Exploring The World of Animal Shelters: An Inside Look At Rocky Road Husky Rescue

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An interview with Rocky Road Husky Rescue from Corpus Christi, Texas.

Introducing Rocky Road Husky Rescue

My name is Meg Moll, and I am one of the volunteers with Rocky Road Husky Rescue. My role with RRHR is a foster/adoption application processor. My husband and I live in Pennsylvania and the founder of the rescue Joshua Chappell is a very close friend who is like family to us. Since we both have a passion for the husky breed and rescue, I wanted to help with his dream of opening and running a rescue but since I live over 1700 miles away the only way that I was able to make an impact and help out was to be able to process the applications that came in since contacting the references is mainly making phone calls and conducting phone interviews. 

How did Rocky Road Husky Rescue Start? What Are The Challenges Encountered Along The Way?

Joshua and the start of Rocky Road Husky Rescue came to be with an amazing story of love and devotion and quite honestly FATE, and for the husky breed and the plight of all the street and shelter dogs in the Texas area. Founder, Joshua, was always fascinated with the husky breed. He loved their unique personalities and beautiful traits. 

Joshua was talking with his family about how when he gets into his new house, he would look at getting a dog for a companion. He began looking to see what shelters and rescues were in his area just to get an idea for when the time came. However, one fateful day, in June of 2016 his rescue Rocky came into his life. As he was leaving work this same day, he saw an animal walking on the side of the road. From a distance, and being in the country, he said “Man, what an ugly coyote.” 

As he got closer, the “coyote” looks back but continues to walk forward. Joshua realized it was a dog. As he passes the dog, he realizes it’s a husky and says, “Whoa! It’s a husky!”. 

He was obviously in rough shape as from a distance he didn’t even look like a dog, so Joshua pulls over to check on him. Once pulled over to the side and the door opens, this dog just jumps right into the car. No hesitation on his part at all. Joshua looks him over closely to see if there are any identification tags on him, but none were to be found. 

After chatting with his family and the dog cooled off, he began to think aloud what he should call the dog. He said, “What do I call you?” The first name that popped into his head was “Rocky”. It was as if there was an immediate connection between the two and Rocky told Joshua his name. Joshua then decided to return to work as his plan was to check with those that lived in the area to see if they recognized him and to get him fresh water. Once back at work and parked, he rolls down the window and a co-worker saw the dog. The immediate response was, “No huskies live around here! That poor dog was dumped!” 

Joshua’s heart sank, as he could not understand who would just dump an amazing dog like that. He decided to hold onto the dog for a few weeks while looking for the owners in hopes of him not being dumped, but just escaped. On his way home, he stopped by a vet that was able to scan him for a microchip. Sadly, he was not chipped. Information was left at the vets, and they even took a picture of him for their wall. Over the next few weeks, Joshua decided he needed to get Rocky checked out and

start working on getting his health back up. After a brief examination, he learned Rocky was underweight, had fleas, ticks, hookworms, and water in the lungs, and worst of all, he was heartworm positive. Joshua immediately received medications and updated Rocky’s immunizations. 

Rocky was on his way to overcoming his ailments. As time went on, no one ever came forward for Rocky. Joshua decided that after doing the right thing in looking for his owners, he would keep Rocky. His biggest concern was getting heartworm treatment, which was a very costly treatment. In one of Rocky’s follow-ups, the water in the lungs turned into bronchitis. On the plus side, no more fleas, ticks, or hookworms so he was moving in the right direction. After a couple more weeks, bronchitis cleared up and it was time to talk with the vet about moving forward with heartworm treatments. To their dismay, it was realized he had severe heartworms. Over the next couple of months, Rocky underwent his treatment and at each scheduled visit, they tested him first to find out he was heartworm negative! The treatment was a success, and he was truly on his way to recovery! 

