She’s a pet lover and restaurateur, but some days the two are just not compatible, simply because there a not enough hours in the day. 

Owner of the Rickshaw Restaurant in North Seattle, Ginger Luke became involved in canine rescue quite by accident in 2006. And two years later, Ginger’s Pet Rescue has found homes for more than 1,200 dogs, many of which have come off Death Row in shelters ranging from Washington state to Northern California.

She has been featured in numerous newspaper stories and on radio, but questions still remain about her operation. Hopefully, this Q & A with the dedicated founder will help answer many of those for you.

This woman has a heart, and in the case of one shelter her team’s efforts have reduced the kill rate from 70 percent to 10 percent.

While she receives upwards of 500 emails daily from people with dogs that need homes, she also gets them from those who have lost dogs or are looking for a new companion.

But Ginger’s Pet Rescue is not all about her, it’s about her dedicated foster-home network that rehomes these former shelter animals until new owners step forward to adopt them.

To better understand Ginger’s Pet Rescue, a nonprofit operation, here is a poignant Q&A with its founder:

Q: You have been criticized in some circles for having high adoption fees.

    How do you answer those critics?

A: For the year of 2007, Ginger's Pet Rescue spent $ 86,593.32. We took in a total of $ 75,992.27 from adoption fees, donations, fund raisers, auctions, sales from our T-shirts and wrist bands and donations from my business.

At the outset of our program, our adoption fees were only $80 a dog, but soon we discovered that for us to effectively continue this pet rescue, we needed to fund-raise and increase our adoption fees.

Because we specialize in saving Death Row Dogs, we require round-the-clock emergency funding for all of our rescued animals.  Many are scheduled to be euthanized within hours and if we don't arrange for a foster home in time, that animal must go directly to a boarding facility, which can cost $25 or more daily.

Our adoption fees range from $150 to $650, depending on the dog and all costs required to save it. These fees are always used for our rescued dogs’ well-being, since we have no paid staff. Each animal that comes into our rescue is sterilized before it is adopted, plus all required vaccinations are provided.

Some dogs require major treatment, including expensive orthopedic surgeries, dental work, flea treatment and de-worming medicines, specialized medications for adoption ear, eye and antibiotic needs. All adoption candidates receive bathing and grooming before being re-homed.

Adoption fees are also used to pay for transporting the dogs to Seattle and from shelters as far as Eastern and Central Washington and California. Other operational costs include crates, beds, leashes, collars, dog food, dog tags, food bowls, treats and toys. 

We also hire trainers to work with behavior cases. Some puppy-mill rescues must be taught how to be a dog after years of being confined to cages with little social interaction. Some do not even know how to eat out of a dog dish.

We are very lucky to get ”Hero Dogs!"  They are healthy, happy, very adoptable and some are purebreds.  These can command a good adoption fee that helps creates revenue for the next dog in need.

I am happy to show anyone where our pet rescue adoption fees go. We have major invoices and veterinary bills, and thankfully one of our veterinarians allows us to pay on account.  

Q: You are a 501 3 (c)) and have been in operation for two years.

    Has your bottom line at the end of each year been profitable or a loss? 

A:  Definitely we are in the hole and in need of more funds.  Ginger’s Pet Rescue has taken in dogs of all ages and of all sizes; we do not discriminate, which means some dogs are harder to place than others.

As long as we have foster homes we do our best to accommodate them.  These dogs must be deemed safe and adoptable. We pay reputable trainers to work with animals coming to us with behavioral issues. We will never adopt a dog out with behavioral issues.

We take in deaf, blind, senior and special-need dogs as well.  

A: We have about 40 foster moms and dads who are the heart and soul of Ginger's Pet Rescue!  Some are full-time fosters and some only foster when their schedules allow them. We have about 50 volunteers who help with transport, fund raising and other projects.

We pay for gas for long transports, van rentals, insurance and many times the driver's food and lodging.  We have fosters who are unemployed, so we will always make sure their expenses are paid.

A: All the shelters that I work with in Washington state do not offer small dogs to Ginger's Pet Rescue. Most get adopted very quickly or they go on lottery pick at the shelters to the first 40 people who apply for that dog.  Many will also go to the specific rescue group breeds if they are a purebred.

Upon starting Ginger's Pet Rescue we were only working with big dogs but soon we began getting many requests for small ones.  The list grew endlessly and I felt a huge need to accommodate them.

Some California shelters can hold up to 300 dogs, many of which are small ones due to fashion fads.  Many dogs from California are Chihuahuas or Chihuahua mixes that are brought from Mexico by rescue groups. Dogs from Mexico are seldom spayed or neutered for financial or macho reasons, which lead to massive overpopulation problems.  

With this surplus of small California shelter dogs facing euthanasia,  I thought why not transport some to Washington, after all these were all Death Row Dogs!  This mission because a win-win to save the dogs and to make people happy!  I was able to connect with a friend in California who was able to set up a  well-organized program to bring some of these animals north.

