LIHUE — Kauai Humane Society Development Director Will Anzenberger still remembers the day he received a call nearly two years ago that changed his life and the life of Dexter, his 3-year-old French bulldog. On that day, Anzenberger was watching
LIHUE — Kauai Humane Society Development Director Will Anzenberger still remembers the day he received a call nearly two years ago that changed his life and the life of Dexter, his 3-year-old French bulldog.
On that day, Anzenberger was watching a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park on the same day the Boston Bruins brought home the Stanley Cup, when his phone rang.
The voice on the other end of the line was from a representative of French Bulldog Village Rescue and Adoption, a Southern California French bulldog rescue group.
The caller asked if Anzenberger was available for a home visit in San Francisco, where he was living at the time.
“I had to tell them that I was not,” Anzenberger said, “so I thought I blew my chance.”
Anzenberger, who had been working with several rescue groups for two years to adopt a French bulldog, said he was able to make up the home visit when he returned the following week. He then made a nearly six-hour drive to meet his new best friend in Southern California.
“When I first met (Dexter), he was kind of just sitting there and not really paying attention to me and I thought, ‘Wow, is this the dog I’m going to end up with? He doesn’t seem to really care about me,’” Anzenberger said. “We got in the car and two minutes after that he sat on my lap and fell asleep and I pretty much knew that he was going to be my buddy for a long time.”
To commemorate similar stories, like those between Anzenberger and Dexter, KHS is teaming up with Project Blue Collar to support rescued dogs and their owners by selling and distributing the Cincinnati-based organization’s light blue rubber dog collars.
Each adjustable, light blue collar, which is emblazoned with the phrase, “Support the Underdog,” will be sold for $10 at KHS headquarters in Lihue.
As of Friday afternoon, Anzenberger said KHS had about 20 collars on hand.
The humane society, which was named Project Blue Collar’s Shelter of the Month for July, will also receive one collar to be sold at full profit for each one purchased online.
“I visited Kauai early in 2013 and I was struck by the innovative programs and services the KHS was putting into place,” Project Blue Collar Co-founder Kristin Waters said in a news release.
“Their concept of volunteerism really struck me as something consistent with our organization’s mission and goals.”
Anzenberger said the collars do not include special features, such as identification tags or microchip capabilities, but explained the symbolic meaning behind them is much more important.
“I think, in the case of Dexter, people often think he is a pure bred French Bulldog and will come up to me say, ‘That’s a cute dog. Where can I get a puppy like that,’ and I just sit there and say, ‘I didn’t get Dexter as a puppy. I actually rescued him,’” Anzenberger said. “It gives me the chance to quickly tell Dexter’s story because a lot of people now will just come up and say, ‘What is that blue collar for?’”
For more information, visit the Project Blue Collar website at www.projectbluecollar.com or contact the KHS at 632-0610.
