
just interacting her
with the pack.
In a day or two, she'll probably
be running right with the pack.
Yes, you're doing good, Lily.
Buster Brown likes you, yes.
Blanche, what do you think, huh?
What do you think, Blanche, huh?
All right, little Moose,
meet the big world.
Oh, I don't know
about Amelia.
That's the grumpiest one
you're gonna encounter.
Hi, Amelia.
This-- you be the sweetest.
Wanna get down?
Wanna get down?
Who are the other guys, huh?
Oh, you're gonna meet
Amelia first?
Oh, my gosh,
that's risky.
Look how good you're being.
Well, who's that coming?
Hey.
Look at that one, huh?
Who could that be?
Hmm?
Where you going?
He's not very interested in me.
That's a nice thing.
At least that shows
a little independence.
A lot of times, they just want
to sit on my lap
and stay there forever.
Hey, Moose.
Moose.
Come on back.
Tell 'em about yourself.
Tell them what your name is,
where you came from.
Tell 'em everything about you.
What you want to be
when you grow up, huh?
Wanna tell them?
Look.
He looks very interested.
Look.
Sammy is very interested
in your future.
Look at this.
Cotton's coming to see you.
Mr. Cotton and Lester.
You know,
Cotton could teach you a lot.
Cotton's a special
little man here.
He has to stay
a permanent resident here.
I don't-- I don't think
he could truly take
a change in his life now.
He was taken to the shelter
one day, when Ron was there,
with a diaper wrapped
around him.
And, truthfully,
the lady said,
"I wanna get rid
of this damn dog,
and I don't want no more worms
on my porch,"
and, uh, she wanted him
put to sleep.
He was totally frightened,
and, um...
he didn't wanna eat for days.
And when he'd go out
in the yard,
it would take three
or four of us
just to keep walking around,
walking around,
to get him to come
in the house.
And now he's friends
with everybody.
And out in the yard now,
he comes to you.
And that's one
of the biggest secrets
about so many
of these scared ones.
You just give them the time
and then they come to you
and tell you
their terms of life,
and you try to merger the two
and see if you
can get somewhere.
Hey, Moose.
Puppies learn
to adjust quickly.
He's gonna be
a very s-secure puppy.
You're gonna be pretty secure,
aren't ya?
You're gonna do it all right.
Hmm?
Life's gonna be great for you.
Yes, it is.
Life is gonna
treat you fine, huh?
Life will treat you fine.
You'll get some human
and you'll train 'em.
You'll train 'em right away
and tell them who's boss, right?
Who's boss, yes?
Rub the big belly.
Rub the big belly
and make sure you feed it,
and then it's gonna be
a perfect life.
Hmm?
Long before we were a rescue
and had dreams
or even thoughts
of becoming an actual rescue,
I'd go to shelters.
See animals that just looked
a little sad,
a little neglected,
and always take one or two
and then make sure they get
to a good place.
We didn't see ourselves
as a rescue.
We saw ourselves
as rescuers.
We probably did that
for 15 or 20 years,
just 25 or 50 a year,
and didn't really think much
beyond that.
But in August of 2005
was probably the-- the catalyst
that turned us into something
a little different than
what we'd been.
[man 1 on radio]
We're in storm alert mode
right now as Katrina,
one of the most powerful
hurricanes we've seen
in several decades,
threatens the Gulf Coast.
[man 2 on radio]
This is what everyone feared.
The storm surge.
[man 1 on radio]
Two of the levees that held
back Lake Pontchartrain
have cracked.
[man 2 on radio]
80% of New Orleans
is now underwater.
[man 1 on radio]
Families are being plucked
from what FEMA now calls
the most significant
natural disaster
ever to hit
the United States.
When Hurricane Katrina hit,
our first instinct, um,
is we wanted to help people.
We happened to be in Florida
at that time,
and we heard on the local news
that they were moving
300-and-some people
from New Orleans
to the racetrack in Boca,
and they didn't have anything.
We bought toothpaste,
toothbrushes, clothes, socks,
brushes, coffeepots,
anything we could think of,
so people would, you know,
have something to their name.
Then, all of a sudden,
you know,
we started seeing pictures
of the dogs.
[man on radio]
It's been like this
for weeks now.
Dogs stranded in trees,
dogs stranded on walls,
pacing, surrounded by water.
Abandoned by their owners,
alive or dead.
[Danny]
No one was allowed to take a
dog when they were rescued.
They had to leave
all their pets behind.
Some wouldn't leave them.
A couple dogs were found
on a dining room table
floating in the house,
and the lady
that owned them had died.
She wouldn't leave
her animals,
but she drowned,
and the dogs were caught,
like, with a canoe or something
at that point.
[Ron]
The sad thing was,
a lot of these animals
were all put in these cages,
crates, airline carriers,
and they were all stored
in warehouses.
Most of these dogs hadn't even
been out of the crates
in the time they were caught,
because they didn't have
the staff.
We kind of
jumped in and decided
to start helping some
of these dogs.
We'd send our
horse trailer down.
We'd make sure that it was
full of supplies--
dog food, blankets,
leashes, collars.
Trailer would turn around
and then bring us dogs
back here
to South Carolina.
We were not set up
to be a dog rescue.
I mean, we had my barn here.
We cleared all those
horse stalls out,
and those were full of dogs.
We made makeshift pens.
We just made whatever means
we could.
When we would get the crates
and stuff, you know,
they were wallowing
in feces and urine.
It was a tough thing to bathe
them all and get them healthy.
They all had to be spayed
and neutered.
And I would say probably 98%
were heartworm-positive.
We were just adopting dogs
to friends
in the horse business.
Within a five-month period,
we saved approximately 600 dogs
from Hurricane Katrina.
-[Holly] Hey, Ron.
-[Ron] How are you?
-We're good.
-Look at Nutmeg!
-Here's Nutmeg.
-The perfect girl!
-She is.
-Nutmeg!
Lookie, Nutmeg!
I have to say hi
to Nutmeg first.
Hi, Nutmeg.
How are you, sweetie pie?
How are you?
Are you still perfect?
-How are you Logan, huh?
-Good.
Are you excited about
your kitty?
-Yeah. Hi.
-Hi, Holly.
[Danny]
I can't believe
it's been 11 years.
[Ron]
Has it been
that long, seriously?
