Boarding Rescue Dogs to Save Their Lives

Driving into the boarding kennel where Diamonds In The Ruff – South GA keeps most of its dogs, it reminded me of a war zone. A hurricane this past November had destroyed the pine forest covering the expansive property. The job of cleaning it up and replanting could take years.

Nancy is the director of Diamonds in the Ruff. Her husband built and she formerly owned the boarding kennel where she keeps the majority of her dogs. With not enough foster homes, this is the best option.

Nancy and her small team of volunteers, who make up Diamonds in the Ruff, save dogs and puppies from Georgia, moving them out through rescues all over the country. DITR will only take in dogs they can move, which means no pit bulls or hard-to-place animals. They move 500-700 animals to safety each year.

Dogs find their way to DITR as owner-surrenders, strays, and animals pulled from euthanasia lists at municipal facilities. This seems to be a theme here in Georgia, where municipal shelters can vary drastically from no facilities or dog pounds to multi-million dollar shelters, county by county.

Nancy walked us through to meet some of the dogs which included a terrified mama dog with puppies (she’s still assessing whether mama is ferociously protecting her puppies and/or terrified or if she is not people-friendly).

A shy, small fluffy dog is a new resident, but some of the larger lab or hound-like dogs have been there months, one close to a year. Even at a reduced rate, those bills add up, so finding funding is the rescue’s biggest challenge.

One of the dogs, an adorable, sweet white dog whose tail had been oddly docked, was supposed to stay with DITR for 30 days while its owner served a prison sentence, but once released he took off for Florida and abandoned his dog, so she’s one more dog that DITR will have to find rescue for.

Nancy still lives on the property (her husband has the task of removing all the trees that were finally uprooted recently) and walks the dogs, treats them, and ferries them back and forth to the vet.

When a new dog comes in, before it can be placed in the boarding kennel, it must be fully vetted so they are taken to the vet’s office for treatment and remain there until ready to be moved in.

Nancy rarely goes to the nearby municipal shelter because ‘it’s hard to see the dogs when I can’t help,” but she did recently pull a parvo puppy from the shelter and was able to save her life.

They are blessed to have a great vet, Four Rivers Veterinary Center who prioritize their animals and care for them at a reduced rate.

DITR also has four dogs who participate in a prison program at the Emmanuel Women’s Facility. Nancy keeps those slots filled because the dogs who return after their time at the facility are easier to move and rescues praise the work of the program.

Non-profit rescues and shelters, like Diamonds in the Ruff and Lucky Dog Rescue Ranch (who we also visited while in Georgia), and Dublin-Laurens Humane Society, are the reason more dogs aren’t dying in Georgia. They step into the gap left by municipalities who cannot or will not offer humane sheltering options.

A point I made in our recent book (Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues) is that it seems an odd system that nonprofit rescues are created to save dogs from the municipal shelters that were built by tax dollars. Georgia’s taxpayers may not be paying to save the dogs via a traditional shelter, but they are still paying via their donated dollars, time, and hearts to save them.

And thank goodness they do. We met many beautiful animals and incredible people in Georgia, but we need a better system. The animals, and the people, deserve better.

DITR’s tagline is “Just a small rescue making a difference one dog at a time.” Once again, we’re amazed at how a small group of committed, dog-hearted individuals can save so many lives.

If you’d like to support the work of Nancy and her team at Diamonds in the Ruff, consider shopping their Amazon gift registry.

Or donating to help them with their boarding and vet bills:

Venmo: @DITR-SOUTHGA (listed as Linda Gillis with the same rescue icon)

Cash App: $NM2168

Paypal: diamondsintheruffsouthga@gmail.com (Susan Barnes)

Until each one has a home,

Cara

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Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues was published in January of 2025. It is filled with stories and ideas to help everyone be part of the solution. You can buy a hardback or paperback copy for yourself and/or buy a copy for a shelter or rescue through our website. It is also available on Amazon in paperback and ebook. We are seeking opportunities to present the ideas from the book and facilitate discussions on how we can collaborate to find solutions for our shelters. If you have a dog-hearted group that would like to connect, contact Cara@wwldo.org.

To see our Emmy-nominated, award-winning short documentary, Amber’s Halfway Home, click here.

Did you know we have a podcast? I’m working at getting regular episodes up, including the audio version of the new book, and interviews with shelter heroes we meet. Find the podcast on Spotify and other podcast services.

For more information on any of our projects, to talk about rescue in your neck of the woods, or partner with us, please email cara@WWLDO.org.

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