Tracy Whyatt is an animal lover.
One day, while in between work, Tracy decided to visit a few animal shelters. While there, the woman began videotaping the shelter dogs who had been deemed unlikely to be adopted, later posting the videos to YouTube.
Tracy’s videos soon gained popularity, and as the number of views increased, so did the requests to adopt the abandoned dogs— animals who would have otherwise been euthanized.
What began as a personal mission ultimately acted as the inspiration for Tracy’s organization, Tracy’s Dogs, a not-for-profit rescue and rehabilitation center.
Since creating Tracy’s Dogs, Tracy and Scott have saved over 3,700 animals. Tracy’s Dogs works in partnership with PetSmart, who allow them to use PetSmart parking lots in order to set up meetings between the dogs and their prospective owners.
Every single month, Tracy and Scott fill out applications, match potential owners with rescues, and prepare the dogs for adoption. Liz Grabarits, Operations Director of Tracy’s Dogs, details the process in the video below:
“We take dogs that are right now housed in high-kill shelters outside of San Antonio, Texas, near the border. And we pull them, and we take them to our facility in San Antonio, and we rehabilitate them, get them healthy, get them ready to be adopted. Then we get them all pre-adopted and then we transport them.”
Scott transports the dogs using a 32-foot trailer, driving them to the designated PetSmart parking lots to meet their new families.
The duo has traversed numerous states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohia, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and Florida— all to connect these dogs with a new lease on life.
According to the No Kill Advocacy Center, 2.6 million dogs and cats are killed in U.S. shelters every year— and only 1% of these animals can be considered to be “irremediably suffering”.
Liz Grabarits tells HooplaHa, “Rescuing any animal is so important. You know, no dog, or cat, or any animal really deserves to be mistreated or on the streets.
Tracy’s Dogs’ Facebook page displays tons of photos showcasing happy new pet owners with their rescue pups.
Dawn Matheny, pictured above, comments, “We are the new parents of Winnie! We are so appreciative of everyone at Tracy’s dogs!!!! Their organization is amazing!!!!! We are in lice [sic] with Winnie!”
Bethany Marie writes: “He is perfect! He has been very calm and loves being hugged. This precious boy will be spoiled. Thank you TracysDogs!!
It is amazing what a bit of passion and determination can do!
Check out the heartwarming video below to see a few of Tracy’s dogs meeting their forever families for the very first time.