It'll be this fall
that we've had her
for 11 years.
-Oh, my goodness.
-Holly was saying she can
still remember you carrying her
through the halls.
-Oh, yeah.
You called me and said,
"Your new baby's here!"
And you came walking down
the barn aisle
with beautiful Nutmeg.
[Danny]
With a totally black face.
Holly's biggest thing was
it has to be friendly and loving
and sweet and, you know,
all that sort of thing.
-[Holly] Right.
-And that's all we
could test of--
Wasn't that right, girl?
Oh, my God,
she was just full of love.
[Holly]
She's just pretty perfect.
[Ron]
I think most
of our friends thought,
when Katrina's over,
you know, shoo, the end.
"Danny and Ron aren't gonna
bother us anymore
about adopting dogs."
Logan, come look at these
cutie-patootie puppies here.
[Ron]
But the Katrina experience
changed us.
We got to see the volume
of animals in need.
I mean, we always knew
there was volume
of animals in needs
in shelters,
but to think
of all the homeless pets,
I mean,
it was a big impact on us.
That's what actually gave us
even more energy
to become a major rescue.
Their mother was
a cocker spaniel,
and the owners moved
and took the mother dog
and left nine puppies
out in the yard
to survive
with no food and water.
[Ron]
A friend of mine, she said,
"Okay, you boys need to come up
with a name for your rescue."
She said, "Why don't you just do
Danny & Ron's Rescue?"
She said, "Everybody knows Danny
and Ron in the horse business.
Let's just do it simple
like that."
Which I hated,
but I couldn't think
of anything else
at the time.
-Here, you wanna hold her?
-Hold her.
[Danny]
I never came up
with another name, really.
I had stopped thinking
about it.
But I hear catchy
little phrases sometimes
of names that sound great,
but now that I've heard
so many play on words
with the-the, you know,
the paws and the claws
and the snip and snap
and the fairy tales,
I'm sort of glad
we just have
our two names on it.
Easy to remember.
[Holly]
Oh, my gosh!
Is that Jellybean?
Oh, good.
-[Ron] You guys saved a life.
-[Holly] We did.
[Danny]
By the way, I know where there
are three guinea pigs.
[Holly]
Oh, don't even start.
[laughter]
Wait, Mom, can I please
hold her one more time?
One more time.
Let me just get her in,
and then,
when you get in the car,
you can hold her, okay?
Okay.
Okay, here we go.
[barking]
[Ron]
Brenda, I am looking
in my income tax thing
in the file thing
because I'm gonna go try to do
a home equity loan
for the rescue.
2005, '06, '07, '08,
'09, '10, '11, '12.
Where would '15 be?
Danny and I spent about 40%
of his retirement fund
and my retirement fund
taking the dogs from Katrina.
It got to the point, you know,
when the accountant said,
"Look, you guys gotta stop this
because you're gonna have
"nothing for retirement
and you're gonna be
paying taxes on all of this."
Now, we are
a 501[c][3] nonprofit,
but last year,
it cost nearly a million dollar
to run this entire rescue.
I am going to try
to take a loan
for the rescue out
in my name...
'cause I don't think the rescue
has enough equity to get a loan,
so I am going
to do it personally.
-[barking]
-[Ron] I'm going to see
if they will give us
a $100,000 loan.
One of the most strenuous parts
of the rescue for me
is constantly worry about where
the money's gonna come from,
how the staff's gonna get paid,
how we're gonna make it
to the next month.
This one's '12.
We survive strictly
on donations.
December's always
a good month for us
because that's when donations
come in
'cause people need
the tax write-off.
But unfortunately,
we have a very long dry period
from the winter
to make it through.
I mean, we get donations
during the year, but, you know,
most of the time, they're just
very small donations,
and as big of a rescue
as we are,
it's not enough
to keep us afloat.
-Elmer!
Hi, Elmer.
-He is so sweet.
-Look at Ron.
-Hey, buddy.
Hey, buddy.
Yeah,
he's a medical miracle.
As you can see,
both sides of his mouth
has been reconstructed there.
-Yeah.
-And-- uh-huh.
-You had two surgeries, huh?
Two surgeries, Elmer?
Hi.
[Ron]
We hit a lot of dry periods
where we run out of money
and we have a lot of sick dogs,
and so, I have
a lot of sleepless nights
worrying about how
we're gonna stay afloat.
I mean, like, right now,
we're in a really--
I mean, just to make payroll
next week,
we're gonna have to put
our own money in.
[birds and insects chirping]
Hey, Andrea, do you remember
the dog that we took,
full of fleas, ear infections,
full of ticks?
You know,
skin is all bloody?
Well, there's somebody
that sent a message to me
and said, "You have my dog."
I mean, I would be thrilled
to death if it was a great owner
'cause it'd be one less dog
for me,
but now that he's getting
good care,
I have a very hard time
turning him back over
to that situation.
The rescue life very quickly,
very easily can engulf
our whole life
to where it's hard sometimes
to keep remembering
that we have to earn a living
doing the horses.
Good.
A little ride up.
[Danny]
Easy.
Think left.
That's good for him,
Alaina.
Very good.
Give him a pat.
[Danny]
We don't take a salary at all
from the rescue.
We never have.
[Ron]
Danny and I train horses.
That's how we make our living
and our livelihood.
[Danny]
Very nice. Good.
[Ron]
We met at a horse show in Aiken
South Carolina, in 1980.
I was a professional
moving from the Chicago area
to South Carolina,
and Danny was a professional
here already.
[Danny]
I rode his horses
professionally,
so we had a working relationship
for a long time.
[Ron]
I was married to a woman
at that time.
You know, in the generation
that I grew up in,
it was always a struggle,
where nowadays, you know,
being gay is a lot more open
than it was back in the '80s.
I got married
'cause that was, like,
what you were supposed to do
when you got out of college.
You were supposed to get married
and have children.
I was married for eight years
and divorced in 1986.
The divorce came as big a shock
to, I guess, anybody.
Everyone around was sad
about that.
And he was
particularly devastated.
I like what you went to.
Have just a little more
in the back
so you don't have to do it
near the jump.
[Ron]
Danny was one of my friends
that really reached out
to be there for me.
Seeing the emotional pain
that I was going through,
he was a very warm,
compassionate person.