My friend pulls the adoptable dogs whose time is running out. We quickly get them sterilized, immunized, micro-chipped, dewormed and flea-treated at our expense. We rent a huge van, pay for the gas, insurance, crates, ID collars, and drivers’ expenses.

A: Because of the huge demand for little dogs due to apartments, condos and landlord restrictions, my  rescue partner in California and I have been able to work together with shelters in California to bring up 35 small dogs every two months.

Besides California, we are getting dogs successfully transported from the East Coast, Nebraska, Montana, Oregon and even Taiwan via China Airlines.  Anyone who emails us and asks for help, we are willing to put forth an effort to help save any dog in need.

A: This is an excellent question.  We are here to help anyone who contacts us and ask for help. 

Ginger's Pet Rescue believes that every dog deserves a second chance in life no matter where it comes from or what breed it is.

A: We are always looking for new ideas to fund-raise. We have just been accepted into the City of Seattle Combined Charities.

In the past, we have done car washes, garage sales, raffles and auction prizes at nightclubs with popular bands donating their time to play.  We bring our adoptable dogs and offer great appetizers.  We sell our Death Row Dog T-shirts and wrist bands. We have just been approved for Adoption Days at PetSmart and PETCO.

We are also planning fund-raisers at my restaurant with pet psychics, auction items, a Karaoke DJ. We are also exploring the idea of having a booth at both the Evergreen and Puyallup fairs next year, since they attract hundreds of thousands of visitors. 

A: My dream is to find funding to purchase 20-30 acres of land.  A small version of the Best Friends sanctuary in Utah would be the absolute dream!  A safe haven for all Death Row Dogs. 

It would be staffed with veterinarians, groomers, dog trainers, animal behaviorists and many volunteers.  On weekends we will have Adoption Day to welcome familes to come meet and greet our dogs.

There will nice grassy areas where they can all run and play and socialize. We will feed them high-quality dog food, vitamins, supplements and ensure that they are all nursed back to good health again.

We will have special areas in this sanctuary divided up into these categories: 1.  Puppies and Moms; 2.  Dogs with Behavior Issues; 3.  Senior Dogs; 4.  Handicapped & Special-Need Dogs ; 5.  A special area for pit bulls

Our ultimate goal will be that every adoptable dog will have a safe place to go to.

A: We have some absolutely wonderful relationships with many of them.  We want to help in any possible way that we can and hope that you can do the same for us. Unfortunately there are some rescue groups that waste so much time criticizing others.  This needs to stop!  Rescue should not about competition - it should be all about saving the dog!

Ginger's Pet Rescue has donated funds, when available, to help other rescue groups and shelters. 

For example, last summer when the Moses Lake shelter was at a 90 degree temperature with no air-conditioning units, we donated $ 2,200 and sent over eight air-conditioned fans. We have donated computers to a several rescuers that could not afford one.  

Q:  Do you need volunteers to help for chores other than fostering, .i.e. walking, feeding, etc.?  

     If so, how can they apply?   Is there a minimum age?

A: The best work any volunteer can offer is to help us foster one or two dogs at a time.  Because these Death Row Dogs have been so traumatized, it’s best to have a one-to-one relationship with the newly fostered dog.  However if a foster parent would like to have a volunteer help out, I am happy to make this connection. 

The minimum age requirement to foster or adopt is 18. Commitment and responsibility are the most important!

A:  We do a lot of good deeds that most people don't even know about! 

1.  We love to donate dogs to special needs or families of handicap children. We make sure the dog is going to a good forever home and application applies as well as a home check. For example, we just donated a dog to a wonderful family that just lost their 14 month old baby. This donated dog is helping this family heal.

2.  We offer a Lost and Found Reward Fund ranging anywhere from $ 300-$500. This is for people who have lost their pet and cannot afford to offer a reward.

3.  Senior Citizen Assistant Living Program.  When a senior citizen is required to move into assisted- living quarters, every pet they own is required to have a veterinary certificate citing a clean bill of health. Many seniors cannot afford this, so Ginger's Pet Rescue has offered to pay this if funding is available.

4.  If funds permit, we like to help people whose dogs are in need of urgent emergency surgery. These dogs are going to die if they do not get immediate care and sadly the owners are turned down at the emergency facility because of a lack of funds.  

5.  We are also working on creating a new program called "Vets with Heart." Because of the alarming rate of dogs that die because the owners cannot afford emergency veterinary care, I am working on a statewide program where veterinarians can offer one emergency pro bono surgery a month. In lieu of funding, I would promote their name and donated services in the media.

A: Our goal is to find as many people to help out with Ginger's Pet Rescue.  So many people say no to getting involved because they simply do not have time.  People always ask me how I find time.  I always tell them I make this a priority. 

I run two businesses - one is a restaurant open seven days a week, 365 days a year, 18 hours a day!

I dedicate 40-60 plus hours a week on Ginger's Pet Rescue and sometimes even more. The need is huge and my dedication for these dogs has become my passion. Communication is very important to our pet rescue and myself. I would like to hear from you on any suggestions, feedback, ideas or complaints that you may have. You may email me directly at gingerluke@comcast.net.