About
Our Mission
The mission of Basset Hound Rescue of Southern California (BHRSC) is to offer sanctuary, healing and Forever Families to distressed, abandoned, injured or homeless hounds.
We work to raise funds to save as many hounds as possible and constantly strive to grow our network of volunteers and foster homes.
How BHRSC Is Different
Basset Hound Rescue of Southern California goes the extra mile to ensure that each hound gets the personalized care essential for starting their new life!
Hounds come to BHRSC for many different reasons. The lucky ones lived with loving families but were surrendered due to family hardship such as a financial crisis or serious illness. Some are found abandoned and wandering the streets tired and hungry, while others are rescued from shelters where they are slated to be euthanized.
Upon arrival, each hound is provided a wellness exam to assess overall health and any necessary medical care is performed so they are in tip top shape when they head to their forever homes. For most hounds this minimally includes vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, dental cleaning, and microchipping.
Sadly, many hounds arrive in pain, suffering from multiple, and sometimes life threatening, medical issues. These hounds need extensive medical attention which can mean visits to specialists, surgeries and long recovery periods. Without BHRSC, these hounds would be labeled “unadoptable” and be at high risk for euthanasia.
Each hound is also given a behavioral evaluation which allows us to identify and address any potential behavior issues before they find their forever homes.
Once the rehabilitation process is complete, we take care to match the hounds with loving forever families that will lavish them with the love and affection that every hound deserves.
Our Story
In August 1997, Sabrina Nichols, Adriene Sherard, and William James got together and pooled their resources to rescue their first hound, Cleopatra, from the Long Beach Animal Shelter. As is true with many shelters, Long Beach had a limited capacity to hold animals for any significant period of time before they are forced to euthanize them if they are not adopted. Fortunately for Cleopatra, three compassionate people cared enough to ensure that she would have the opportunity to live out her life in a loving forever home.
Within 6 months of Cleopatra’s rescue, several more hound lovers had gotten on board. With a growing dedicated team, BHRSC received 501(c)3 non-profit status in 1998. BHRSC has been successful in the mission to rescue needy hounds ever since.
Today, BHRSC operates with the daily support of an Executive and Associate Executive Committee comprised of more than 80 dedicated volunteers who help in all aspects of the organization ranging from finding foster and forever homes to coordinating medical care to managing events and social media. BHRSC has successfully placed 2,291 hounds in forever homes since our inception in 1997.
In 2021 we took in 80 hounds and adopted 72 of them for an adoption rate of 90%!