This is my pupdate on Street Dog Hero which celebrated our 5 year anniversary 9 days ago. My name is Marianne and I’m the founder of SDH. Five years ago, I took a leap of faith. For as long as I could remember, I wanted to save a street dog. I asked LOTS of people for advice on how to do so and most said “Don’t do it.”, offered a sarcastic “good luck”, or didn’t respond at all. Those who did are the reason why SDH is here today. If they are reading this, they know who they are. In 2017, my family traveled to Sayulita, Mexico, for spring break. For my husband and kids, it was a vacation but not for me. I met Sara with Sayulitanimals, and with her help, I rescued our dog #1. On 4/1/2017, Street Dog Hero was born. Dog #1 was scary. I had never flown with a dog before, let alone a street dog. I also had no place for this dog to go so BEGGED my friends following my “new” SDH FB page if they would foster this unknown dog, and luckily, someone did. Then, the dog found an adopter. The next 5 years are a blur for me. Today, we are at dog #1,943! SDH has rescued dogs from unsafe, dangerous, and inhumane conditions on 4 of 7 continents. We will never stray from that mission. We are also more committed than ever to curb overpopulation at the source, both internationally and here in Oregon. We are grateful for our partnerships who we collaborate with daily to deliver much needed services and direct care in the communities who need it most. In some ways, finding dogs to rescue and flying them to safety is the easy part. Our international rescue partners make our on the ground logistics in other countries possible to begin with. Our fosters and adopters provide pups with safe places to land where they can learn often for the first time what safety and a warm bed feels like. Our incredibly vast social network amplifies SDH’s reach by sharing our stories farther than I ever imagined. As a nonprofit with a staff of 8, none of our work would be possible without the volunteers and the donors who give so generously their time and resources. SDH will continue to say yes to those who need our help until we live in a world where ALL dogs are healthy, safe, cared for and wanted. To all who have helped me since day one or joined since then, thank you for being a part of this journey. Cheers to the next 5 years!
Marianne Cox, Founder
