Meet us.
The Original Hollis Crew –
Clay and Lilia along with (left to right),
Bohde (Pom), Hannah (Boxer/Rhodesian),Tina (Basenji mix), Madison (Chow/Shepherd mix),
Blue Lou (Bassett), Jake (Schnauzer) and Presley (Shih Tzu).
Of our original crew, only Bohde, Hannah and Presley are still with us.
This photo ran in the Lake Highlands and Lakewood Advocate.
It began with a howl at 3 a.m.
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Lilia Hollis and her husband, Clay, had just moved into their new home atop Flagpole Hill just a stone's throw from the eastern shore of White Rock Lake in Dallas.
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The plaintive howling was from a droopy-eared basset hound who refused to be coaxed inside by the sleepy-eyed newlyweds. Instead, he dashed down the hill, ears flying, to a Shih Tzu puppy crouching in the brush at the side of the lake. The little pup was on the edge of death from mange and staph infections in both eyes. Lilia and Clay adopted both dogs and spent thousands of dollars nursing the Shih Tzu back to health.
What followed was the creation of White Rock Dog Rescue.
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That was over 20 years ago. Today, the rescue has become a full-time (unpaid) job for Lilia, an electrical engineer, and analyst. The 100% volunteer-based 501(c)(3) is funded through the love, talent, and donations of its fosters and donors. All funds go directly to food and providing low-cost vet care. The working budget is generated with a scrappy-can-do-attitude fueled by aluminum can drives, puppy parties, adoption events, and online donations.
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However, White Rock Dog Rescue is more than a basic animal rescue. We help families in our community keep their pets through education, obedience training, and fence repair. Our founder and director, Lilia honors her Hispanic roots by educating the Spanish-speaking community about the importance of serialization and cessation of dog fighting.
The Lakewood and Lake Highlands neighborhoods are treasured for their beauty and community pride, but there is a darker side to White Rock Lake. Few people know that the lake is a popular site to abandon litters of newborns or unwanted dogs. It is our mission to continue what Blue the Basset Hound began in the early morning of 2001. Rescue, rehab, and rehome deserted dogs into their forever families.
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Our group is very "hands-on." Everyone fosters and works directly with the dogs. We don't rely on dog boarders or kennels and we do all our own marketing. We "will do the work" and make every dollar stretch as far as it can go but we need your help.
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For more information about White Rock Dog Rescue, contact adoptions@whiterockdog.org or 214.507.4016.
Featured in: The Lakewood Advocate & White Rock Lake Weekly.
White Rock Dog Rescue works to save lives. We have a thorough rescue, rehabilitation and foster care process prior to adopting out our dogs to their permanent homes.