Caring Hearts Rescue is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Fairfax County that works to rescue abandoned or homeless senior and special needs dogs, rehabilitate them both medically and behaviorally. Making sure our rescue dogs are healthy from “head to paw,” is our first priority, so any dog entering our rescue receives medical care such as any needed surgeries, spay/neutering, flea and tick removal, dental care, supplements and medications. After receiving any needed medical care, we place our rescues in one of our many volunteer foster homes. All of our rescued dogs are in foster homes in the VA, DC and Maryland area. Rehabilitating dogs before placing them up for adoption is our specialty, so every dog entering our rescue is assessed to determine their training needs. Our Paws of Zen Rehabilitation Program provides each foster parent with training and a unique behavioral plan designed to help their foster dog adjust to a new caretaker and learn to trust humans again. Having a clear understanding of our rescue dog’s emotional and behavioral needs, helps us provide adopters with a clearer understanding of the rescue dog’s needs and we also train and provide each adopter with a behavioral plan in case problems arise. This greatly reduces return rates to CHR and empowers our adopters to be the best dog parents they can be. In addition to finding loving forever homes for dogs and educating our dog foster and adopters, we educate and train dog owners in the general community about positive dog training techniques in an effort to decrease the number of dog owners who choose to give up their pets to shelters or rescue groups due to behavioral problems that they feel ill-equipped to deal with. Caring Hearts Rescue relies on donations, grants and community support to achieve our mission of saving senior and special needs dogs.