Southwest Oasis Lab Rescue: Saving Hundreds of Needy Canines

After twenty-one years of rescuing canines in Arizona, a former police officer has a hard time saying no to a request to save a Labrador Retriever or Lab mix. Susan Krase is one of the founders of the Tucson-based Southwest Oasis Lab Rescue (SOLR) that has a network of volunteers in Tucson, Phoenix, Prescott, and Flagstaff.

Krase, who took a medical retirement from the Tucson Police Department in 2005, says that SOLR only rejects aggressive dogs and takes on all others.

Founded in 2019, this nonprofit organization rescues Labs and Lab mixes (as well as an occasional Golden Retriever) from shelters and owners relinquishing their canines in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, and occasionally, Colorado and Utah. It may soon take dogs from California because so many Labradors have been abandoned in that state, according to Jeannette Wahl, another volunteer who coordinates transports, keeps the organization’s records, and acts as the group’s medical liaison.

Krase says SOLR spends about 90% of its budget on medical treatment for its rescues. Last year, that sum totaled about $80,000. SOLR depends on donations and fundraisers to fund its rescue activities.

So far, the most expensive rescue has been Sawyer, a “chocolate Lab” mix that was on the streets in Mexico. He was found lying against a curb and couldn’t walk. SOLR had him transported to the Tucson area where he gained weight and walked again. He was adopted quickly but then jumped off his new family’s couch and couldn’t stand. The family returned him to SOLR. The rescue group sent him for an MRI which showed an infection in his spine. He’s been on antibiotics for six months and must undergo yet another MRI before he can be adopted. He’s only a year and a half, and is fast becoming SOLR’s $10,000 dog!

As of July 1, SOLR has rescued a total of more than 400 Labs and Lab mixes, Krase says.

SOLR doesn’t have a facility, so all dogs, after they are examined by a veterinarian, travel straight to their foster family.

Krase says currently Arizona shelters not only are being overrun by abandoned dogs but also aren’t accepting owner-surrendered canines. That means more canines are being referred to SOLR: the cute puppies obtained during the early months of the pandemic are now grown and their owners no longer have time for them or want to go on vacation without them.

Fortunately, SOLR has about 100 families waiting to adopt its rescues.

Krase says that sometimes dogs are abandoned in the desert or thrown out of cars.

The former was what happened to Colby, a two-year-old Lab/Golden Mix. He was found abandoned in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson. Colby was malnourished and still suffers from anxiety probably because of being abandoned, Krase says. But he loves to swim and play ball. He’s still being treated for anxiety while he’s with his foster family.

Krase recently received a call from a Mexican contact who said that a beautiful black Lab had been abandoned at a gas station when her owners drove off without her. The four- to five-year-old Lab hung around the gas station for days, putting her paws up on car doors to check for her owners. She was picked up by a shelter in Mexico who contacted Krase to see if SOLR would take her. Krase authorized a vet check so the Lab could receive a health certificate needed for entry into the United States and placement with a foster family.

Some of SOLR rescues are flown by pilots in their private planes to Tucson, primarily from Deming, N.M., according to Wahl.

Krase’s affair with Labradors began in 1992 when she chose Mercedes, the “cutest” yellow Labrador puppy in a litter that her neighbor had bred. Since then, she’s always had foster failures— rescues she’s fostered and then adopted. Today, she has two yellow Labs— Gracie who has Valley Fever and severe eye issues that require daily care, and Lacey, a puppy surrendered by its owner to Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue (DLRR). Lacey, now twelve, has Addison and other diseases.

As a Tucson police officer in 2001, Krase responded to a welfare check and discovered two black Labradors with their deceased owner. The firefighter who also went to the house adopted one of the Labs. Krase researched rescues and discovered DLRR that was able to take in the second Lab. That’s when Krase started volunteering full-time for DLRR— before and after her law enforcement job as well as on her days off—and continued full-time after she retired from the police department.

On her first day on the job at DLRR, she was sent to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to pick up two wild, eleven-month-old chocolate Labradors. Both were totally out of control. Within thirty seconds of meeting them, she was smitten by one of the wild pups carrying an Elmo toy. She asked if she could adopt him. This friendly exuberant pup, who she named Oakley, became her forever dog.

After a change of leadership at DLRR, Dr. Craig Nausley, DVM of Briarcrest Veterinary Center, Tucson, urged Krase and others to found a Lab rescue in Tucson.

