Please meet our current adoptable dogs! All of our dogs are adult rescues.  Kiwi  and Otto  are here and ready for adoption. Please check back for more info and check out our Facebook and Instagram for the most current info on these adoptable dogs,  our rescue efforts, and local Colombian animal welfare initiatives, including spay and neuter campaigns, and feeding and caring for street animals. 

Canada has implemented a ban on the commercial import of dogs from over 100 countries, including Colombia. As a rescue organization Save a Friend falls under this ban --  of September 26, 2022, we are not be able bring dogs to from Colombia into our Canadian rescue which is a devastating blow for us as a responsible rescue and a registered not-for-profit organization.  If you are interested in direct adoption of dogs that are still in Colombia, you must be able to cover travel costs to Toronto, including the flight, crate, an international medical certificate and any duties to be paid on arrival.  These direct adoptions are suitable only for guardians/families with lots of dog experience and time to commit to the process.  We will also continue to fight this ban, along with the many, many other responsible rescues in Canada. 

We are always looking for volunteers travelling to Colombia and back that are willing to help. It's pretty simple: someone from the rescue will meet you at the airport in Colombia with the dog, and when you land, one of our Canadian volunteers will be there to pick up the dog. The rescue covers all costs and provides the necessary paperwork for customs that indicates you are volunteering for a registered NFP. It's a great way to help a dog in need without a long-term commitment -- cargo flights are very expensive -- this makes it easier and more affordable for Canadian families to adopt one of these amazing mutts! Please contact us if you'd like to know more about how you can help.

A SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING ADOPTION FEES: The average cost to spay/neuter, vaccinate, transport each dog to Toronto and foster locally is now around $1,700 per dog.  Since the onset of  COVID-19, we have been relying primarily on cargo flights to bring any out-of-country dogs into rescue here, these flights are very expensive, and as a result we have increased our adoption fees to cover additional costs.  The adoption fees we quote are the bare minimum we need to charge in order to continue our operations. We do our best to fund-raise the difference but as a small not-for-profit it’s not always possible. If you adopt from us and are happy with your adoption and are in a position to help we gratefully accept any additional amount you are able to provide so that we can continue helping more dogs find their forever homes.
Picture



​Click HERE to download our
adoption application!

This cutie is Kiwi!

**APPLICATIONS CLOSED**Kiwi was brought to one of our sterilization campaigns in Soacha, Colombia to be spayed by a good Samaritan. This tiny puppy was living in a chicken coop, subsisting on chicken droppings. Our vets determined she was both too young and too ill for surgery and thankfully, we convinced her "family" to surrender her to us. Kiwi went into foster care in Bogota and now she's here in T.O. -- happy, healthy and loving life in Canada. This sweet and sassy little fruit is ready for a forever family!


Despite a really rough start to life, Kiwi is a happy, healthy and outgoing dog. We estimate she's just under 2 years old. As a young pup, she's resilient and bounced back quickly. But as an adolescent, she'll need a family that is active and has lots of time for walks and play and snuggles, of course!

Kiwi is HIGH energy and needs a family that has adequate time to exercise her and give her mental and physical stimulation. She’s a smart pup and is excelling in her obedience class! Kiwi gets along the resident cat in her foster home, and most other dogs. She can be selective about some dogs, so a meet and greet with a potential fur sib is mandatory. She'd also be fine as an only dog. She currently lives in a house, and would love a house with her own backyard. Kiwi is not tested with young kids, so we're searching for a home without them. Dog-savvy kids 10+ would likely be fine, they can tire each other out.

We believe Kiwi is a terrier mix of some kind. She weighs about 20 lbs and has the build and deep chest of a tiny athlete. K is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped and 4Dx negative for heart worm and tick-borne diseases. She is also housetrained, crate trained and can be left alone for several hours in her crate with no issues. She knows her basic commands and is learning loose-leash walking, this is still a work in progress, so her new family will need to put in some training time with her. She does love those squirrels and has a prey drive. Kiwi is smart and attentive, she'd probably love an agility class! She is fine in the car and was well-behaved at the vet during her Canadian vet check.