[Danny]
I was a young person
recently acknowledging
that I was gay.
And we'd become closer friends
and I was kind of his confidant
at that point.
Then finish with a three
to the three once more.
[Ron]
We became closer and closer
and the relationship
just kept growing from there.
Ah, not you.
Sit.
[Danny]
After a couple years,
I moved over here, uh,
and I think that's probably when
people actually began
to think of us as a couple.
[Ron]
We have been together...
'98, 2008...
[laughing]
That's a long time ago
to remember.
-Um...
-Well, please tell me.
'Cause anytime somebody asks me,
I tell them a different number
every time.
So it'd be like 27 years.
[Ron]
This actually is good
for Griz.
Oh, it's wonderful for him.
He's gonna...
He's gonna learn a lot
living here.
[Ron]
I think we were brought
together for a reason,
but if Danny didn't have
the passion that I do
for doing this,
there's no way it would happen.
Hi, Tonto.
If I didn't have the passion
that Danny has for it,
there's no way,
or, like, if I didn't love dogs
the way I do, you know?
It takes two
for this to survive.
[dogs barking]
[Ron] I think we both feel like
we've kind of lost our home
because of the amount of dogs.
Living in this type
of environment,
you know, there's many times
we've questioned ourselves
what it would be like--
-[dog barking]
[dog continues barking]
Stop it!
Right now!
-[woman] They don't listen
to anybody else.
-[Danny] That's not gonna
stop 'em.
[Ron]
The house is approximately
4,400 square feet.
People space?
How many square feet
would a king-size bed be?
I mean, it's difficult to sleep.
You can't move.
They nestle next
to your left side,
your right side, your head,
they wrap on the pillow.
And if you have to get up
to go to the bathroom,
I mean, lots of luck
getting back in bed.
I'm sort of wondering myself
how we lost the house.
We used to have
a lot of people over
and would have dinners.
We ditched
the dining room mostly
when we ended up having crates
all around it
and you couldn't pull a chair
back in there anyway.
Ron's a fantastic cook,
and he used to enjoy it.
At one point, we even had
wedding parties here.
[Ron]
Kitchen area we use a lot
for socialization
because it's
a very high-traffic area,
so the dogs get
a lot of activity.
[Danny]
We also had a fireplace.
We don't burn fires
in it anymore.
It's kind of like a big,
relaxing lounge area for them.
Off the kitchen, we have
the living room area,
where we're seated now.
[Danny]
We used to have wood floors,
oriental carpets.
It was very pretty, actually.
[Danny chuckling]
But before you knew it,
carpets were being ripped,
and, of course,
they were being peed on.
So, up came the wooden floors.
Here you come,
stone flooring.
[Ron]
The larger dogs live
in the living room area.
They have free run to come
and get on the furniture,
wherever they want to lounge,
and they have a doggie door.
They can go out
in the backyard.
Off of the living room,
we have a front bedroom.
In the front bedroom,
we strictly keep
small litters of puppies.
If we really get jammed,
we use the shower stall
in our bathroom
to put small puppies in.
This used to be
a screen-enclosed porch.
It had a Jacuzzi tub right here
in the middle
that Danny and I
used to be able to relax in.
This became one
of the quarantine rooms.
We knocked a hole
in the garage
off the back of the garage
and built another room.
That room we use for dogs
that are heartworm-positive.
Get on outta there.
[Ron]
The rest of the property,
it's the same thing.
We live in-in the dogs' house.
We're the guest.
-Okay.
-Okay.
[dogs barking]
[Ron]
All right, kids.
We got so many boxes
this time
because there's a sale
going on for puppy pads.
And any sale we can catch,
we like to do that.
In each box,
there are... 40 pads.
We got 50 boxes of pads.
[dogs barking]
[Ron] Unfortunately,
with puppies, they pee
and poop a lot.
[chuckling]
So, even though I changed
this pen at 10:15 last night,
it was totally trashed
this morning.
So, anyway, we are scrubbing
the pens one by one.
And we have to do this
five times a day.
Everyone that walks
into this house,
they're impressed that it
doesn't smell like dogs
and how clean it is.
I mean, we have-- I don't think
we've ever had a person come
to this doghouse
and not leave saying,
"How do you keep it
that clean?"
[dogs barking and whimpering]
[Ron]
The day in the doghouse begins
at 6:30 in the morning.
Climb down.
Come on, climb down.
[Ron]
Our first employee arrives
at 7:30, and then,
the cleaning process begins.
We collect
all the food bowls.
And then the food bowls
have to get washed
in the dishwasher
so that they get
a really good sanitation.
All the waters have to be
changed twice a day.
We move the crates
off the floor every day,
and all the rooms
are vacuumed and mopped.
[Ron] All of the bedding
in the crates--
we take out and clean
all the bedding in the crates.
We do approximately 18 loads
of laundry
in a commercial washer and dryer
every day.
We go through 10 gallons
of laundry detergent,
56 rolls of paper towels,
60 pounds of dry food,
and 56 cans of dog food
per week.
I'm allergic to dogs
and horses,
and they've both been two
of my biggest passions in life.
So, I've just learned
to deal with it.
At one time,
I was taking
nine shots a week
for three years.
[Ron]
Danny is meticulous
about picking up yards.
He will pick yards
four times a day.
It sounds awful to say,
but we call him our poop man.
I mean, you will go out
in our backyard,
and it's gonna be
hard to find some
because he will go out there
and pick and pick
and pick and pick.
He just believes the yard
should be immaculate.
[Danny] My poop shoes.
Hardly any tread.
[flies buzzing]
-[woman] Hey, bud.
-[Ron] Oh, my goodness.
Hi!
Oh, dear.
These are all loose?
Are we gonna be able
to catch 'em now?
[Ron]
There's about 19
abandoned dogs here.
We connected
with another rescue.
And so we're here to try
to assist to catch them all.
[woman]
Oh, hey, cutie, hi!
Why are you
all by yourself, huh?
Oh, you've got
a hole dug there.
[dog panting]
[woman]
Sneak up that camera.
[dogs barking and whimpering]
-[woman] Here's Angel.
-Angel.
-Come on, Angel.
-Hi, Angel.
Come here, girl.
[Ron]
If we can grab anything,
grab even that one
or this one, Danny,
or anything we can grab.
-You ready to go?
