About Bonnie
Blue Rescue

Bonnie Blue Rescue is an East Coast-based animal rescue group. We are registered with the Commonwealth of Virginia as a non-stock corporation and are registered with the IRS (EIN 27-033123). Bonnie Blue Rescue is also licensed with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture as an animal importer (License # AIR.000819). We believe that every pet deserves a chance at happiness and a loving family to call their own.

Bonnie Blue Rescue's goal is to save unwanted and 'left behind' dogs from high kill shelters and place them into loving forever families. On occasion, owner surrenders are also accepted at Bonnie Blue. Our focus is rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming. Once a dog comes into our rescue, he/she will stay with us until we can find the perfect forever family. We screen our adopters to ensure they have only the best intentions in adopting a new family member. Our screening process requires a completed adoption application, personal reference checks, veterinary reference checks and an in-home visit.

Bonnie Blue Rescue also networks with other animal rescue groups and shelter/rescue liaison groups to responsibly save as many pups as possible.

Bonnie:
The pup that
started it all

Miss Bonnie Blue was a dumpster rescue pup; ditched at a dumpster site in rural southwest Virginia with her 5 littermates. Three of the puppies starved to death before help came. The other three babies - Rhett, Scarlet & Bonnie were whisked away to VCA Animal Hospital in Abingdon, VA for lots of love and TLC from the veterinary staff. At 8 weeks of age, all three puppies were put up for adoption. Rhett & Scarlet were quickly adopted - but Bonnie was left behind. BBR's President, Courtney, was a high-school sophomore that year and volunteered with VCA's adoption program. She fell in love with Bonnie from day one and after a lot of desperate begging to her parents, she finally convinced her family to adopt Bonnie. Bonnie may have been a family pet in those early years, but she was Courtney's heart dog from day one. Like any puppy, the first year was filled with potty accidents, playtime, chewing everything in site & lots of snuggle time. Bonnie traveled to college in Knoxville, TN with Courtney and then later to Richmond, VA when Courtney moved north to work. They were best friends & totally inseparable.

In 2006 Courtney decided to get more involved with rescue and started fostering dogs for an organization called Catahoula United Rescue Society (CURS); a breed-specific organization to honor Miss Bonnie Blue, the Catahoula girl who had won her heart. Courtney loved her work with CURS for several years but ultimately decided to start her own all-breed rescue so that she would not have to limit herself to only rescuing Catahoula's. Her first rescue on her own was a sweet yellow labrador retriever girl that she named Lila. Lila is a well-known fixture in the Richmond BBR circles as she was a "foster failure" for Courtney. (aka: Courtney fell in love & adopted Lila, too!) Courtney, Bonnie & Lila fostered many pups in the early years of Bonnie Blue Rescue -- Bonnie was the matriarch who put puppies in their place and helped them learn good puppy manners, and Lila was the play buddy who romped and rolled with each of their fosters -- together they have fostered well over 150 dogs for Bonnie Blue Rescue.

In the summer of 2012, Bonnie was in for a routine wellness checkup at the vet when her bloodwork came back a bit off. Followup vet visits showed that Bonnie had a mass on her spleen. A spleenectomy and biopsy determined that Bonnie had leiomyosarcoma; an aggressive form of cancer that had already spread to her liver. Courtney was devastated but was determined to make the most of her last few weeks and months with her special girl. They spent hours together snuggling, sitting outside & enjoying the sun, and having one-on-one time. On September 5th, 2012, sweet Bonnie gently passed over to Rainbow Bridge in the arms of her forever mom.

Courtney posted this message on that day; a perfect way to sum up the impact that this one special Catahoula girl had: "Saying goodbye to your oldest friend is never easy, but I am so thankful that this tiny little 'houla girl crept into my heart {& home} so many years ago. The world is certainly a better place because this pup was in it. I think Bonnie's legacy speaks for itself. Thanks to the work of Bonnie Blue Rescue {inspired by this amazing rescue pup} hundreds of death-row pups have been rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed. And hundreds more will be saved in honor & memory of Bonnie for years to come. Even with a grieving heart I have to realize that honoring the life of my special girl does not get better than that. You will be *so* missed, my sweet girl, but certainly not forgotten. "