THIS WEEK AT VRC

Greetings Villalobos Village!

Next week, we’re heading to prison! That’s right, we are heading up to our prison dog program to take a new group of dogs to meet their new inmate handlers. Our Underdogs Prison Dogs Program has been very successful in helping our dogs get training and then new homes of their own.

But the trip is long, and with donations at an all-time low, we are trying to raise the funds for gas. When you purchase a Lucky Inmate shirt right here for just $10 you will help us get these dogs to Pennsylvania and one step closer to a new home.

If you’re not interested in a shirt, you can also check out all of our other merch at the Official VRC Store, or make a donation directly to Villalobos by clicking here.

If shopping is your thing, and you’d prefer to send us supplies instead of money, we have an Amazon Wish List as well and would love any support through the gifts of food, beds, toys, towels, bones, vitamins…it’s all in there!

Thank you for your all of your support!

Enough about our needs, we’ve got another amazing issue of Straight Outta Swmpton for you to keep you up to date with all things VRC. Keep scrolling 👇️ to see updates from our Texas and West Virginia locations this week. Together, we'll keep wagging those tails and changing lives.

Slobbers and Drools,

Tia Torres

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THE ADOPTABLES

Meet 1-year-old Lainey. She is a Dutch Shepherd and is extremely sweet and sensitive. She would love a quiet home where she can be with her person. She is a quiet girl who loves belly rubs and giving kisses. If you’re looking for a best friend who won’t leave your side, Lainey is the one for you. Scoop her up before someone else does!

Meet 4.5-year-old Monarch! Our one eyed beauty! He is the best car riding buddy and loves to go get a pup cup from Starbucks. Monarch is a favorite among our volunteers and staff. He enjoys laying in the office on the couch snuggling blankets and playing with squeak toys.

To learn more about Lainey, Monarch and all of the adoptable dogs at Villalobos, click below.

After you play MUTT, let us know in the comments how many guesses it took you to guess today’s MUTT and let’s see if you can beat Tia!

If you want your dog featured on MUTT, send a photo of your dog and its DNA test results to [email protected] 

Have fun playing the game, share it with everyone you know and let’s help get dogs across America adopted!

VRC SPONSOR PROGRAM

NYMERIA NEEDS A SPONSOR

Nymeria and her sister are both purebred Huskies. They are perfect examples of how the environment and one’s surroundings can make for a dog’s behavior. Nymeria and her sister are both purebred Huskies. Yet both were raised around a pack of wolf-dog mixes. Wolves tend to be shy and untrusting of humans (do we blame them?) When we first rescued them, they would hide and stay huddled together with their pack and did not want to come near us.

Huskies, on the other hand, are extremely people friendly and outgoing dogs.  Both sisters picked up on the behavior of the wolf-dogs and are shy and will not approach people they are not familiar with. We hope that someday they will realize that not all humans are bad 🙁

CUTIE PIE NEEDS A SPONSOR

You would never know by looking at her smile, but Cutie Pie came out of one of the worst natural disasters to hit the state of Louisiana. Dubbed the “Great Flood of 2016,” many lost their lives, homes, and were displaced forever. Animals were left confused as to what was happening to them and Cutie Pie’s situation was one of them.

We got the call that a group of Pit Bulls had been abandoned in their kennels on a remote property and as the waters rose, the dogs were caught up against the tops of their kennels, unable to swim out. Some of the dogs did not make it out alive while some were able to push the fencing away to escape.

Cutie Pie was one of those. After receiving much medical care, she blossomed into a happy go lucky dog, but…..she does have one serious behavioral issue that warranted our decision to not adopt her out. So she will remain with us for the rest of her life and as you can see by the grin on her face…she’s pretty friggen happy!

Want to adopt a dog, but for one reason or another, you’re unable? Rather than a typical adoption, we also offer virtual adoptions through our Sponsor Program. You can sponsor Nymeria, Cutie Pie or any of our amazing dogs in this program.

VRC dog sponsors get access to a private Facebook group moderated by Tia.

Rabid Reality is our streaming network we built for our loyal (rabid 😉) fans who miss Pit Bulls & Parolees AND all pet lovers. Your subscription directly supports the dogs and cats of Villalobos Rescue Center.

WHEN YOU JOIN, THEY EAT

Spring is in the air, and that means Season 2 of Big Easy Boyz is coming soon! If you haven’t caught the adventures of some of our favorite ex-parolees, Earl and Toney, you have to watch Season 1! Click here to watch Season 1 of Big Easy Boyz, exclusively on Rabid Reality!

Have you heard we now have a Rabid Reality app on Roku, firetv and AppleTV? This means you're now able to watch your Villalobos family on your TV again!

Remember, whether you sign up for $3/mo or $25/mo, all the money from your subscription goes directly to supporting the dogs and cats at Villalobos Rescue Center.

The easiest way to access the TV apps is to sign up and pick a tier at rabidreality.com from your phone or computer. Once you've signed up and picked a tier, search RABID REALITY in the app store on your device (Roku, firetv or AppleTV), download the app and login to Rabid Reality.

To sign up or to check it out, click below or go to RabidReality.com 

TEXAS SANCTUARY

From Texas Manager Amy: With the weather getting warmer in Texas, the wolf-dogs are keeping us busier and busier.  Shewolf has earned the honor of being our test dog because she is a gem with every dog she meets and is in the process of helping Muracco socialize to make him more adoptable.

And, Koda recently had a big day out and went to Tractor Supply to test his reactions to people out in public. He passed with flying colors and even enjoyed calmly watching the little chicks chirp while keeping all his manners. I couldn’t be more proud of him..

To get more regular updates from Amy, feel free to follow the Villalobos Texas Facebook page.

WEST VIRGINIA WAYSTATION

From Prison Dog Program Manager Dani: Sometime in the next few days my main Villalobos squeeze Mr. Wiggles should be leaving the West Virginia kennels to come to stay at the house with myself and my family. He will be living in a kennel space alongside our other foster Dracarys (both available for adoption). We have cats and, well, Mr. Wiggles and our feline family just don't see eye to eye. I fell in love with this guy from the moment I saw him out at the Galvez location in New Orleans, and I could not be happier. I'm going to be spoiling him rotten until he finds his furever home!!

There's BIG news for our prison program! We will be having new arrivals this week. The lucky new trainees will be Chuckie, a 9-year-old tree walker hound; Yelena and Olaf, 9 to 10 month old beagle mixes; and Crop Top, a beautiful 4-month-old pit/ lab mix. They will all be learning house manners, leash manners, and basic obedience...and maybe even a few bonus commands.

Chuckie is a lucky guy. He has gained a virtual adopter, and they are sending him to prison with a brand new bed, so he will be arriving in comfort and style. If you are interested in becoming a virtual adopter for one of the VRC rescue dogs OR cats, or if you would like more information on the program, click here.

Chuckie, Yelena, Olaf and Crop Top will be available for adoption so keep your eyes open for pawgress reports in an upcoming newsletter!

I can't end this without sharing one more bit of good news. A Captain at the prison has stepped up to help take on Avery, a stunning retired drug detection dog, so Avery will be making the trip with M2 and our prison bound dogs. I have a feeling that good things are in store for Avery. Happy tails Avery!

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