Over the next year, Joshua and Rocky bonded even more. They relied on each other and began to trust each other to no end. Once this happened, Joshua wanted to give back more to this amazing breed and began researching Husky Rescues in Texas. He decided to apply to foster for a local husky rescue. He was excited to work with them and be able to help other dogs in need! Over the next couple of years, Joshua fostered five huskies and was able to get them all into the right homes. He also adopted his second husky, Holland, by “foster failing” with her. 

His desire to give more and more to the huskies in need left him at a crossroads. He was beyond grateful for the opportunity to learn about the rescue world and give back to these dogs, but something was still missing. He then began to research starting his own rescue. He even went as far as going back to school to learn about how to manage a nonprofit. 

Joshua graduated in October 2021 with his bachelor’s in business and a focus on Nonprofit Management. With time, patience, and support from the community, he was able to make his goal of creating a Husky rescue in the Texas Coastal Bend a reality. He founded Rocky Road Husky Rescue in 2022. 

Without Rocky ever coming into his world, he never would have wanted to learn more about the breed and what rescuing is all about. This is why this rescue is known as “The House that Rocky Built”. 

Tell Us About The Most “Unusual” Animal That Rocky Road Husky Rescue Has Ever Taken.

Blackberry, is a young momma that was picked up locally as a stray with her puppy, Cheeto and was not reclaimed. Blackberry is such a unique-looking and stunning girl. Due to her being an all-black husky mix with stunning crisp blue eyes, the reality is that black dogs are so much harder to place. And honestly, we don’t understand why because this girl is a total sweetheart. 

Tell Us About The Most Unique And Creative Fundraising Campaigns That Rocky Road Husky Rescue Has Done.

Texas Rescue Coffee Company was probably our most unique because this company donates up to 75% of the net profits to the rescue. That is almost unheard of with that kind of large donation from one company.

Tell Us About The Most Rewarding Part Of Running Rocky Road Husky Rescue

The most rewarding part is seeing the rescues get adopted and change the lives of all these folks who open their home to furry family members. Seeing the positive impact, they have not just for these families but for themselves as well. The second chance at a life of love and happiness and educating people about this breed. 

What Do You Think Might Be The Greatest Challenge Of Running Rocky Road Husky Rescue?

There are a few. First, fosters, without fosters we can not pull or save more dogs from the overcrowded shelter situations. We are a foster-based rescue right now because we do not have a facility to house the overflow if we don’t have any open foster homes. Second, would have to be funding, we rely on donations from our community to be able to save this majestic breed. 

Tell Us More About The Volunteers In Rocky Road Husky Rescue

There is no one volunteer that is more dedicated than the other. All our volunteers are passionate about saving animals and they all go above and beyond to help this rescue succeed. We all have a passion for not only the husky breed but also to help educate and make the shelter and dumped animals in the south of the country be less of an issue. We all have been inspired because of our deep love for the voiceless. We must be their voice and that is why one of our mottos is RESCUE=LIFE ~ ADOPTION =LOVE.

Where Do Most Of The Animals In Rocky Road Husky Rescue Come From, And What Is The Process For Rescuing And Rehabilitating Them?

We pull our rescues from overcrowded shelters that are in jeopardy of euthanizing for much-needed space. When one of the area shelters that we have partnered with has a husky or husky mix that needs to get out of the shelter we do everything we can to bring them into rescue, but we must first have an approved foster home for them to go to. The purpose of rescuing and rehabilitating the dog is to save lives and educate the public. There is a huge misconception about this breed just like other breeds, and we want to change that. We have dogs that come into our rescue that may have health or behavioural issues and the founder Joshua and his wife Brianne who is the foster coordinator are great at getting these dogs rehabilitated and giving them the security and confidence to live a full and happy life in a home and family environment. Both are excellent at reading these personalities and finding the right fit for each one. Starting the training process and giving their current foster homes the tools and guidance to work with the dogs to overcome any insecurities that may be present sets everyone up for a successful life. 

What Are The Busiest Periods, And How Does Rocky Road Husky Rescue Cope?

