BOISE, Idaho (CBS2 News) — Boise consistently ranks as one of the country’s most dog-friendly cities. Texas, on the other hand, has a large overcrowding problem. Shelters across the Lone Star State euthanized more than 82,000 thousand cats and dogs in 2023 alone, according to an article by The Texas Tribune that details the severity of this problem.
When Katie White and Jenny Carlisle found out how badly dogs in Texas need help, they knew Idahoans were the ones to answer the call. They started the nonprofit Freedom Bound Hounds to rescue dogs from high-kill shelters in Texas and give them a second chance here in Idaho.
“Texas has the highest euthanasia rate in the country,” said co-founder and director of Freedom Bound Hounds, Katie White. “The dogs we take are wonderful, highly adoptable dogs that would be adopted in a second here, and oftentimes are, whereas, in Texas, there’s 100 more just like them, so they just never get a chance to even see a family.”
Freedom Bound Hounds cannot commit to rescuing and transporting dogs in need without the help of our community. They rely on Idahoans to foster dogs like Dorthy, an eight-year-old rescue from the streets of Texas, while they work on finding forever homes.
“It’s going to be hard to part with her,” said Dorthy’s foster mom, Sharon Macner. “If I didn’t already have four animals that I care for, she would be the one I would keep for sure.”
If you are interested in fostering a dog through Freedom Bound Hounds, click here to fill out an application.
I think it’s our job as humans to try to make the world a better place,” said White. “Dogs should be homed based on their personality, not their geographic location.
Freedom Bound Hounds was born from a social media post that inspired both Katie White and Jenny Carlisle to act.
“Jenny and I met while we saved a dog on a Facebook post who was from South Texas, and so we went down and got her and came back,” said White. “Unfortunately she had cancer and only lived a few weeks, but during that time the whole community rallied around us and gave her lots of donations and gifts and food, and she got to know what it was like to have a wonderful life.”
“We were really sad because she passed away and we thought, ‘Let’s honor her. Let’s go to her shelter, they’re overcrowded. Let’s take 32 of her friends and bring them back.’ I mean, we didn’t know how many we could fit,” said co-founder and director of Freedom Bound Hounds, Jenny Carlisle.
That experience encouraged White and Carlisle to file the formal paperwork to become a 501(c)(3). So far, they say they’ve rescued about 1,100 dogs.
Freedom Bound Hounds couldn’t help these dogs without Idahoans offering to open up their homes. They say they appreciate how our community has stepped up to help out-of-state dogs trapped in places that won’t give them a chance.
“We do such a good job in this community with our dogs. I mean, such great owners. Our shelters are so wonderful,” said Carlisle. “So here in Boise, say there’s a stray dog running, everyone stops to pick up the dog. In Texas, that’s just part of how it is there.”
“Dogs are at the mercy of us and if you don’t have people to advocate for them, then no one will,” said White.
6.5 million animals entered shelters last year, and over 900,000 of those were euthanized,” said White. “With saving 250 dogs a year, we’re a small part, but we’re working with other rescues to try to save as many dogs as we can.
In order to help spread the word of Freedom Bound Hounds, Art Source Gallery is hosting a pop-up. The artists being showcased are local elementary students hoping to help raise money. If you’d like to donate to Freedom Bound Hounds, click here.
“We taught an art lesson to teach the kids how to paint dogs for the donors. Those are hanging up at the gallery all month, so the donors, the public and the kids can come and see,” said Art Source Gallery member and local artist, Becka Schrinsky. “The whole show was curated to fundraise for Freedom Bound Hounds, so the sales of this art is a donation for them.”
Art to the Rescue for Freedom Bound Hounds is open until the end of February at 1516 W Grove Street in Boise. The public is invited Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm.
Click here to see the list of adoptable dogs from Freedom Bound Hounds.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
