Who We Are

The Hedgesville Hound group was formally established in 2003. We are a 501(c)(3) organization comprised of people who have several decades of combined experience. In fact, together we placed more than 120 wonderful dogs of all ages, breeds and sizes in wonderful homes across the Maryland and D.C. Metropolitan area last year!

Click here and here to view our 501c3 information.

Although there is a Hedgesville, and we have definitely placed a fair number of hounds in homes, the term Hedgesville Hounds has become more emblematic than actual. It has its origins in one specific rescue that became quite inspirational to a number of volunteers. It has since captured in its scope the determination of many people with a common interest - dogs - and an uncommon commitment to helping them.

What began as an effort to help a single group of dogs in terrible need, gained momentum as these dogs were successfully placed in wonderful homes. The dogs became a kind of rallying cry, a challenge, and a cause.

Hedgesville Hounds exist everywhere. They are dogs of every breed - every size - every age - who by circumstance, ignorance, or cruelty and neglect, were put at risk. Sometimes they are cats, and even rabbits.

Our effort has been quite simple - to give them a voice. And a little help with arrangements.

• One-on-One Communication: Once we have decided to pursue your application, we'll call you to answer your questions about the dog. If you have an hour's worth of questions, we'll give you an hour's worth of answers. This also makes applying a little more personal.
• Adoption Counseling and Followup: Once you have adopted one of our dogs, you are encouraged to contact us for advice. We have a network of volunteers, adopters and experts on different breeds who are eager to help you with some of the problems you might face with your new pet. We have loaned books, arranged for private training sessions, done Web research, consulted with behaviorists and otherwise tried to "be there" for our adopters when they need us.
• Networking: We strive for a strong working relationship with many other rescue groups. If we don't have the dog you are seeking, we can refer you to someone who does.
• Lifetime Commitment: We remain committed to our animals throughout their lives and are there to help out in any way we can.
• Wonderful Dogs: We are also a conduit to wonderful dogs whose existences are known only to a relatively small handful of other rescuers, and we make every effort to advertise those dogs to the public.

Where We Work

We place dogs in homes throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Northern Virginia, Maryland and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. (Unfortunately, we can't make exceptions to this rule.)

How To Get Started

Most of your questions can be answered by reading the information on our site, and if you are interested in one of our dogs, the quickest way to start the process is to submit a non-binding application on line, rather than call us.

Acknowledgement of Applications

We will acknowledge each application or inquiry that we have received from within our service area within 24 hours. If you do not receive a response, please assume that your application was not received or send an email to follow up. After recent problems,we are pleased to note that we are back in business as usual and expect to be able to work in this timeline. Please note: Our Petfinder listings make it clear that some dogs are not ours, but are instead courtesy postings for other rescues. If we receive an email or application about another rescue's dog, we forward such emails on to the appropriate rescue, but cannot be responsible for their response time.

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Featured Feline: Spanky Spanky Spanky Spanky - baby (10 -12 weeks of age) - kitten - black with charcoal tabbying medium coat Peering through a small opening in the brush, Spanky crept as close ashe dared to the roadside where he had been discarded. He studied the creature whose ability to scale the branchless tree surpassed Spanky's own powers of climbing, and he wondered if it might be a giant, hairless cat. Spanky As the creature performed a splendid descent to the ground, Spanky bravely inched closer, and observed as its upright form removed a circle of skin and heavy objects, and made its way to the white truck that had frightened Spanky when it first arrived. Suddenly, a terrible loneliness and sadness overwhelmed Spanky, as he perceived that the creature, whom he now recognized to be a human man, seemed bent on departure, and was settling into the seat of the truck. Spanky Summoning all the courage in his soul, Spanky abandoned caution, and leapt from the brush like ... like the frightened and forlorn kitten he was. Determinedly, he clambered through the still open front door of the truck, climbed up the man's pants leg, and, like a tiny black snow ball, he hurtled himself into the lap of the startled man. Spanky's thundering purrs echoed crashingly in the cab of the truck, but their vibrations did not dislodge Spanky's desperate grip, and he clung to the motionless form to which he now found himself attached. Finally, when he dared, he looked hopefully up into the astonished face that returned his gaze, and he watched with relief as an expression of kindness replaced a look of shock. Although Spanky's spirited narration continues from here, we will summarize the rest of his tale. The Allegheny Power and Light lineman drove Spanky to the first rural driveway, which turned out to be that of a Hedgesville Hounds volunteer. Spanky's delight to be held does not discriminate regarding the owner of any lap that will receive him, and his thunderous purring persisted throughout the process of removing a great deal of chewing gum from his head and ears, and has not stopped yet. He is a beautiful and healthy and round kitten with a most engaging personality and a gripping literary bent. He will bring all that and more to an adoptive home.