So Krase and others founded SOLR in early 2019. She’s grateful that Dr. Nausley provided much-needed medical care for SOLR’s early rescues and waited patiently to be paid until SOLR raised enough money at yard sales and other fundraisers. She also credits Arcacia Vet Clinic and Desert Paws Mobile Veterinary Care, both in Tucson, and Chaparral Veterinary Clinic in Cave Creek for going above and beyond normal help when they care for SOLR rescues.

Krase says 123 people volunteer for SOLR.

Wahl, who started fostering dogs in 1963, estimates she has fostered about 500 dogs and also takes on forever dogs that are very difficult to place because of their health or social issues. Currently, she has four foster failures.

According to Wahl, individuals can surrender their Labs to SOLR by filling out an extensive form that documents information about the dog and its living conditions, health, and training history. (The form can be downloaded from the SOLR website.) A volunteer reviews the form before contacting the owner to make sure that the dog isn’t a biter and listens carefully for any red-flag issues.

Wahl coordinates transfers of owner-surrendered dogs by visiting them and then transports them to a vet’s office for a checkup. She also arranges for transportation of other rescues from various shelters to vet offices. After a vet checkup, the dog immediately goes into foster care.

And sometimes there are surprises with happy endings. Take the story of Charlie. A good Samaritan oil worker picked up Charlie running loose in a Texas oil field and noticed he was wearing a collar. He took him to a shelter because he hoped the dog’s owners would be contacted.

The shelter called him two weeks later. Charlie didn’t have a microchip and would be put down unless a home was quickly found for him. The worker took him home but his three small dogs took a dislike to him, and Charlie loved to chase his cats. But the worker thought someone had really loved Charlie because he walked nicely on a leash and knew basic obedience commands. He called SOLR for help and drove the friendly dog from El Paso, TX to Wilcox, NM where SOLR picked him up.

After being examined by a veterinarian, Charlie was taken to his foster family. A SOLR volunteer later went to the home to microchip him but scanned the dog’s entire body before doing so. That’s when Charlie’s microchip was discovered! Charlie was Buddy. SOLR called his Texas owner who said she’d found a good home for him because she was going to be away for an extended time to deal with her mother’s CA estate. She was surprised that he was found running loose and thought he was the best dog ever. She was very pleased that SOLR had rescued him and would find a loving home for Buddy, AKA Charlie.

Gigi Tambures is SOLR’s coordinator for potential adopter(s) home visits, team visits, and foster events.

Potential adopters are screened by answering questions on an extensive questionnaire located on the SOLR website. Tambures emails SOLR’s home visit team members, one of whom schedules a virtual or in-person home visit with the potential adopter(s). That member meets with all of the potential adopter’s family members and pets to assess whether they meet SOLR’s adoption requirements. Once SOLR approves an application after this home “visit,” the potential adopter contacts the foster parent(s) of the dog that he/she specifically is interested in adopting. The foster parent(s) then chats with the potential adopter about whether the specific dog is a good match.

If all parties believe the dog and family will be a good fit, the foster parent(s) schedules an in-home visit with the potential adopter and his/her family and all pets. During that visit, the foster parent(s) considers whether the family, including children and other animals and their living situation, is the right fit for the foster dog. If the foster is a jumper, the foster parent checks to make sure the backyard is securely enclosed so the canine won’t escape!

SOLR, which currently has about 73 foster parents, is always in need of more, Tambures says. But before foster parents can adopt a foster rescue, they must foster at least three dogs. “It’s hard for fosters” to let go, she notes.

“We are very, very strict on where a dog goes,” she adds.

“The SOLR adoption process is harder than adopting a child,” Tambures jokes.

She currently has two foster failures: Tank, an eleven-year-old black Lab from Pagosa Springs, CO, and a seven-year-old yellow female named Athena.

Wahl relates Tank’s story:  SOLR was contacted by his owner’s new wife who wanted to find a home for this happy, friendly 98-pound Lab that had lived her husband’s family since he was a pup. The dog was tied outside their home during the day and brought into the garage at night. The new wife said the dog didn’t receive any attention and just needed to be loved.

SOLR transporters sprang into action and brought him to Deming, NM where he was flown to Phoenix and then driven to Tucson. He now lives a happy life with Tambures and her family!

For more information about SOLR, visit see: https://www.solraz.org/

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