Two metro people have turned their passion for animal rescues into a nonprofit to help abandoned dogs.
The idea came last year after Meiki Parker found two stray dogs, which had been abandoned near her Choctaw home.
“As soon as I opened my car door, both jumped right in,” Parker said.
She posted about her new furry friends in need of a home online and met Jared White, who adopted one of the dogs.
“By the second night, I knew he wasn't going anywhere,” White said about his dog, Jack.
Both Meiki and Jared, who had play dates for their animals, got the idea of starting a nonprofit to match people with dogs.
Their organization is called The Underdogs.
“It's never going to be an organization that makes money, that's for sure,” Parker says as she scoops food into six bowls for the dogs staying at her house right now.
“Every hand they've ever been dealt has been terrible," White says about the animals he and Parker shelter at their homes.
The Underdogs hold various “Foster to Forever” events around the metro.
The idea is that people will take in one of the animals for a while before committing and adopting the dog.
So far, The Underdogs has placed dozens of the dogs with new owners.
To learn more about the nonprofit or to make a donation, visitThe Underdogs Facebook page.