Anything we can grab,
we're just gonna head
to the vehicles with them.
Come here, baby.
I know you're worried.
Okay, you'll be okay.
You'll be okay, baby.
Yes, I know, I know.
Life is scary.
I know.
[Ron]
There are different instances
where people can't keep
their pets,
and I totally get that
and I totally sympathize
with it,
but the people
that abandon them,
it's a very hard
emotional thing for me.
As a young person,
I went through
some hard family times
with my parents.
My parents purchased a farm
outside of the Chicago area
for me to operate
the horse business.
We weren't raised
with a lot of money,
and Mom and Dad worked very hard
for what they had.
By them purchasing the farm,
they put their neck out
so that I would have
a home base.
When I decided to move here
to South Carolina,
I think that was really
the crushing blow.
They felt I was just
abandoning them.
My parents cut all ties
with me, um...
from, you know,
phones to letters
to all communication,
for seven years.
I mean, I kept reaching out
to Mom and Dad,
trying to call,
trying to mail notes,
and they'd be returned
back to me.
That was a very lonely time,
a very hard time.
You're a sweet girl, huh?
A sweet girl.
[Danny]
Most people who work
with dog rescue
and saving animals in general,
I think there has
to be something in their life,
some sort of reason for them
to have the compassion
and understand for animals.
-There you go.
-All right!
- Come on.
Hi, hi.
How are you?
How are you?
You a good girl?
[Ron]
Animals are amazing.
You can see these animals
that have been
so badly abused by humans,
they can come into our rescue,
and all of a sudden,
they can start trusting
human beings again.
They don't look back.
They look forward.
You're gonna be
just fine.
What a good girl.
[announcer over PA]
316, on course now,
Lindsey Ridley of Waxhaw,
North Carolina.
Watching at hunter bays, 316.
[indistinct chatter over PA]
[cheering and applause]
[indistinct chatter over PA]
[Ron]
Do you want them
in the end? Which end one,
Suzanne, do you want them in?
[Suzanne]
It doesn't matter.
-[man] You can put it in the
left one with no top on it.
-Left? Okay.
[Suzanne] Oh, yeah,
they won't jump.
- Come on, Yoda.
You get to go.
[Ron]
We adopt mainly
to the horse show world.
We're kind of a unique rescue
where we're known in our sport
for bringing dogs to horse show
all across the country.
A lot of times, you know,
when the bus pulls in,
I mean, you'll see 30 people
waiting for the bus to pull in.
I mean, all this week,
people kept saying,
"What time is the bus coming?
What time is the bus coming?"
Hi.
Hi!
-[man] I love the ears.
-I know.
I know that. He's only got part
of one ear.
[Ron]
We help with adoptions early
in the mornings,
then we train the riders
on their horses.
[applause]
[announcer over PA]
Score 75 for Kathleen...
What you need-- yeah.
You needed to wait there.
It's the same thing.
Kind of, like, lead her.
You came out of the turn
and got longer, longer.
Could you feel like,
out of this turn,
how you just stayed
easy, easy,
to the long-run
oxer.
You stayed the same,
the same.
You come out of that turn
coming downhill,
and you start letting
the stride going.
[Danny] Walk him around out here
and make him
just come down
a little bit.
[rider] I did, I did a civic
trot in a circle out here.
-Well, just do it again.
-[rider] Okay.
And then just go in
and try to maintain.
[rider] Okay.
[Danny]
When I turned ten is when
I first started riding.
I just-- Kind of the kid
that would ride anything
and was brave and I'd
make him go around
and jump and do things.
I had no idea what I was doing.
But I won my first
pony jumping class
when I'd actually been riding
two months.
And I knew that that's
what I was going to do
the rest of my life.
When I was growing up,
I felt like I was just
a lot more sensitive
and internal about things,
and most of my age group
seemed to be.
I don't think anyone realized
what I felt about me inside.
I mean, I knew-- I felt
that I was a good person and...
and tried to do right.
But I wasn't...
I wasn't the kid that I thought
I was supposed to be.
But my father was very athletic
and kept in a Rhode Island State
football team
and all of those things
and wrestling team
and one-of-the-guys guys.
And here I was,
I was a little intimidated
by people with that personality
and a little bit shyer,
but I shined with the animals.
And I guess my mom
might have seen that.
'Cause she always rooted for me
And my dad did too
deep inside.
He just didn't know how
to show it,
and I didn't know how
to bring it out in him.
I never felt like
my dad was proud.
I thought he hated what I did
except for every time
somebody that worked
with my dad or knew my dad
would tell me how proud
my dad was of me.
[sniffles]
And...
[fighting tears]
But he didn't tell me, no.
Here's my boy here.
[woman]
Yeah!
Here's my boy.
[Danny]
I don't think he ever understood
some kid falling in love
with animals
and thinking he could be
a trainer or a rider
the rest of his life
and make a living.
And he didn't want me
to fall in love with it
and be obsessed with it.
And it was the only thing
that I knew that I loved.
I wouldn't give the time of day
for anything else.
I wanted him to know
I was eat, sleeping,
drinking, breathing it.
That's how much it meant to me.
[announcer over PA]
583 is the new...
Danny Robertshaw.
[Ron]
Danny had a gift that he could
feel what the horse needed
and communicate with the horse.
He could just get on horses that
nobody could do anything with.
[Danny]
I feel like I was given
a little bit of a gift,
to have a good rapport
with animals.
Being able to get stuff done
without making them fear it.
And I love doing that.
[Ron]
Danny was, by far, one of
the best riders in America.
He was champion at all of
the major horse shows
in the country.
Danny is a Lifetime Achievement
award-winner.
And now he's judging all of the
major horse shows in America.
The night before my dad died,
um, I drove home.
There was nothing wrong
that I knew of at the time.
I think I just had one
of those feelings,
but I wanted to get home
and I did.
And we sat up
that night and laughed
and enjoyed each other's company
the entire time.
And it was the first time
we'd ever sat up that late
and talked that long.
And just became
very comfortable.
And that was the night
my dad said,
"I think you're gonna
do well in this,
"and I think you're gonna
make it in this horse world,
as much as I never wanted you
to do it."
And he died the next
morning in my arms.
[birds chirping]
[indistinct chatter]
[announcer over PA, indistinct]
[Danny]
Look up beyond your second fence
while you make your line.
