Ellie’s Legacy Animal Foundation, Portland Maine
Ellie’s Legacy Animal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, volunteer-run, foster- based dog rescue organization based out of Southern Maine. Our ability to help dogs and to continue as an organization relies totally on the generosity of public donations. We are passionate about pet adoption and place our rescued animals in responsible, loving, forever adoptive homes.
Our area of focus for helping dogs in need is currently Texas. Yes, there are dogs in need of rescue everywhere, but we are drawn to helping Texas dogs due to the sheer numbers of homeless, abused, and neglected animals located in this state. We have been able to build a wonderful network of local Texas rescuers, fosters, veterinarians, and transporters to aid in our rescue. Our dogs are mostly stray animals found by Texas locals, dogs from Texas shelters, and some owner surrenders. We quarantine our dogs a minimum of 30 days in a Texas foster home and give appropriate veterinary care before they are transported to their Maine adoptive homes. We comply with all the health requirements mandated by the State of Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry.
Where it all began.
I started rescuing and adopting dogs from the New York City animal shelter system in 2012 (NYCACC). In 2013, I adopted Ellie, after seeing her posted on a Facebook page dedicated to saving dogs on the NYCACC euthanasia list. Ellie had been found as a stray dog hanging around a supermarket in Queens, NYC. She was brought to the shelter, where she quickly became a staff favorite and a ‘helper’ dog: a dog with exceptional temperament used to help behavior test new dogs coming into the shelter. Unbelievably, she sat in the shelter for quite a while with no adoption interest, until she developed kennel cough and was added to the euthanasia list. Ellie’s adoption profile was shared several thousand times on Facebook with no adoption interest, until, at the very last moment, another local Maine rescue ended up helping me navigate the logistics of adopting her from the distant NYC shelter.
Of course, Ellie’s breed as a pitbull-type dog sadly worked against her. Breed specific housing legislation (often targeting bully-type dogs, among multiple other breeds) is common in NYC, and the shelters are full of these unwanted dogs. Ellie went on to become the favorite dog of anyone who visited my home (a lap never went empty when Ellie was around) and she had a way of making everyone feel special. She aced her AKC Canine Good Citizenship Test and was an outstanding breed ambassador for the pitbull-type dog in every way. Countless people who met Ellie had their previous conceptions about what these dogs could be forever altered.
In late Fall of 2019, Ellie was diagnosed with an incredibly aggressive cranial T-cell lymphoma which, despite our aggressive treatment with chemotherapy, rapidly spread to her brain. My special girl was gone in less than 2 months, at the young age of 8. Although I am quite sure I will never recover from the loss of my soul-mate dog, in order to keep her memory alive, I founded Ellie’s Legacy Animal Foundation in Spring 2020, along with several like-minded, rescue-devoted friends.
Ellie (and indeed all of the homeless dogs I have adopted over the years) are proof that previously unwanted dogs can become absolutely wonderful canine companions. I am grateful to have Kim and Lucy join me on this journey at Ellie’s Legacy Animal Foundation. They are as dedicated to animal rescue, adoption, and promotion of animal population control through spaying and neutering, as I am. We hope to educate the public about the plight of the homeless dog and, in the process, find some previously unwanted dogs their forever, loving homes.
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