Kiwi's adoption fee is 600.00. She is available for adoption in the GTHA. Save a Friend Dog Rescue conducts ongoing spay-neuter and public education campaigns in Colombia to help combat the pet overpopulation problem there. We therefore require our expenses to be fully covered from adoption fees so that we can continue our animal welfare work. Kiwi has come so far and the truth is that in Colombia, small black mutts are notoriously difficult to adopt out. Kiwi has hit the jackpot arriving in Canada and just before the ban came into effect. If you'd like to complete her happy tail, we'd love to hear from you!
*Please see above special note regarding adoption fees.

Meet Otto von Bisbark!

Otto’s foster mom says he looks a bit like a house hippo crossed with a Labrador Retriever crossed with some sort of mythical creature. We can assure you that he is indeed a dog and his Embark DNA test says he a mostly Poodle and Pekingese mix. He’s wonderful, affectionate and very clever. His stubby little legs support a sturdy and surprisingly sporty body and magnificent feathery tail.


Otto was rescued from the median of a very busy highway in Bogota, Colombia. One of our rescue team members happened to see him as she was travelling on a public transit bus on the highway, flattened against a concrete barrier in terror. Who knows how he got there or why? The roads are SO busy and the cars fast moving, it’s a miracle he wasn’t killed. Martha hopped off the bus, risking her own life, dodging speeding cars, to get to Otto. She used her belt as a leash to secure him and he allowed himself to be led back to safety.

Otto arrived in Canada last fall and spent quite a while in foster care in Toronto. He’s super smart, so affectionate and friendly. He loves his walks, walks nicely on a leash (but does react strongly to squirrels with yips and jumps, so that’s a work in progress). He’s very strong and with that low centre of gravity, he can pull if he wants to! He’s been very friendly with guests to his home and he loves his foster fur bro’. He’d do well with another pup to keep him company. He does chase the resident cat, so he’s best in a home without them. Otto has a delightful vocabulary of trills and little hoots. He tends not to bark when someone knocks at the door but does get barky and excited when he sees his leash and harness. Apart from that, he’s a medium-energy dog. He does love to sit in his backyard and just take it all in, we’d love this guy to have a fully-fenced yard of his own. Otto has not been tested with young kids; we’re searching for a family without them or with dog-savvy kids 10+.

Otto is between a year and a half and 2 years old. He weighs about 35 lbs, so despite his short legs, he’s more of a medium-sized guy. He’s neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and 4Dx negative. He is also house trained. He has a wavy coat like a poodle mix but he does shed. Otto’s foster dad is allergic to some breeds of dogs and is okay with Otto but he may not be suitable for someone else with allergies and if you don’t want to deal with some shedding, he’s not a good fit.

Now, here’s the thing with Otto von B who is pretty much perfect in every way except one: he has severe separation anxiety. He doesn’t bark when left alone but he panics big time. He has chewed his way out of his plastic crate, bent the metal on his wire crate and chewed up bedding and damaged the woodwork in a bedroom when left there alone. He also turns into an escape artist and would probably jump out an open window when he’s in a state of heightened anxiety. It’s probably one of the worst cases we’ve seen in a while. We don’t know how he ended up on that highway or what his life in Colombia was like before he was rescued. His foster fam has been working on this for a few months and it has improved but he still has a long way to go.

We’ve put him up for adoption now in the hopes that there is a family that is willing to work with him. This means experienced guardians that are patient, vigilant and willing and able to manage some potentially destructive behaviors and we get it, that’s not for everyone. He needs someone who is a homebody and home more than not. He’s such a rewarding and serious little soul, a great work-from-home companion for his foster mom right now, he naps quietly at her feet or on a chair for most of the day. He really is a very special guy that's been through so much in his short life and his foster fam adores him as does everyone who meets him.

Otto von Bisbark’s adoption fee is 1000.00. He is available for adoption in the GTA only as we want to keep him close to his foster fam so they can support his adoptive family. If you think you might be a match for Otto, please reach out.
*Please see above special note regarding adoption fees.