[Ron]
Pace up the five, right?
'Cause we're jumping
oxer to vertical, okay?
[announcer over PA]
319 first to go now
in the E.J. Hawn
Memorial Medal.
This is Coleman Holland of
Charlotte, North Carolina, 319.
-[applause]
-[applause]
[engine sputtering]
[Ron]
These dogs on the cart
are Danny's
and my personal rescue dogs.
They travel with us
all over the country.
We've kinda chosen them
because most of 'em
have behavioral problems
or emotional problems,
and they were not easy
to adopt out.
So we kind of took them on
as our project.
This is Busy Bee. Busy Bee was
a puppy mill rescue.
She's gotten to where she allows
some people to pet her,
but she's still very insecure.
This is Humphrey
here in the back.
Humphrey was a puppy mill dog.
We got him when
he was six weeks old.
[baby voice]
Buttercup!
Wave, Buttercup!
Wave, Buttercup!
You do it, Buttercup!
[Ron]
They're kind of a trademark.
People see this red golf cart
and they see all these dogs,
and they know we're here.
Here you go.
Come on.
-[girl] Would you get Oreo out?
-[woman] Yes, honey,
I will get Oreo...
[overlapping chatter]
[Ron]
When we first started
bringing dogs to the horse show
many, many years ago,
I think it was much harder
to get people to adopt
a rescue dog.
People were into
the purebred breeds.
People would set up
and sell their puppies here.
You know, Jack Russells,
Corgis, dachshunds.
And I actually had
the exciting news once,
a trainer who bred Whippets
and dachshunds came up to me,
told me how much
he disliked our rescue.
She said that our rescue
has put her out of business
'cause everybody wants to get
a rescue dog.
I said, "Well, that's
very good news for me
because that means
our mission is working."
[Danny]
That was, "Thank you
for the compliment."
[cheering and applause]
[Ron]
It really has become
quite a trend at horse shows
all across the country.
I mean, I just got a phone call
from a trainer
showing in Vermont.
And she said, "Every time
I see a cute dog,
"I say, 'Oh, my God,
that's a cute dog.
"Where did you get it?'
Everybody says,
'Danny and Ron.'"
She said, "I'm serious,
I must have talked
to 50 different people,
and every dog is yours."
We've got dogs in Seattle.
We've got 'em in California.
We've got 'em in Canada.
We've got 'em in Europe.
We have 'em all
over the globe.
But we don't--
we don't care
if they adopt from us.
We just want them
to adopt.
I mean,
it's just saving lives.
We're going to one shelter
that really doesn't
do much adoption
or rescue.
They mainly euthanize,
so it's gonna be a little
tough situation there
because most of the time
we go into shelters
and get to meet dogs
and figure out
their personalities.
But we were told
that no one goes
behind their closed doors.
No questions asked,
no paperwork, no nothing.
Just take the dogs and go.
We can't really
force the issue
or else there's no chance
of us being able
to save any dogs
from there at all.
[buzzing]
[woman] Hello.
Hi.
-Okay, this is Cherry.
-Okay.
She's one and a half
years old.
She is a Lab mix.
She seems to be
very playful
like she hasn't
been out or anything.
-Okay.
-Plain black dogs are the
number-one euthanized color...
[chuckles]
in shelters.
-Yes.
She's awfully
friendly, though.
-So y'all taking her?
-We'll take her.
[Danny]
Black is the least popular dog
to be saved her bought
in the entire country.
I think it's 'cause
they don't stand out distinctly.
-[woman] This is Chance.
-Chance.
This is Marley.
This is Harley.
This is Jellybean.
Come on, Harley.
Michael, how many dogs
are in here.
Ten, Jesus.
I thought we were
getting six here.
[Ron sighs]
I did, too.
[woman]
So are you guys gonna take him?
-Yes.
-Don't you have
any white ones?
So are you willing
to take him?
What do you
think, Dan?
You're very dirty, yes.
You got poo-poo
all over you.
[Ron]
All of these dogs
are on euthanasia,
so if we didn't take 'em,
they were gonna
get put to sleep.
Come on.
It's very easy to get
on your podium
and shake your hand
and say, "Oh, my God.
"This shelter is
a kill shelter.
They're killing
all these animals."
But it's not
the shelter's fault.
It's the community's fault.
It's because we have people
that will not spay and neuter
their dogs,
so we have multiple litters
of cats and dogs.
But, you know,
the shelter is the one
that gets the bad press
because they're a kill shelter.
But basically they're doing the
dirty work for our community.
Fifteen more.
Oh, Lord.
I don't know where
we're gonna put 'em all.
There's one solution
to overpopulation--
it's spay, neuter.
And I really feel
that in America,
it needs to be a national law
that every animal has to be
spayed and neutered
unless you are
a licensed breeder.
But it's very hard to get.
I was told by one of
our high officials
in the state of South Carolina
that there was no way
that he was going to...
tell his hunting buddies
that they had to cut the balls
off their hunting dogs.
I mean, those were
his exact words to me.
So where do you go
when you have
that type of mentality
in our government?
All right, guys.
Safe travels
to home.
We had a lady bash our local
shelter in the newspaper.
And I mean, I call
these people up, I do
'cause it aggravates me
so much.
And I'll say, "Okay, I'm gonna
give you an example.
You do rescue, right?"
And they'll say, "Yes."
And I said, "So picture that
every dog in this county or cat
"can be dropped off
in your driveway.
Would you have to euthanize?"
Sometimes they'll answer me.
Sometimes they won't.
But if they are honest
and they do answer me,
they'll pause for a minute
and they'll say,
"Yeah, I couldn't take
5,000 cats or dogs."
And I'd say, "Well, what are
you gonna do with them?"
[sad music playing]
[sad music continues]
[sad music continues]
[sad music continues]
[birds chirping]
You're so good.
Sit.
Mm-hmm.
Good girl.
Have you ever
shook my hand?
You lie down.
Yes, I'm proud of you.
Hmm, you try to obey, huh?
You try to behave
even when you don't know
what you're doing, right?
Even when
you're nervous.
All right, good girl.
[dogs barking inside]
[Ron]
Oh, Lily.
Hi, Lily, hi, Lily.
-[barking continues]
Lily's in a separate
pen right now
because she's under
heartworm treatment.
