Behind the Scenes of a Rescue Mission with The Dogist

At Diggs, our priority is the safety and well-being of pets and animals everywhere. This mission goes beyond how we make our products; it’s also the role we play in our community. To do our part, we’ve supported rescues and pet safety initiatives whenever possible.

Our latest effort is a rescue transport mission with The Dogist that helped save 30 dogs. The Dogist brought the pups from shelters in Tennessee up to New Jersey-based St. Hubert's Animal Wellness Center for adoption.

This is part of an ongoing initiative from The Dogist Fund to bring animals from “source” partners, areas with a high concentration of homeless dogs, up to “destination” partners, where more adoption opportunities exist. Diggs sponsored the relocation and donated some products for the pups’ journey.

We spoke with the team at The Dogist to give Pet Parents an inside look at what a rescue mission entails.

Q: What goes into planning a rescue/transport mission? What does your team do behind the scenes to prepare?

Jacquie: We worked very closely with St. Hubert’s to coordinate this transport. Through their Waystation program, they work with a network of over 90 partners and facilitate these transports multiple times per month. They are in constant communication with their source partners and move dogs not only to their campus in NJ but to their other destination partners as well. The St. Hubert’s team drives to these destinations with a van full of supplies for their partners and brings back a van full of dogs. We flew out to TN to meet them and drove back with a Mama dog and her 5 puppies!

Q: Tell us about the rescue mission with St. Hubert’s. Why did you select these partners? What were the pups like? Do you have any memorable moments from the journey?

Isabel: We highlighted St. Hubert’s during our 2021 Rescue Month along with three other rescue organizations, and were blown away by everything that St. Hubert’s does in addition to saving dogs. Their community programs champion both animal welfare and social services, and we knew very quickly that we wanted St. Hubert’s to be a long-term partner of ours. I had the pleasure of looking after Holly, the mom of the litter we transported back to New Jersey. I absolutely fell in love with her – despite everything she’d been through, she was so eager to love. I’ll never forget her climbing right into bed with me and snuggling all night long.

Jacquie: After we first worked with St. Hubert’s in October of 2021, I was drawn in to all of their incredible programs and I actually ended up fostering one of the dogs we photographed for them. He was an overly enthusiastic pitbull with a large mass growing on his eye. After seeing how much the staff at St Hubert’s loved him, I knew we had to help him. We ended up having enough money at the end of the year from The Dogist Fund to get him the eye surgery that he needed in order to prevent vision loss. After that, I stayed in close contact with our partners at St Hubert’s and they were the obvious choice for our 2022 rescue recipient. On this trip, I had the pleasure of rooming with Holly’s 5 puppies! They were the sweetest, most playful little pups. Thankfully all 5 pups fit in the large Diggs Revol crate so we all got a good night’s sleep before hitting the road the following morning. We were ecstatic to hear that all 5 pups and Holly were adopted within days of arriving in New Jersey!

Q: It’s a big commitment, physically and emotionally, to help rescue pups. What motivates you to work on these rescue & transport missions? What does it mean to you & your team to get to help these pups?

Isabel: We’re obviously motivated by our insane love of dogs, but I think we’re even more motivated by the incredible people who work at these organizations full time and dedicate their entire lives to helping these animals. We know firsthand how much work goes into rescue, so we’re always happy to help and volunteer in whatever way we can.

Q: How can Pet Parents help support The Dogist Fund?

Jacquie: You can support The Dogist Fund in multiple ways - you can make a one-time donation or subscribe to become a monthly donor through our website. You can make a purchase from The Dogist Shop (a portion of proceeds support The Dogist Fund). Or, if you are unable to shop/donate, sharing and engaging with our posts on social media goes a long way. The more people who know about our initiative, the more money we are able to raise and the more lives we are able to change!

Learn more about The Dogist on their site. If you’d like to support future rescue missions, you can donate to The Dogist Fund here.