To the rescue!
Nyssa woman stays focused on helping dachshunds
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:26 AM PST
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| Karen McCombs of Dachshund Idaho Rescue holds some of her pets in her home in Nyssa. |
NYSSA — The old adage goes: A dog is a man’s best friend.
That may be true, but in Nyssa the saying could be: A dachshund’s best friend is Karen.
Karen McCombs, that is.
The Nyssa resident makes no bones about her goal to save unwanted dachshunds and find them new homes.
“I am ‘Dachshund Idaho Rescue,’ McCombs said. “The rescue has been mine for years.”
Her love for the breed began back in the 1960s when she raised and bred the animals. Then she got away from dogs in the late ’70s. Then in 2001, she became involved in rescuing Akitas but decided after two years, in 2003, she wanted go back to her first love, dachshunds, and that has been her focus ever since.
“I bring them home and take care of them,” McCombs said.
Some of the dogs she has will never be adopted out because they are paralyzed.
“No one wants a paralyzed dog. When they become paralyzed people don’t have a way to take care of them,” she said.
Another dog won’t be adopted because people don’t want the work of caring for a dog that has to wear a diaper, she said.
The dogs come to McCombs in a variety of ways. For example, she has a friend, who is a flight attendant, who has arranged to get dogs from other states to Portland or Salt Lake City, where McCombs and her husband, Bob, have traveled to pick them up.
They are also part of a network that transports dogs, getting dogs from shelters to new owners. The McCombs’ usual route is from Ontario to Baker City, but they have gone to Pendleton.
“I’ve been as far as Dillon, Mont.,” Karen McCombs said.
With the McCombs, the dogs all sleep with members of the family. “It’s like doggy daycare, except the dogs don’t go home,” she said.
Her daughter maintains the Dachshund Idaho Rescue Web site, and her husband is director of transportation. They have lived in Nyssa three years, after they moved from Idaho, thus the name of the organization.
McCombs does not do this by herself. In a addition to her family, she has foster care-givers in Boise and Caldwell.
The charge for adopting one of her dogs is $250, but there are a lot of expenses in the process.
Besides the cost of care until the dogs are picked up, there is the cost of having them spayed or neutered, the cost of any necessary shots and examinations.
She does not breed dogs because there are certain kinds of dachshunds — those with white faces — that don’t breed well and will have pups that may be blind, deaf or both.
“People want them because they are different,” she said.
Reputable breeders won’t deal with them, but “backyard” breeders will produce them, she added.
McCombs said she will try to work with prospective owners on payment plans or may discount some.
“The idea is to move them into adoptive homes,” she said.
No dogs are given away.
She has prospective owners fill out applications, does background checks and, if possible, does home inspections to see if claims by applicants are true. In order to receive a dog, applicants must sign a contract that McCombs will be contacted if the new owners cannot keep their new dachshund, and if the McCombs suspect abuse or neglect of a dog they will demand its return.
McCombs have placed 107 dogs through their Web site, www.dachshunds.petfinder.com. They can be e-mailed at dachshundlady1967@yahoo.com. or contacted at (541) 372-5353 or (208) 695-4761.