So that's why
she's confined right now,
'cause she has
to stay quiet.
It took her three weeks
to come around
and get social skills
to where she was friendly
with all the dogs.
She's a total love bug.
She's definitely ready
for her forever home
as soon as she finishes
her heartworm treatment.
[baby voice]
Here's a good girl.
Yes, you are, huh?
[growling]
[Ron]
We're very picky
about where our dogs go.
When Dan and I started
the rescue,
we made a pact
that if the dogs
can't live as good
as they live here,
then they don't
get to leave.
[phone ringing]
[playful yelping]
[woman on phone]
Hello?
This is Kim Tudor
with Danny & Ron's Rescue
calling about Cher.
[woman on phone]
Is this about the application?
Yes, I know you have
a young child in the house.
How old is he?
[woman on phone]
Two and a half.
I was thinking of a puppy
because they might
grow up together
and bond that way.
A lot of people adopt
and they forget,
you know, what it was like
to housebreak a puppy.
[woman on phone]
I've got a-- I've got
a two-and-a-half-year-old.
I know...
[laughing]
Yeah.
[laughing]
[woman on phone]
But you're right.
You're right.
With a puppy,
you gotta-- you gotta
pay attention every minute
of the day.
And it's-- Honestly,
it probably would be tough.
An older dog?
I think an older dog
perhaps
and one that is
an owner-surrender
that already came
from a family
that had children.
-[woman on phone] Okay.
So he's been pre-tested
with children.
[woman on phone]
Yeah, that's good.
Okay, I know I'm gonna
make your day one day.
All right,
thank you so much.
-All right? Okay.
-[phone hangs up]
[Ron]
One of the most
frustrating things is,
people want a puppy
so that their child
or they can bond with it.
You can get a rescue dog
that's five years old.
It will come into your house
and in two days,
it will be bonded to you.
[Danny]
In choosing a pet,
people need to assess
the situation they're in.
Am I gonna be moving?
Do I have children?
How much time do I really have?
Yes, I love animals,
but is this right for me now?
Is this dog right
for me now?
[Kim]
When I'm talking to people
that are looking
for a specific type of dog,
I like to have--
This is my-- my vision wall,
so to speak.
And I know every one
of these dogs.
These are all the dogs
ready to go to a home now.
Taryn came from California.
I know that we are gonna
find a home for Madison.
Moon is going
to go to Vermont.
The dogs keep coming in
and hopefully
they keep going out
to good homes.
[hair dryer whirring]
[Suzanne]
This is Bonnie.
And she came in
from a bunch of dogs
we got in
from a puppy mill.
She's like hoarding
for toys in her bed.
That would be
a sign that they took
the puppies away early
so they can sell 'em.
And then,
as soon as they could,
they'd breed her
right back again.
So they'd have more puppies.
When I get a puppy mill dog
in like this
and I see it find a new home,
that's my reward.
They come in scared,
don't want to--
They just sit in the corner.
And to see them blossom
and come out of the corner,
to come and meet you...
and then to finally
find their home,
I just-- I love it.
I just--
It brings tears to my eyes
'cause it just--
I'm happy for them.
Here she is.
-[overlapping chatter]
-[dogs barking]
[Kim]
Isn't she cute?
Hi, baby!
You're all clean!
[Kim]
Does she look different?
She looks so much better
than she did
when I first met her.
-Did she?
-What did she
look like then?
-She had such a sad look
in her eye,
and over the few--
maybe it's been
a month or so...
Yes, mm-hmm.
I've seen pictures of her,
and she's gotten
happier and happier.
[Ron]
Hello.
-Ron, this is Deborah Wanger.
-Hi, Deborah.
-So nice to meet you.
-This is Ron Danta.
-I've heard wonderful
things about you.
-Nice to meet you.
I'm so glad that
you're adopting her.
-It's exciting.
-Thank you,
we're so excited.
to have Bonnie as
part of our family.
-No, that's exciting.
She's ready for a new home.
And if you see any that can
fit in your purse or your car,
you're welcome to take
some more home.
[Deborah] Thank you!
[dogs barking]
-[knife chopping]
-[dog whimpering]
-Tuna get rinsed?
-Nope.
[indistinct conversation]
-[indistinct chatter]
-[dogs barking]
[Ron]
Our house is full of staff,
our house is full
of people cleaning,
taking dogs in and out.
It's like living
in a business.
There's no private time.
There's no Danny and Ron time
that we're just alone.
[Danny]
We work together,
live together,
spend practically
every hour together.
Believe it or not,
with all the time together,
there's very little time
to talk and...
and share what you're--
what we're thinking,
-[dog barks]
except about stuff
that's pertinent to the dogs.
[barking]
But it's... it's not that
he's not there.
I know he's there.
I also know his heart
really bleeds for me
when I'm in pain.
I know sometimes
it even may be harder on him.
[Ron]
Danny's had many health issues.
He has extreme
high blood pressure.
[Danny]
I woke up pretty early,
and I just thought something
doesn't feel right.
I just said, "I feel like
I have a shield on my chest."
It was very scary,
'cause we didn't know
if he was having
a heart attack.
That was our first instinct,
you know, was having
a heart attack.
I was, you know,
put in a car
and run to the hospital,
and of course,
I was about tenth in line,
and, "You'll have to wait."
And I think then,
when I went down to the floor,
they realized it was a little
more important than that.
Oops.
[Ron]
The doctor said,
"We have three layers
to our aorta,
"and his aorta is shredding.
"Each layer
is going one by one,
"and 90 out of 100 people
die within four hours,
and there's nothing
we can do to stop it."
He said, "There's no medication
we can do."
He said he's, you know,
probably going to die.
I immediately started crying.
I mean, hearing a doctor say
there's nothing we can do
to stop something,
that it's gonna be a
wait-and-see
if he's the lucky 10 people
out of 100 that will survive.
We all were very thankful
he made it,
but the doctor told us
that on the lucky side,
he could live
three to five years.
It's been like 11 years.
Exact quotes
of Danny's doctor here,
I mean, she said he is
a walking miracle.
But we're kind of like
a ticking time bomb.
He only has one layer now,
so if his blood pressure
gets above 120,
he could just rupture.
If he ever bumped himself hard
or whatever, it could rupture.
