A new service is helping animal rescue operations find owners for dogs that are typically considered less desirable.
The Underdog Club, a private organization that operates primarily through its website, caters to "the old, the ugly and the unpopular".
Founder Fern Breslaw said dogs that are older, overweight or sick are generally overlooked by people looking to adopt a pet.
"The Underdog Club does give these animals who are probably likely to be the dogs who are put down a chance by granting them the visibility," said Breslaw.
The dogs are featured in a photo gallery on the website http://www.underdogclub.org/
On Saturdays and Sundays, people are welcome to meet the dogs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 4922 Sherbrooke St. W, at the corner of Claremont Ave.
Breslaw said an eight-year-year Labrador mix named Toby is one of the underdogs she's taken in recently. He was abandoned a week and a half ago by his owner.
"He spent all day at the window, waiting, and everybody went home and cried because the poor guy spent eight years in a family and it really isn't fair," said Breslaw.
Another underdog, Yareck, was sent over to the organization all the way from Lebanon after he was hit by a car.
Breslaw said a group called BETA (Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent the dog to Montreal because many most stray dogs are tortured, shot or poisoned in Lebanon.
Team work
Sophie's Dog Adoption is one of the Montreal rescue operations working in collaboration with The Underdog Club. Sophie Fournier, who has been running the operation for the past 15 years, takes in dogs regardless of the breed or their condition.
"I take them all -- especially the ones that other rescues turn down. There's no other option for them," said Fournier, who ensures that all the dogs she takes in are sterilized and vaccinated.
Fournier doesn't have a kennel, so she uses foster families to look after the dogs. The Underdog Club's website gives her dogs a chance to be seen, and adopted.
Both Fournier and Breslaw urged people who are thinking of adopting a dog to consider broadening their scope.
"It's amazing how these dogs who've had such terrible histories, who have seen the worst in people, they still maintain a positive attitude, they still love kids, they still love other dogs," said Breslaw.
