For some people, extracurricular activities might include a sport or a creative art talent. For Amanda Horrell, that means fostering 20 fur babies in the last 15 months. Horrell is one of the many volunteers for the non-profit organization Louisiana Boxer Rescue. LaBR is a rescue for local boxer dogs pulled from shelters and occasionally other organizations in states close to Louisiana.
Horrell’s love for boxer dogs traces back to her childhood.
“When I was younger I stayed with my aunt and uncle a lot and they had boxers. They had boxer litter after boxer litter, and it was the coolest thing to me to see all these puppies,” Horrell said.
Horrell’s husband, Bob, is almost at a loss for words when trying to describe Amanda’s love for the dogs.
“To say that these dogs mean a lot to her is as big of an understatement as I could say about her,” he said. “She loves these dogs and is extremely passionate about the rescue.”
Horrell keeps in contact with other local rescues like the Boxer Rescue of Texarkana and LA Baby Momma in case they need any assistance for adoption publicity or help during events. Horrell attends meet and greets at Petco for LaBR and is the vet and home check consultant for potential adopters. Her job is to observe the future living environment for the dog and contact the veterinarian for health records and information. This year she attended the Barkus and Meow parade with one of her four adopted rescue dogs, Dozer.
Getting involved with this organization sounds like it would take months of planning, appointment making, and unanswered emails. For Horrell, she was so intrigued by all the rescue posts she saw on Facebook that she decided to contact LaBR and immediately got involved. Horrell is the first volunteer to foster this far north of the original rescue location in New Orleans. She is the lead foster in the Ark-La-Tex region.
“I know that I would prefer to work with a breed specific rescue because there are so many dogs to save and to help that it gets overwhelming to me if you don’t focus on one breed,” Horrell said. “I think I would want one of every kind of dog I came into contact with if I did all [dogs].”
The responsibilities that require being a rescue pet volunteer are time consuming, but completely worth it to Horrell. In addition to setting up awareness events and being the vet and home check consultant, she transports the foster dogs all over the state and updates Facebook with new fosters and information about LaBR. She is responsible to feed, protect, and send them to the organization’s chosen vet for their check-ups.
“She sacrifices her time and money to give these dogs another chance at a forever home. It isn’t something that you can do half way, you have to have commitment to do whatever it takes,” said Bob.
Horrell’s active volunteer experience has helped broaden this rescue’s reach to other parts of the Ark-La-Tex. LaBR has expanded to Lake Charles, DeRitter, and Baton Rouge.
Not only has Horrell impacted these dogs in need, but also the people around her witnessing what she does for these animals every day.
“To say that this experience has helped me grow in my faith would be a fair assessment. She has helped me also grow as a person,” Bob said. “We do it because they need us and without people with a heart like Amanda’s there are lots of animals that wouldn’t have a second chance at a good life.”