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THERESA BLACKWELLIf it weren't for the organization Kim Vogel founded, Sgt. Friday, who has heartworms, might not have been rescued.
LARGO - The milk chocolate-colored pointer mix with the white spots on his chest was sweet and friendly, but he couldn't quite catch a break.
Picked up as a stray a month ago, he was left in a drop box at Pinellas County Animal Services in Largo. Animal Services officials found his microchip, but his former owners didn't want him. And prospective adopters lost interest when the dog tested positive for heartworms.
Medical problems like treatable heartworms can be fatal flaws for pets seeking adoption.
Greg Andrews, the operations manager at the county shelter, said veterinarians there examine pets for health and temperament before making them available for adoption. The pointer had failed the health test.
"We try everything possible before euthanasia," he said.
That's where animal rescue groups like Saving Animals From Endangerment Society of Florida can make the difference.
SAFE places promising pets with special needs or nearing euthanasia in foster homes, treats their medical conditions, works on socializing them and finds good homes. The all-volunteer nonprofit group rescues pets of any breed or mix and has a 100 per cent placement rate - 401 pets so far.
SAFE has 23 foster homes and 42 volunteers, but Vogel said she needs more. And donations, like sponsoring a pet for $35 a month, help to pay the veterinary bills.
The playful pointer found his ace when Animal Services officials called Kim Vogel, the founder of SAFE, to tell her about the dog, which she calls Sgt. Friday.
"We're working with Animal Services to ensure every adoptable pet finds a home," she said.
"We have taken every dog that they've called us on."
Vogel, 36, lives in Palm Harbor with her husband, Ken Vogel, and children Dana, Olivia, Nicole and Thomas, as well as two bassets and a chihuahua.
Two years ago, Vogel was searching the Internet for a dog when she noticed how many pets needed homes and then saw a cartoon.
In the drawing, a rescuer was looking at a long line of pets about to be euthanized and she had to pick the ones she would save. She was in tears as she tried to choose and thought, "God, why can't you help?" And he said, "I have - I created you!"
"And that hit me, so here I am," she said as she finished the paperwork on Sgt. Friday at Animal Services last week. Sgt. Friday wagged his tail and strained at his leash to give everyone in the lobby a lick or two.
Vogel said the dog starts heartworm treatment this week with a good prognosis and is settling into his foster home with the Vogels.
"He's wonderful," she said. "It's hard to believe someone isn't looking for him."
To learn moreSAFE will be at the Palm Harbor Library from 6 to 8 p.m. today and at the opening of the John Chesnut Sr. paw playground at 9 a.m. Saturday. Call 781-9004 or visit http://www.safesocietyofflorida.com or www.safesocietyofflorida.petfinder.org.