CdA’s dog whisperer

Fires and foreclosures have been forcing more than people out of their California homes. Their dogs have also been suffering, with many being abandoned as their owners leave the area or move into apartments that won’t accept pets.

Enter Bonnie Whiting and her North Idaho group Alternative Rescue Shelter.

Whiting and fellow dog lover Jenn Pearce traveled to California earlier this summer to rescue 17 dogs destined for “death row,” bringing them back to Coeur d’Alene in the back of a van, and finding new homes for the lucky canines.

Whiting, a dog trainer, selects dogs to rescue from area shelters, as well. She focuses primarily on smaller breeds that are highly sought-after by people who don’t want to deal with the energy and care requirements of larger dogs.

Local animal shelters are filled with larger breeds, so Whiting was surprised to see so many Chihuahuas, toy poodles, terriers and other small breeds when she visited the California shelters.

She matches people to dogs, so on the way down to California Whiting had potential owners and their living situations in mind.

Some dogs do well with other pets and children. Some don’t. These are the things Whiting keeps in mind when she picks dogs to save, observing their temperament and recognizing the characteristics of different breeds.

There were more dogs there than the pair could bring back to Spokane.

Another 15 dogs were shipped by California rescue groups via plane to North Idaho for adoption.

“We’re trying to plan another trip down,” Pearce said.

The first batch made quite an impact on her.

Pearce fell in love with a puppy named Hannah, adopting the dog herself.

Whiting, who calls herself a dog whisperer, saved her first dog at the age of 3.

A neighbor’s neglected puppy caught its head in a water meter, and Whiting convinced her mother that she must keep the beagle-terrier mix her neighbor didn’t want.

Since September, Alternative Rescue Shelter has saved 45 dogs with the help of donations and services from other animal lovers.

The Coeur d’Alene Pet Resort boards Alternative Rescue Shelter dogs for free until homes can be found for them.

Owner Dawn Kelp said that she quickly bought into Whiting’s efforts after hiring her to train dogs at the doggie day care and boarding kennel.

“As we got to know her, she introduced us to what she was doing,” Kelp said. “We were impressed. That was in our hearts, too, to help in any way we could.”

Whiting says she’ll keep up her work as long as adoptable dogs are left in kill shelters.

“You can’t save everybody,” she said, “but you can save some.”