About Us

Dante was a standard poodle who was dumped by a heartless breeder at the shelter in Baton Rouge. When he was rescued, he had a fever of 104 degrees and was coughing and extremely dehydrated. At the time, the vets thought he had a serious respiratory infection. After bringing him home and trying to nurse him back to health, we received the heartbreaking news that Dante had a tumor on his lung.

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This was very dear to our hearts as his foster mom, Kelly Parrish, was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2008. She had a mastectomy and began chemo in March of 2009. Kelly beat cancer and then it was Dante’s turn to beat it as well! Dante recovered from surgery to remove the tumor and was with us for 9 more months, but developed heart failure and passed away shortly after that.

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From the day he was rescued, Dante showed nothing but love and gratitude to anyone and everyone he came into contact with. He shared a very special bond with his foster mom and went to work with her every day. He was also at EVERY adoption event. He was such a testament to how loving, grateful, and amazing rescue animals can be. In his time with us, he became a certified therapy dog and he and his foster mom visited with cancer patients at Mary Bird Perkins. We will always miss him with his large stature and big, goofy smile.

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Kelly, now President of Dante's Hope, was inspired to begin rescue work because of Dante and others like him who were lost, abandoned, neglected and abused. There are so many pups in our society who would not have a chance without the wonderful work of rescue groups, as well as the individual volunteers who work tirelessly to find them loving homes. It is our desire to work within our local communities to help the animals and families come together and live happy and fulfilled lives.