Heirloom Wheatens - GDSCWTC Rescue

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The Greater Denver Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Rescue (GDSCWT Rescue) has been in existence approximately 20 years. With the appearance of Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers (SCWT) in pet stores and with back yard breeders and puppy mills taking an interest in the breed, a need for the Denver Club to initiate a rescue program to help the abandoned and unwanted dogs became essential.. In addition we saw several SCWT appearing in local shelters. After a relinquishment of four dogs from a horrific backyard breeder situation approximately 20 years ago, the rescue concept was put into motion very quickly and has continued in helping Wheatens in need ever since.

The GDSCWT Rescue is a separate entity as are various local SCWT rescue originations throughout the country, most are affiliated with a local club, as we are, and are listed on the National Club's (SCWTCA) website. (www.scwtca.org/rescue.html)

There is a National Rescue Chairperson who is always willing to share information and help us out as needed.

GDSCWT Rescue works with shelters, the All Breed Rescue Network (ABRN) and rescue organizations in a tri-state area. Dogs have been relinquished from Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and other states and re-homed in our surrounding states as well. In each situation and upon contact an evaluation is done within 36 hours by us, as there have been cases where the dog in question is not a Wheaten.

We perform a screening of those individual owners that want to relinquish a dog to us. This screening includes investigating the reasons behind the need to surrender, getting legal release documents for the dog and the screening of the dog itself. We gather as much information as possible at the time of relinquishment including records of history. A health check is performed at a vet office, grooming, if needed and also a temperament evaluation. Most rescue dogs do come with baggage so the new potential owner should be aware of this.

We carefully screen those that want to adopt a dog to make sure there is a good fit between the dogs and the potential new home environment. Potential adopters send in a rescue application to be kept on file, their may be an initial phone call, emails or through use of this web site. When a dog becomes available the applications are reviewed and matched to the evaluation of the dog to determine a potential home, a phone call is made to set up a visit with the dog and the potential adopting family.

The Greater Denver Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Rescue has dedicated members that know and love the breed and perform our services with compassion for all the animals received into it's program. The adoption rate of the dogs we rescue is 90%. Only 7% of the dogs placed by us are returned for re-placement. We credit the success of our program to comprehensive follow-up after placement. This is a critical factor in the adoption process and there is always someone available to offer information and to guide you during the acclamation process. For a rescued dog it can take as long as 6 -8 months for it to become secure in new surroundings. The welfare of our Wheatens is never compromised, even if the results in not placing the animal based on problems that represent high risk for its safety or the safety of others.

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