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TAGS A four letter word that provides care, comfort and concern for rescue dogs When Kathy Asling was a little girl, her mom wouldn't let her have a pet. “When you grow up and get your own place, you can have all the dogs you want,” her mother said to her. Young Kathy took this to heart. Since she founded The Animal Guard- ian Society (TAGS) 25 years ago, she has had thousands of dogs come and go, in and out of her life, her home, her heart, and her backyard. The purpose of TAGS is to rescue dogs who are homeless or in danger of being put down, and find them suitable forever homes. Thanks to Asling, her team of volunteers, plus charitable donations, TAGS has grown from a one woman operation based out of an urban Oshawa home to a professional facility with classrooms in portables and a fenced dog park on a 20 acre spread with a rural Black- stock address. That's something to celebrate. TAGS is host- ing a 25tl i ‘y te the landmark of helping dogs for a quarter of a century. The event will be held on Saturday, October 13 from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Ajax Convention Centre. Tickets are $100. each, and include dinner and dancing. Donation items for the silent auction are welcomed. For more info call TAGS at 905-263-8247, or Emily Gassien at 905-985-8167, or go online at www. animalguardian.org. A registered charity, TAGS gets no govern- ment funding and has no paid staff. There’s about 60 volunteers, who do everything from obedience training to fostering to taking dogs to the vet. More foster families are always needed, so more dogs can be helped. There is an extensive screening process for pet adoptions, including home visits. Asling said they have to ensure that the dog and the new family are a good match. “Foster homes make dogs more adoptable,” 28 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2012 Aurora with Biscotti, who is nothin’ but a hound dog, as Elvis would say. Asling said. Living compatibly with a family and practicing good manners and behaviour in a home setting is important. Obedience training is also part of the TAGS program. Andree Wagar has volunteered for TAGS for 10 years, and she enjoys putting the dogs through their paces in the dog park. She brings along her own dog, Ty, adopted from TAGS in March 2007. “Ty makes me laugh,” said Wagar. “He’s smart and easy to train.” Wee Ty gets out there in the dog park to show the other dogs the ropes. Basic pet training includes sits, downs, stays and re- calls. Wagar said it is important to train dogs to sit when some- one comes to the door, for example. Asling’s granddaughter, seven-year-old Aurora Asling, likes to help out. “It's fun,” she said. “I like the games, like musical hoops.” Meanwhile, Aurora has Ty on a leash under a shade tree so he can cool off after running around the dog park. She gives him some friendly pats. As well as training the dogs who are up for adoption, TAGS offers obedience sessions to the general public, at the cost of only $125. for eight weeks. The idea is to train the people how to train the dogs, said Asling. TAGS educates dog owners on health and nutrition for their pets. A future dream is a Wellness Centre. “We need to be advocates for the animals,” said Wagar, who