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I'm Looking For...

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Attention Hedgesville Hounds Adopters: If you need advice, referrals or just want to chat with other adopters, please sign up for our Alumni newsgroup. Click to join HHAdopters

Success Stories

This section contains updates on some former Hounds, now adopted.
Click here to view our Recently Placed dogs!

Mommy	Lady	Mr. Bean	Theodora	Tuck	Starling
Chippy	Jasper	Little Wren	Buddy	Cowbird	Melanie
Nick	Lotta	Charley	Traveler	Barney	Poppy
Mistletoe	Paul	Cooper	Eileen	Nora	Daffodil
Molly	Guinness and Keely	Evan	Jenny	Baby Bean	Ditto -- NEW!!!!!
Grover	Bluebelle	Heidi	Lyndsey	Bella	Satchel
Huey	Patsy	Meadowlark	Elmo	Bridie	Fielder
Maisy	Daisy	Nan	Blake	Jenny
Sunny	Gil	Pippi	Princess Sugarplum	Max	Toby
Champ	Molly	Susie Q!	Valiant	Tinkerbelle	Boomer	Hannah

ATTENTION ADOPTERS: If you'd like to send us an update and new pictures of your dog, we'd love to see them. Please let us know whether we can use your first names or first names and initials. Please send an email and pictures to hedgesvillehound@aol.com. Please keep pictures to under 100K each -- thanks!

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Columns and Features

Breed Spotlight

One of our goals is to help people think outside the box in terms of dogs that might be a good match for. With this in mind, we introduce our "Spotlight Breed" feature, which will provide a mixture of practical information and first-hand experience on a specific breed that you might not have considered before.

New! Click here to read the spotlight on the Foxhound.

Akita	Black and Tan	Bluetick	Chessie
Great Dane	Pit Bull	Senior Dachshund	The So-Called Yellow Dog
The Blab -- UPDATED 4/08!!!	The Mutt	The Chow Chow

New Column!

Introducing Soap Box, where our volunteers and adopters can offer their opinions and experiences on issues related to pet ownership.

NEW COLUMN!

Click here for a new column from one of our directors on "Animal Welfare's Dirty Little Secret."

Click here for a column on "Adopting A Special Needs Pet."


Click here for column one on "Adopting A Senior Pet."

Click here for the column"What Some Vets Don't Know."


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Want to Make a Donation?

We now take credit cards!

or

Send a check made out to "Hedgesville Hounds" to: Hedgesville Hounds PO Box 2174 Hedgesville, WV, 25427

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Friends, Funds and Benefactors

Click here to see a list of our friends or find out how to become a benefactor.
This page includes information about the Brandy Hodges Fund, as well as information about our newest DogFather, Karen!

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This section includes the In Memoriam page, which acknowledges the generous donations made in the name of a departed companion. Click here to visit the latest "In Memoriam" page, which includes a special page for Edward "Bud" Hawkens.

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Contact Us

Hedgesville Hounds
Rockville, MD 20850
Email: applications@hedgesvillehounds.com

Please note that wehave a new phone number as of 12/5/07:1-301-576-8461.

OR write to:
Hedgesville Hounds
PO Box 2174
Hedgesville, WV, 25427

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