Jenny Kanieski and Sparky
A Manitowoc dog lover doesn’t let distance keep her from helping a Virginia Dachsund rescue. Jenny Kanieski says “I’ll adopt as many dogs as possible!” The Lakeshore resident is one of the founders and a volunteer for K Kids Dachshund Rescue Inc., a grassroots 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Virginia.
K Kids was launched in July, 2018 and a year later has already rescued 44 dachshunds, primarily in Virginia, and adopted out the majority of them. After being surrendered to K Kids, a dachshund is placed in a foster home until they are able to be adopted. Over the course of a few weeks or months, the dachshund receives love, training, and medical care.
Kanieski explains how she got involved with the rescue, “My current dog Sparky that I adopted, he’s from Virginia. I got him through a different dachshund rescue, but the foster mom for Sparky is involved with K Kids and so are some of the people who helped transport him to us. They brought him on a 15-hour car ride, each person took him for an hour and brought him to Wisconsin for us. I became involved because they stayed in touch with me and I love to save the doxies.”
Sparky is actually the second dachshund that Kanieski has rescued. In 2008, with convincing from her husband, she adopted her first dog ever. Willie was blind and rescued from an abusive home here in Wisconsin where he was forced to spend his days outside, in a cage, with a much larger dog. Kanieski was able to show Willie the kind of love and care that all dogs deserve until he passed away in 2017. Later that year, after grieving for her first pet, she decided she wanted to continue to help dogs in need. Sparky, who is also blind, was rescued by K Kids in 2017 after he was surrendered from a home that could no longer provide a safe environment.
Although she lives in another state, Jenny is able to help the rescue by running their social media efforts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A job she can do remotely from over 900 miles away.
Recently K Kids has been awarded a generous grant from the Dr. Jane Foundation. The $1,125 grant was awarded in July 2019 to help K Kids save dachshund and dachshund mixes who need to be rescued from shelters or surrendering owners. K Kids aims to rescue and re-home dachshunds regardless of age, size, gender, health, or most behavior quirks.
“We are thrilled with this grant and the opportunity it provides us to rescue more dachshunds and to ensure health services for the dachshunds already in our care,” said Krista Welder, founder of K Kids. “Many of our rescue dachshunds were surrendered or turned into shelters because they have health conditions that their humans could not afford to treat. We take on those dachshunds and commit to paying their veterinary medical bills but the cost is often high; it is only through donations and grants from organizations like the Dr. Jane Foundation that we are able to continue with our mission.”
K Kids also provides education for owners to prevent dachshunds from entering rescue or winding up in shelters in the first place, with a focus on common dachshund health and behavior issues, financial counseling about veterinary expenses, and estate planning in case the dachshund outlives their humans.
The Dr. Jane Foundation is the nonprofit arm of Life’s Abundance. The foundation awards grants each quarter to animal rescue groups around the country. For more information about the Dr. Jane Foundation, visit www.lifesabundance.com/Pets/Foundation. For more information about K Kids Dachshund Rescue Inc., visit www.kkidsrescue.org or contact Krista Welder at 540-358-5799 or SaveDoxies@kkidsrescue.org
