Founded in 2017, Street Dog Hero (SDH) is a Bend-based nonprofit with a core mission to connect rescued street dogs with medical care and permanent, loving homes. The founder, Marianne Cox, was inspired to start SDH just out of sheer compassion.
“I visited Mexico for the first time 20+ years ago after college and saw my first street dog. I’d never seen dogs begging for food or running down busy roads or without shelter or a family. I lost sleep that trip as I just thought about all those dogs,” Cox said. “Fast forward to 2017 and after more trips out of the country and seeing more than enough street dogs, I decided to start Street Dog Hero and finally save one or maybe a few. I had no idea what I was doing or what the plan was.”
The SDH mission is to save as many street dogs as possible by putting them in good homes, and to prevent the birth of puppies in areas where they would not be taken care of. With this mission, SDH operates on two main levels: action, and education.
On the action end of things, SDH employees and volunteers are constantly working to track down more street dogs, domestically and abroad. According to Kelli Delperdang, the marketing and communications manager at SDH, “we have a mission to help end animal overpopulation by supporting spaying and neutering practices. We promote spaying and neutering clinics internationally, and focus heavily on education in our communities. We want our dogs to be healthy, safe and cared for.”
SDH will literally transport street dogs from all over the world, bringing them here to Central Oregon and some other communities that have joined their cause. To this day, SDH has rescued over 3,000 dogs who would have otherwise lived the rest of their lives in uncertainty, fear and danger, as stray dogs.
On the side of education, SDH provides resources for general dog care, veterinary care, safely traveling with your dog, how to safely introduce the dog to a new home, weather safety and info on rehoming your dog. Aside from those points, SDH makes it a key point to support and educate the community when it comes to spaying and neutering. Logically, this is the most effective way to alleviate the stress currently being put on the already overflowing shelter system. These educational missions are supported domestically, but some, like the spaying and neutering clinics, go abroad.
Without the overwhelming support from volunteers and the community as a whole, the SDH mission could not have been achieved, “We wouldn’t be able to do anything without our volunteers and foster homes,” Delperdang said. “They are the reason we can do what we do. Dog people are very passionate!”
On the same note about community support, Cox said, “This mission can’t be done alone and I’m forever thankful and grateful to everyone who supports in whatever way they can. We can’t rescue any dogs without foster homes. We can’t do what we do without volunteers. Volunteers and fosters make SDH what it is today and we would not be able to function without them.”
From foster homes and community support to the successful fundraisers, it really takes a village to save even a single dog. Cox said that there is no better feeling than when a family approaches her at random and shows her pictures of the dog that she reduced, and the family adopted. “SDH is not only making the dogs’ lives better, we are making the family’s lives better too,” she said.
While growth has been rapid, Cox is still looking to the future. While she said that she never quite expected for SDH to be where it is today, she is incredibly grateful for the wild ride it has been. In terms of growth, Cox said that she would like to, “focus more on education, vaccines and sterilization in communities where they have no help or need more help,” adding that sadly, there are too many areas that need help.
Delperdang added to the discussion of the future, saying that SDH might have some bigger international goals, “An ambitious long term goal would be to expand as an international organization; both the need and the support are there,” she said. “While we will always serve Central Oregon, the future of SDH might be less focused here as we expand to help as many dogs and communities as possible.”
For Cox, the only future goal that seems important is to keep helping dogs wherever possible. “The end goal is no more dogs needing to be rescued. No more sad stories, she said. “How we are gonna make that happen is a long and difficult road, but you’ve got to start somewhere and we’ve already started, so we may as well continue.”
