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 SC and NC, as well as case-by-case owner
surrenders. To date, we have placed over 150 adoptable Labs into
loving, responsible forever homes. Although there are other
rescue organizations in our area, we believe our rescue is
unique in the amount of care and training we provide to our Labs
and adopters. Our founder was heavily involved with
obedience/gun dog training,
AKC hunt test and field
trial training/ trialing and judging, as well as a very
responsible breeding program prior to recognizing the need for
Lab rescue and less breeding. Because of this experience,
WHLR
is able to use this knowledge of Labrador behavior and training,
and incorporate them into this organization.
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'scharacter.
