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Walk into any one of about 100 local businesses and hanging on the wall you’ll see a beautiful black-and-white portrait of a dog that needs a home. Until someone adopts it, that animal is being cared for by the all-volunteer staff at DAWG, the Dog Adoption and Welfare Group.

DAWG is an unmistakable facility at the end of Overpass Road, off South Patterson Avenue.

Especially at the breakfast hour! It’s where, at any given time, about 25 dogs are being cared for by human servants who volunteer anywhere from one to 40 hours every week.

These giving souls race from task to task so that every day each dog can have its own clean bed, square meals and the opportunity to run around in a bigger pen with a buddy. The volunteers give their coveted free time — many have full-time jobs outside of DAWG — so that no dog is neglected, mistreated or euthanized in the limbo time between arriving at DAWG and being adopted out. [ more]

Also in the Pets Issue:

The rewards of raising guide dogs

K-9 PALS goes to bat for dogs

Off-leash dog park news

Chiclet the underwater terror

Make your bird sing

Care for kittens and puppies

Care for elderly pets

The lizard king

Kitchen medicine for your pet

Health insurance for pets

Columns

Once upon a vine
   By Gabe Saglie
Tech talk
    By Robert DeLaurentis
Captain's Log
     By David Bacon
Editorial
    By The Beacon
In the garden
    By Joan Bolton
Pet Talk
    By The Beacon's Vets
Book Reviews
    By Lauren Roberts

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