A little white puppy with one milk chocolate eye and the other ice blue wandered the PointBank Community Center on July 15, searching for attention from the crowd and things to sniff.
Bob Matthews and Meredith Matthews, the owners of All American Dogs, brought the pup when they spoke to the Lake Ray Roberts Rotary Club about their business and the associated nonprofit Miles of Hope.
“I’m glad they’re here and I’m glad they brought a four-legged friend,” Past President Whitney Delcourt said when introducing them.
The couple opened All American Dogs in 2007, and it has grown by leaps and bounds in that 17-year period.
“I got tired of wearing suits every day, and so we bought some land and cashed out all of our life savings and started boarding and training,” Bob said. “And then ‘08 happened. … That’s when there was a recession going on. Folks stopped traveling and training. Then I got approached by a few police departments [about doing animal control].”
He underestimated how long the dogs would stay, so he only built six runs.
“We currently have over 100 runs,” Bob said. “We just poured concrete on our sixth building. That building has 78 runs in it. [It] also has space above, so the total is 6,500 square feet. … It’ll have training space upstairs for statewide training for all ACOs, also some offices for my staff.”
After it’s completed, All American Dogs will strip the original building “all the way back to the steel studs,” Bob said.
The animal control company services 40 cities in nine counties with its 19 employees.
Miles of Hope was founded in 2009.
“[It’s] a nonprofit that is used to get dogs spayed, neutered, get them new homes,” Bob said. “They apply for grants … to try to help out with my little furry friends.”
The two entities work in concert with each other, he added.
“They’re separate, but they work together,” Bob said. “All American Dogs spends a lot of money to help Miles of Hope. Lots and lots of money. More than we will ever get back.”
Bob also recounted that it’s not always just furry friends who they receive calls about.
“We help them, whatever the issue is,” he said. “Sick animal, hurt animal, aggressive animal toppled somebody over, drug bust, alligators, lizards. Chupacabras. I think I’ve had four chupacabra calls.”
All American Dogs also responds when there’s a possible rabies case.
“We recommend you go see a doctor immediately, and they’re going to recommend that you get shots,” Bob said. “That’s just the nature of it. If you get the shot in the first 28 days, you don’t die, so that’s good. If you get shots after that, you die.”
He also spoke about their hold policy and their attention to temperament before they adopt out the pets.
The facility also connects people willing to foster the pets with a good fit for their situation.
“We kind of work with you to ask you, ‘What do you want? What fits well with you? Do you want a medium, large, small? Do you want a long-term potential?” Meredith said.
It’s a mix of feelings when a longterm four-legged resident finds a forever home, she added, like a shepherd mix who was in the shelter for over a year.
“Never any issues, the happiest dog ever; the staff loved him,” Meredith said. “He was a goofy, content boy. We’re so excited that he got adopted and so sad not to see him again.”
Donations can be made to Miles of Hope to help with the expenses for pets within the shelter at milesofhope. net.
