The Widder Curry: ‘A Future Without a Pet Is Sad, So Help Out Those Who Rescue Dogs’

Wendy Simon with the Widder Curry’s dogs.

By Judi Curry

I have had dogs for as long as I can remember.  Usually they have been Golden Retrievers, but in the past few years I have had other breeds.

After my last Golden passed away, I was so devastated that I wanted to have a dog right away and I contacted a rescue that had a Husky/Australian Shepherd mix available. She had just been rescued from a “kill center” in San Bernardino.  Rescued after just giving birth to 9 puppies and weighing in at 27 pounds!  She was being fostered at a home in the ranch lands of San Diego along with her 9 puppies.  It was the day that she was going to be euthanized at the dog pound.

I told the rescuer  that I was interested in the dog, and when she brought her over to the house I decided I wanted her.  The loneliness of losing Shadow was so intense.  But only a few days after I took Precious, I received a phone call that someone on Next Door was advertising a Golden Retriever and they thought I would be interested.  Was I!  I called and to make a long story short, I adopted Rex, an 8 year old Golden/Irish Setter mix.  He was enough Golden for me to be happy, and it appeared that he and Precious would bet along well.

And then the unforeseen happened! I had a trailer in the back of my house that I had rented out to a tenant and he had a dog.  Because the trailer was in a gated area, I did not think there would be any problem with the two dogs and his dog – a German Shepherd named Charlie.  And there wasn’t – until he moved out in the middle of the night and left Charlie!  Oh my.  Now there were three dogs! Three big dogs!

And then I remembered how I contacted Wendy Simon when I was looking for a Golden Retriever.  Wendy is a well known, honest dog rescuer in San Diego.  I have watched her over the years place dogs that I thought were not “placeable.”

In talking to her recently, I found out that her preference is those dogs that are hard to place, because when she finds the right adopter, it is a perfect match.  She talks about those that are blind; or blind in one eye; or missing a tail; or a limb, etc. and the wonderful success she has in placing those dogs.

Wendy is an interesting person.  She is a native of San Diego, and, in fact, graduated from Grossmont High School.  In 2000 she became a paraplegic and did not walk for 3 years.  She lived in a wheel chair during those times and could not do much sitting in a chair all the time.  It dawned on her that she could foster dogs, and after a few phone calls, ended up fostering nine dogs at one time!

And as she regained her walking ability she teamed up with another dog rescuer and did home checks, transporting both to a new “parent” and away from the pound; and did funding to provide food, medicine, bedding, etc. for the rescued animals.  She was a survivor, and she wanted to make sure that the animals that she was helping all were success stories.

It is really expensive to rescue an animal, as well I know.  Most of the dogs that come into a home that have been rescued have been spayed; have had all their shots; have had multiple doctor visits, etc.  And that is very costly.  Some animal clinics gather monies just for those purposes, like the one in San Bernardino called “Save the Animal at the San Bernardino Shelter.”

One of the things that Wendy did this week was to drive to San Bernardino to pick up a dog that was going to be euthanized if she didn’t make the trip.  She puts a lot of miles on her 2007 automobile! But wouldn’t stop doing it for anything.

Her business, which is a  501©3 in case you are interested, is called “Find My Dog A Home.”  Besides her rescuing dogs from the various clinics in the area, people also call her, like I did, to find out if she has the kind of dog they are looking for, or they have one they have to rehome.  I found it interesting that many of Wendy’s animals come from Mexico, and it is not an easy task to adopt these dogs.  (My Golden, Shadow, came from Baja, but he fell off a boat and swam to shore and was rescued by a legitimate rescue group.)

The dogs from Mexico that Wendy rescues are usually larger dogs that have been abused, hurt, starved, and set free to fend for themselves.  She makes sure they are taken to a vet in Mexico, tested for all the necessary diseases they might have; broken bones; etc. and through the funding she gets from donors (plus her own monies) makes sure they are well before bringing them into the United States, where, by the way, they have to be medically tested again!  And she is billed again!

It seems that there are a great many dogs with no parents these days.  Many people adopted pets during the COVID epidemic because they were working at home and wanted the company. But, unfortunately, those people are back at work and do not feel that they can take care of their pets, and they are returning them to the Humane Societies, or… just letting them wander off by themselves.

Usually I would not print where you could donate to help these poor animals but as I walk Dog Beach, or Sunset Cliffs and see so many just wandering around I will do what I can to help relocate them.

You can reach Wendy at 1804 Garnet Ave, #244, San Diego, 92109, or “Venmo @find-my-dog-a-home or even at Pay Pal Donate @ findmydogahome.org .  She is always looking for fosters to help with the number of dogs she is rescuing, and volunteers that can walk the dogs, or even just play with them is so appreciated.  Do you want to talk to her?  Call her at 619-775-8892.

We are, in my opinion, living at a sad time in our society. Many of us cannot afford the pets that we love so dearly and have to give them up.  Many people are losing their residences because rents are being raised; houses are being ruined by flooding.  I find it scary as I look at my 20 grand kids and hope for a bright future for them.

And, a future without a pet is sad because they love given by the pet is total and all encompassing.  I can only hope that people like Wendy Simon, that care about the psyche of others, continue their quest for happiness for both the human and animal beings.