Found center prepares homeless, special needs pets for adoption

March 10, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Four years ago, Found, a not-for-profit center, was created to help disabled homeless dogs and cats.

The center not only rehabs these animals, but workers also find homes for them.

This one-of-its-kind center has a number of dogs looking for some love and care. One of them is a blind, handsome two-year-old pit bull mixed name Henry.

"He's great with people. He is great with dogs. He has terrific obedience&he can do that agility, he loves to fetch," said Jeff Jenkins, a senior rehabilitation counselor and dog trainer.

Jenkins has been working with henry for five months.

" We cleaned him up. We put some weight on him, taught him some manners. I mean, pound for pound, he's one of the best dogs I've ever worked with -- whether seeing or not-- he is fantastic," said Jeff.

Henry is one of the dogs that is available for adoption.

"Special needs dogs, they bring something special to the family," said Andrea Tosone, Found director of development.

"Typically, the dogs that we take in are dogs that other rescues may not have the resources to take. So, they're most medically and behaviorally challenged," Andrea said.

Andre is a nine-year-old dog who has a heart murmur. He is also up for adoption.

"He's still active dog. He can still run around and play, but we have to watch his breathing," said dog trainer Curtis Scott, who saved Andre's life when he was going to be put down.

"He likes people. He's a little shy around dogs, but I've been working with him for the past nine months," said Curtis.

"We have quite a great success stories, and some of these dogs -- just behaviorally, you know--once they learn to live in the world, they're just like a normal dog, and they get adopted fairly quickly," Andrea said.

"We prefer Andre with kids over 12 years old. His activity level, he doesn't really need a lot of &he's a couch potato, but also, he likes to have a little bit of activity in his life, too," Curtis said.

"But I'm not going to let him go easy. This is a great dog. You better be a good dog owner if you want to take my Henry," said Jeff.

Found has a number of dogs looking for homes. If you are interested in learning more, go to www.foundchicago.org.

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