If he ever was in a car accident
and an airbag went off,
that could do it.
Gardening is, for me at least,
when I feel like I need
a little space
and wanna breathe a little bit,
then I can come out
and do that,
and I can have my sad moments
and my trying moments
with myself,
and the moments
that other people
I don't think necessarily
need to share all the time.
But maybe it does me
a little bit of good.
And then I go back
and then I think about
some of the animals
buried here
and the nourishment
they're giving this,
and feel like maybe
it's a little good luck charm
maybe helping me keep some
of these things alive.
And, uh...
like, this horrible-looking
little lily here.
It looked beautiful earlier.
Believe it or not,
it was my grandmother's,
and she died
when I was six.
So, that lily family
has lasted a long time.
[Ron]
So, what's happening
with the Poms?
[man on phone]
I might be able to send
five or six to you.
- Okay.
[man on phone]
And we're going to give you the
three with the leg issues?
It doesn't matter, I just--
you know, with those three,
they're gonna be laid up
quite a while with surgery,
so they're gonna be
non-adoptables for a while.
I mean, the sad part
is good breeders,
the last thing they wanna do
is breed genetic defects.
Obviously, this-- this is like
your typical puppy mill breeder
where she's just doing it
just to get the ching-ching
and the puppies.
[man on phone]
They throw their garbage away
that's not selling.
Right.
[man on phone]
So what are they doing?
Giving them to rescues so
we can foot the bill.
[dog barking]
The Pomeranians
on the transport,
they said some of 'em
are hateful,
growly, scared.
So, they're gonna separate 'em,
I guess, in crates.
But there's still like
20 more Poms-- Pomeranians
at her house.
They couldn't get
all of 'em, I guess.
Right.
[Danny]
You can see some of them
have little coat issues.
[Rom] I know, this one they
told-- is a very bad fear-biter.
[Suzanne] And that's the chi...
[Ron] That's the Chihuahua mix
that was gonna be euthanized,
so I agreed to take it.
The reason the woman
is giving up dogs right now
is because for some reason
or the other,
she couldn't sell them
as young puppies,
so now, they're older dogs,
she can't do much with 'em.
This girl that's picking up
all these dogs,
she has to go meet somewhere
and pick the dogs up.
Most puppy mill places
will not let you come
into their facility.
Usually, the facility is such
that it would be closed down
if anybody could figure out
where it was.
So, they're protecting
themselves.
-All right.
-[Ron] You made it!
-How was your trip?
-Oh, it was great.
Okay, let me carry
the crates inside.
-[Danny] Do these have names?
-Yes, I have the names.
And then we're gonna
figure out which ones...
and then we're gonna find out
which ones have to have surgery?
Yes. Yes.
Knee surgery?
[Danny]
Is that all of them?
That's all of them.
And we gotta find
teeny collars.
Hi.
Think you'd come with me?
Come on.
Good baby, good baby.
Yes, you are very fluffy, huh?
She said
she raises show dogs.
You know, I've never
seen a show dog
that looks
in these conditions.
Some of them are scared,
there's some other ones
that are fear-biters.
Three of these
have patella problems,
which is the knee joint
on a dog.
They slip out, so we're gonna
have to do surgery.
We don't know if that's
like a genetic defect,
or from them
just living, you know,
without getting exercise.
These dogs probably lived
in wire rabbit cages
their whole life, so...
-[Danny] We don't really know.
These could have been
breeding dogs
or they could have just
sort of passed the prime
of sales time.
You can feel all
the knots and mats.
Oh, yeah,
they're solid mats.
Many times, these dogs
have to be sheared
all the way down.
Basically, they fall
under all the conditions
of a puppy mill.
[Ron] Puppy mills,
people just don't realize
how horrific it is.
So many of these dogs
live in rabbit cages.
We rescued dachshunds,
and they could not turn around
their entire life
in a rabbit cage,
so they rubbed their noses off,
and they rubbed
their fannies off
and their tails off because
they could never
turn around in a cage.
[Danny]
So many times, the breeding dog
have had 12 and 13 litters
of dogs,
and they've never even put
their feet on the ground.
Puppy mills inbreed
the dogs so terribly.
They'll take dogs and keep
trying to breed them down
in size, in cuteness,
in color, in fluff,
to get the smallest,
little funkiest little things
that nobody can resist.
And a lot of times,
they're full of health issues.
They're just gonna do as little
as they can possibly do,
because it's about the dollar,
not about the animal.
99.9% of all puppies
sold in pet stores
come from puppy mills.
That's a proven fact.
The minute those puppies get
to be four to five weeks old,
they're snatched away
from their mother,
off they go to all
these pet stores.
[Danny]
When you see pets
through the computer,
or on Craigslist and stuff,
and they offer this many
varieties and breeds,
very often, that's a sign
that it's a puppy mill,
because they just
have too much to offer.
[Ron]
People tell us all the time
that they really saved
this dog's life,
they rescued it,
even though they paid
$1,800 from the pet store.
That is a very bad
misconception,
that you think because
it was in that puppy store,
you really saved its life.
You didn't, you just contributed
to the puppy mill,
'cause that's what keeps
the wheel going.
If people would not buy
from pet stores,
puppy mills will go
out of business.
[female employee]
Let's get 'em outside.
[Ron]
All right, guys.
All right, I'm gonna go get
some water buckets.
Okay.
[dogs barking]
[Ron]
Hi, guys.
Guess what, freedom!
[Danny]
Once we say, "You're part
of Danny & Ron's Rescue,"
we promise every dog,
you will never end up
in a shelter again,
or end up wandering the streets
or starving, or needy,
or not being loved.
If they are capable of having
a good quality of life,
and hopefully be adopted
by someone,
then we'll stick by it
and get it done,
whatever it takes.
[Ron]
When they come into our rescue,
this is their safe haven.
So, even if we consider them
non-adoptable,
they will live
their life out here,
and they will be safe.
[Danny]
We have a handful
of permanent residents
that look like they're going
to be here
for a long, long time.
Some of them already have.
[Ron]
We got Amelia
at a local animal shelter.
Amelia has a very bad back end,
and she looks like
a wheelbarrow.
No one has ever
been able to find out
what's wrong with her.
We've done MRIs, CAT scans,
X-rays, the whole nine yards.