Typically, the hardest times of the year are around Valentine’s and Christmas. The reason for this is the public wants “a cute dog” for a friend or family member. This can put a strain on our volunteers as there are more applicants to screen. We handle this by the Board of Directors pre-screening applicants for any major concerns. Afterwards, it goes to our Application Coordinator who will review it even further before

assigning it to a processor. This process seems to take a lot of stress off of our volunteers and it allows them to focus on conducting a thorough interview with references. 

What Animals Does Rocky Road Husky Rescue Focus On?

The focus is because of the exorbitant number of huskies in Texas (and the southern part of the U.S) that are being dumped on the streets and being picked up by shelters and the passion and love for this breed by the founder of Rocky Road Husky Rescue, Joshua. The unique challenge of working with them is the personality traits and misconceptions of the public. They are a very loving breed but also can be aloof and each one is different; you have to find the balance that makes them thrive. The reward is seeing the positive change that structure and routine and most importantly love and compassion come about when they realize they are safe and don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from or that they are not going to be mistreated. 

Working With The Local Community

We have amazing local businesses that have reached out and partnered with us to help support and save this beautiful breed. Muddy Paws CC and Pet Supplies Plus of Corpus Christi TX have held adoption and food drive events and our local Chamber of Commerce has been so supportive and has donated and held events for us to showcase our available adoptable dogs as well as recently celebrating our 1-year anniversary with a ribbon cutting celebration. Along with other small businesses that have reached out to us because they want to help the dogs. They all know the true challenges and the expense that it takes to save these lives and they are instrumental in helping us do that. 

Tell Us More About Your Events

We currently do not have any events coming up, but we do have a few ongoing campaigns. One of them is with Texas Rescue Coffee and the other is with Steph Dickens through her Etsy shop. Those links are www.texasrescuecoffee.com/rrhr and Www.Etsy.com/shop/stephscraftingbits.

What Is Done Differently at Rocky Road Husky Rescue?

We are partnered with a local trainer that offers free online courses for any adopter. We are also available to our adopters and volunteers anytime if there is a need to reach out. We strive to be with them through the good, bad, and ugly times. For example, if a behavioral concern comes up that was not noticed during fostering, we would work with the adopter to figure it out. If we are not sure about what is causing it, we will reach out to our partnered trainer for further advice.

Share With Us Some Of The Heartwarming Stories Of Animals Rehabilitated And Rehomed By Rocky Road Husky Rescue

Bailey was picked up by animal control with injuries that looked like she was hit by a car. We picked her up and took her to the emergency vet where they confirmed she had a broken pelvis but was not sure of the extent of damage. We just needed her stable to transport her to the vet school where our medical foster was located. Upon examination at the school, they found her pelvis was actually shattered on her right side and broken on her left. They said these injuries are more consistent with being thrown from a moving vehicle. 

Once she was cleared to move to a quieter place, she was moved to a local foster where she could rehabilitate. Her foster fell in love with her from the beginning and told us she wanted to adopt her. She was a “foster to adopt” which means we were still responsible for medical bills while she healed. She went to hydrotherapy and as far as we know, is doing great and living her best life. 

What Are The Help Needed From The Local Community?

Our biggest need right now is foster homes. Without fosters, we are not able to bring any more dogs into rescue which means healthy and adoptable dogs are being euthanized. The shelters in our area are in desperate need of rescues being able to bring these dogs into their organizations so they can get more off the streets of Texas. 

Connect With Rocky Road Husky Rescue here:

Mailing address : 4466 S Staples STE 500, Corpus Christi, TX 78411 

Website: www.rockyroadhuksyrescue.org 

Email Address: @rockyroadhuskyrescue.org

Social Media: Facebook and Instagram @rockyroadhuskyrescue 

Wondrousdrifter.com is thankful to Rocky Road Husky Rescue for the interview. 

Check out this page for the list of animal shelters in Corpus Christi, Texas.

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