About Us

.We are a small group of dedicated citizens from Canada's Northwest who simply love dogs. We volunteer our time to bring sad, neglected and homeless dogs into loving homes where they can be nurtured back to health and happiness. We operate principally out of the Greater Vancouver area with some placements further afield in British Columbia and even Washington State.

We are not breed specific. For this rescue, there is no hierarchy in the realm of dog breeds. All breeds are equally beautiful to us.  We especially love mutts. There are no two alike!  At this rescue, we love to save them all, big and small.

We are not bound by geographical ideologies of origins. We reject, as nonsense, arguments that a US dog saved by a Canadian rescue equals one dead dog in Canada. The BC SPCA shelter occupancy is an excellent indicator of the scarcity of dogs in British Columbia. There are simply not enough stray nor abandoned dogs in British Columbia of the size and breed varieties sought by its public. In fact, there are so few dogs in the BC SPCA it truly warms the heart. This allows the amazing people of this beautiful province to be generous. We can reach into more distant locations, anywhere in the world, to help dogs  in desperate need. British Columbians save lives and we think that makes them commendable. We believe dogs are  - well - just dogs. They will love their humans in any language. Woof! We hope you agree.

In summary, our dogs come from areas of over-population often deeply affected by poverty. We take dogs from where they suffer. We seek to temper the suffering that comes with dog over population by running our own spay & neuter programme.
We do know one thing:  that  without our rescue's intervention, these dogs are almost all at risk of either euthanization or painful suffering and likely death.

We just try to do our best. We invite our amazing community to help us do the same.

We are a registered non-profit in the beautiful Province of British Columbia

Breeds

Our dogs are rescued mainly as strays. As such, we do not know EXACTLY what breed we have. We guess. Sometimes our guesses differ from the shelters, the vets and even between the volunteers. An adopter must make their own assessment of the breed of their adoptive dogs.

Age

Our dogs are rescued often as strays. As such, we do not know the EXACT age of our dogs. We  guess. Sometimes our guesses differ from the shelters, the vets and even between the volunteers. An adopter must make their own assessment of the age of their adoptive dog.

Behaviour

Rescue dogs are often quite sad and distressed. As strays, then in shelters, moved in transports can all add to the general unhappiness of rescue dogs. This stress can modify a rescue dog's normal resting behavior. We often notice that as a rescue dog relaxes and trusts again, its behavior will change for the better. Dogs love to be loved. They grow in such incredible ways as they travel through the rescue experience and find themselves adopted and loved forever.

We ask our adopters to get to know their prospective dog as much as possible ahead of adoption. Ask all and any questions that will affect your ability to keep a dog for life. Our team will attempt to satisfy your queries to the best of our ability. We will prioritize adopters who are dog-competent, loving and will commit to our dogs whatever their behavior for the rest of the dog's natural life. But we do stress that the adopter must take responsibility for assessing their adoptive dog ahead of adoption and accepting their adoptive dog, lumps, bumps and all.

FINDING A BEHAVIORIST
If you wish to use a dog behaviorist to assess or help your prospective adoptive dog , we would like you to know that the crowded field of dog behaviorists is not  standardized, audited, nor is there any national or provincial registration or oversight of this commercial field. We caution adopters to select carefully. Big and Small Rescue Society will work only with dog behaviourists who have proven to us positive and lasting change in our dogs. Please contact the rescue if you would like our recommendations. Email us at [email protected]

Health

Our dogs are rescued often as strays. As such, we do not have a complete medical history of our dogs. Indeed many dogs are 'dumped' because they have an underlying health issue. All dogs in our rescue are vetted by our vets. We share our vet records with potential adopters. Potential adopters may take their prospective adoptive dog to their vets for a health assessment prior to adoption, if they wish.

We encourage future adopters to take full responsibility in determining the health status of any dog they may wish to adopt, no matter where they source their dogs from. This is responsible ownership.
Provenance
Big and Small Rescue Society wants to ensure that good canine citizens are brought into our cities. Vicious dogs that place citizens or other dogs at serious risk of injury are not welcomed by this rescue. This makes rescue dog selection a critical part of this rescue. Over the years, we have established relationships with people we trust. Equally, we have jettisoned many irresponsible rescue relationships where dogs are poorly assessed or just simply lied about. Provenance is so important in running a foster-based rescue in an urban environment. We hope to continue to bring the best canine citizens into Big and Small Rescue Society.

Big and Small Rescue Society does not and will not euthanize dogs for bad behavior. This is why provenance is essential. If a dog poses a serious threat to humans or other dogs and is deemed by our trusted behaviorists as too great a challenge for the citizens of British Columbia to responsibly place into foster  or adoptive care, we will ensure the dog is safely placed either in a sanctuary for the rest of its life or safely returned to its original rescuer. Big and Small Rescue Society does not own or run a sanctuary or a kennel service.

Vetting

 All of our dogs are vetted upon entering the rescue. All adopters of our dogs are under contract so spay and neuter their dogs.  Per our vets recommendations, for ALL of our dogs, we vaccinate, de-worm, treat ecto-parasites and kennel cough. More serious conditions receive additional vet care. We also like to get second opinions, often from specialists,  for invasive or specialized procedures.

Our rescue seeks, within its budget, the maximum vet care for our dogs. We receive a discounted rate for many treatments and procedures thanks to our relationships with our vets. We are very grateful. We often solicit public funds for expensive vet care that may over-stretch what little income the rescue has. It is important to remember, that our funds are modest and not limitless. That said, we do not euthanize animals because we cannot afford their treatment.  We just would never do this. We love them. Nor do we permit a dog to languish in pain or suffering because his/her treatment is too expensive. We would never do this either. We mobilize. We fund raise. Often, we reach into our own pockets to get things done.

If, in the opinion of our vets, a procedure such as fixing a protruding belly button, correcting a cherry eye or yanking a baby tooth, is considered cosmetic and not critical, then the rescue may not pursue these procedures. If an adopter takes issue with this, then we advise them not to adopt the dog.

Please check the Audit tab to discover how the vet care for Big and Small Rescue Society has been audited. We maintain the highest standards of care for our dogs . Also, we are the ONLY dog rescue in the province of British Columbia to have been thoroughly audited by an independent third party. This is a very rare occurrence in animal rescue. We sincerely hope our future adopters and fosters can take heart from knowing how well our animals are treated.