Welcome to A Different Breed!
Due to declining health, the owners of the sanctuary are retiring and the sanctuary is closing as of October 1 2022.
A Different Breed will continue on as a foster based rescue. Many members are fostering anywhere from 1 to over 20 dogs. Most of those are special needs and unadoptable.
A Different Breed will also be involved in transportation services and where possible help with fundraising for spay/neuter surgeries or other veterinary care. A Different Breed will also continue to be involved in food transports and food donations.
In addition to our canine outreach we have been instrumental in providing food for many low income families who often don’t have their own need met, but genuinely love and care for their pets and reach out for food and medical assistance. TNR is a huge part of the feline outreach, these are colonies which get spayed and neutered. We manage their daily feedings and ongoing care as needed
We have worked hard in the past 16 and 1/2 years and managed to place thousands of dogs in good homes. We are grateful to have had that opportunity and we are grateful to have had the sanctuary available for so many dogs!
A Different breed will continue as a foster based rescue with long term volunteers.
Thank you all!
Dogs Currently Available for Adoption
Recent Adoptions
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A Big Thank You Valerie & John!
Valerie Farrington and her husband John Hartoon met while serving in the Army Nurse Corps. Married 44 years with two daughters, John retired after 29 years in the Army and Val retired after 20 years as a nurse practitioner and nursing school faculty member at the University of Texas at El Paso. Upon retiring they moved to McKinney to be near their daughter Cara.
Val started volunteering at animal shelters with her youngest daughter Aidan in El Paso. She began her latest career by taking classes from a grooming school. She saw the need to groom rescue dogs to make them cuter for potential adopters. Somehow ADB rescue contacted her and she began taking care of the worst cases. She says she’s a weenie because she often bawls her eyes out after grooming abandoned and nearly dead tiny frightened dogs, the newly arrived surrenders of rural puppy mill breeders, or mother dogs thrown out after becoming pregnant. Sometimes she lets the dogs see her cry. They understand. Although her plan was to just groom the dogs, at times she and John have ended up fostering as many as seven puppy mill dogs after grooming!
Sometimes she has to use 7-inch scissors to cut the solid pack of poop, pee, and foot hair off their feet before she can even see the nails, and it can take up to three days of nearly constant grooming and bathing to get the odor down. This is not a normal grooming job when working with rescues! And Poor John. Val knows she’s forcing him into helping. But once in it, he’s adamant about their perfect care, and the dogs usually depend on him and are drawn to him! He’s hooked!
Val is now in the process of learning how to groom cats for rescues. They are both amazing people and have so much love to give to these furry babies so desperate for a better life. I don’t know what we would do without people like Val and John still serving behind the scenes.
Val does grooming in-home or in-salon as well. She continues to offer free grooms for rescues/shelters and dogs being fostered. You can support this wonderful couple by calling Val if your pet needs professional grooming! You can reach her at 915-472-0926, or email at valerie.j.farrington@gmail.