And everybody knows that one be
in the fireplace is Amelia's,
and you don't go
in Amelia's bed.
She's little,
she only weighs 10 pounds,
but she could be
a little piranha
when she needs to be.
Maggie was shot.
We had to have
her leg amputated.
She's been on our website
for years.
Nobody has reached out
any interest in her.
Mona is a very special dog.
Mona was hit by a car
and had severe injuries
to her hind end.
Unfortunately,
at the shelter,
they left her 12 weeks
in a crate.
She's never in any pain,
but she has quite a bit
of hitch in her giddyup.
Lucky was turned
into our local animal shelter
here in Camden.
He was found on the highway
by a good Samaritan.
We've had him three years.
He was showing some signs
of discomfort.
The vets found
a malignant tumor on his liver,
and unfortunately, liver tumors
they spread very quickly.
[Danny]
Any dog that we take,
we promise them a happy life
and a happy departure
from life.
Knowing him like we have
and living with him
like we have,
we knew that the time
was getting close.
[Ron]
No one wants to let go,
nobody wants the end,
but people have to realize,
when they see their pets
getting to the point
where the quality
of life is gone,
and they're no longer
that pet that they knew,
that the one beautiful thing
we can do is do the right thing
and let them go out
the right way.
[man]
Hey, Danny,
come on in here.
Hey, Brad.
I still remember
the goose-egg bladder stone
we pulled out of him.
-Yes.
I hate this.
[Danny]
No more pain for you.
[Brad] Yeah, I hate it.
[Danny] He sure has been sweet.
Yeah, that's--
oh, I know.
He's one of the ones
I'll never forget.
[Danny]
It's okay.
[sniffling]
[sniffling]
You're our lucky guy, boy.
Yeah. Okay.
Thanks, Brad.
Yeah. Sorry, man.
[choking up]
Okay.
-Thank you.
-Yeah, sorry, man.
[Danny]
He was a trooper.
[sniffling]
Okay, I gotta pick up
two dogs...
[both chuckling]
...that got
dropped off here, so...
Didn't find her.
You all right?
We'll start here.
Never forget the day...
[chuckles]
...we picked him up.
[Danny]
How many are there?
[Ron]
Mm, probably about
40 to 50.
Oh, that's adorable.
Well, let's keep scrolling.
There's a lot of 'em.
-Oh, that's--
-What about that one?
Oh, my God, she has...
[Ron] Lhasa Apso Shih Tzu.
-[Danny] And he's got that
horrible, wonderful
underbite.
-[Ron] Funny underbite.
Does it say
anything else?
Just says "Critical,
11 years old."
[Ron]
Is that something
you're probably
gonna get adopted out, or no?
[woman]
No, get as many out as possible.
Like, we are so...
I mean, 'cause those
are plain black,
so they're probably
not gonna get adopted.
She has a tumor on her side
that's pretty...
it's pretty big.
Okay.
All right, Cornbread.
Off to the vets we go.
[Ron]
I'm hoping and praying
that we can get
a lot of young people to start
learning the ropes of rescue,
so that when Danny and I
are not on this earth,
dogs' lives will continue
to be saved.
Usually, these type of dogs,
the only way you're gonna
catch them is a trap.
We'll just hang out
and hopefully...
-[woman] Okay.
...we might get lucky.
There's the meal.
Okay.
There was something
about the look in her eye
that made me feel like
she's really lost here.
Hey, baby.
- She was owner-surrendered
because her owner is going
through chemo,
and is not expected to make it
much longer.
- Okay, there you go,
sweetie.
You need a bath.
I can smell you.
Oh, watch so he doesn't
go out the window.
Uh-uh, don't go
out that window, uh-oh.
[Danny]
We've done some talking
about retirement,
but what would I do if I didn't
have horses or dogs?
You know, so what would
my life be then?
It wouldn't be my life.
So, there's not really
a choice in that.
[Ron]
I'm gonna give you my name
and my cell number.
If you have
any issues medically,
or have any questions,
just call us.
Or if you need help with food,
or whatever you need,
we will be happy
to assist you for his life.
This is Heather.
Hey, Heather,
this is Ron Danta.
[Heather] Hey, how are you?
I'm good, how are you?
[Ron]
Money's so tight right now
that I had to go take
a loan out for the rescue,
so that we can hopefully
make it until December.
[Heather]
The only thing, since the loan
is for over $50,000, we would
have to have an appraisal done.
That's going to
cost around $400.
Okay, why don't we do it at 50,
and then if I wind up
needing more money,
then I can probably do
the appraisal and up it...
'cause I hate spending
the 400-something
if I don't have to.
[Heather]
Right, okay. So, do it at 50?
Yes.
[Ron]
If we won the lottery today,
I would buy a massive bus
and hire two or three vets
full time,
travel from state to state,
and do free spay and neuter
throughout the United States.
Going home, huh?
There would be veterinarians
on the road
in that mobile unit,
and they wouldn't stop.
[chuckles]
Be a good dog.
Sit! Stay.
[dog whimpering, barking]
[Danny]
I don't care if there's
a legacy
in my name given
to this world of rescue.
I just want someone to care
as much as us.
And then maybe the load
could begin to feel lighter
and we'd all feel like
we're getting somewhere in this.
[Ron]
To think that 10,000 dogs
probably would have died,
and those 10,000 dogs
now have great,
loving homes...
that is so gratifying.
The funny thing with rescue,
is you save
the dogs' lives,
but we truly believe
the dogs save our lives.
I love my dog
as much as I love you
But you may fade, my dog
will always come through
All he asks from me is
the food to give him strength
All he ever needs is love
and that he knows he'll get
So I love my dog
as much as I love you
But you may fade, my dog
will always come through
All the pay I need comes
a-shinin' through his eyes
I don't need no cold water
to make me realize
That I love my dog
as much as I love you
But you may fade, my dog
will always come through
Na-na-na, na, na, na, na-na
Na-na-na, na, na, na, na-na
I love my dog
as much as I love you
But you may fade, my dog
will always come through
Na-na-na, na, na, na, na-na
Na-na-na, na, na, na, na-na
I love my dog,
baby, I love my dog
Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na
Na-na-na, na, na, na, na-na
I said, I love my dog,
baby, I love my dog
Baby, I love my dog
Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na
Na-na-na, na, na, na, na-na
I said, I love my dog