Why lab rescue exists

For the past 16 years, Labrador Retrievers have been the most popular breed of dog in America. Because of this fact, there is an ever increasing (and astonishing) number of homeless and abandoned Labrador Retrievers across the country. For instance, in 2006, the American Kennel Club recorded 123,760 Labrador puppies registered. This figure does not represent the registration stats of other breed registries, such as UKC, CKC and about a dozen other lesser known pet registries, many of which are accompanied with Internet puppy purchases, not to mention "full-blooded" Lab puppies for sale with "no papers", such as those found in newspaper ads, flea markets, and pet stores. With a conservative estimate of 250,000 Lab puppies born each year, our job can seem overwhelming....

Labrador Retrievers are loving, loyal dogs who make wonderful family pets. They can also be emotionally and physically "high maintenance" pets, just like many other dog breeds. Many people purchase Labs not realizing their training needs, as well as their daily need for exercise and human interaction. These are the Labs that may eventually be abandoned at local shelters or surrendered to rescue organizations.

In 2005, Wild Heir Labrador Rescue was (officially) created to fill a need for a purebred Labrador Retriever rescue organization in northern coastal South Carolina. We accept Labs from shelters in South and North Carolina, as well as case-by-case owner surrenders. To date, we have placed nearly 300 adoptable Labs into loving, responsible forever homes.

As an organization, we strongly believe that matching our Labs with the perfect owners is of utmost importance, so we take the extra time to thoroughly evaluate both our Labs and potential adopters. We evaluate our Labs both physically and emotionally so that we can provide to potential adopters information, both good and bad, concerning the Lab's character.