Love for Paws’ Rosie Garza poses with Elvis, a Shar Pei/Shepherd mix that is up for adoption. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Tucked away on a serene road near Bulverde city limits is a fledgling shelter where the lead pet rescuers are determined to help critters find animals a new lease on life and to further spread the benefits of proper pet ownership.

Rosie Garza and her husband David broke ground in early February on the Love for Paws Rescue shelter, which is under development on a private four-acre site near U.S. 281 and Texas 46.

Love for Paws Rescue actually began as a non-profit in late 2006. A lifelong love for animals led Rosie Garza to realize there was a need to help reduce the mind-numbing number of stray animals in San Antonio.

“I’ve been doing rescues all of my life,” Garza said. “I started picking up one animal, then another, and then another. After moving to San Antonio, I would see homeless everyday.”

Rosie and David talked about starting a pet rescue from scratch. They took on a second mortgage on their home and began to realize their dream.

The couple also met Angela Cooke, who also aspired to launch a grassroots animal shelter. Subsequently, Cooke and the Garzas became business partners and initiated construction work on a physical shelter.

Plans call for the main shelter to include indoor/outdoor dog runs, an indoor cat room with access to an outdoor cat enclosure, a treatment/grooming area, office/adoption room and an isolation room.

Rosie Garza said she is envisioning a dog park that dogs could use for recreation.

Garza said she, her husband and Cooke have all sacrificed to try and realize their dream. Garza has reduced her hours as an employee at the Bulverde Creek Animal Hospital to devote more time to caring for the rescued animals.

Love for Paws currently has 11 dogs, one cat and one rabbit up for adoption.

A few of the animals are on site; others are placed temporarily among volunteer foster pet owners.

 Garza said Love for Paws places a special emphasis on what she calls “hard-luck” cases – animals that have been found as strays, or turned over. Many of these animals, whose stories can be found on the rescue’s Web site (www.LoveForPawsRescue.com), have battled back from maladies such as heartworm, mange, malnourishment and even severe injuries.

“It’s this sort of things that make me really want to be an advocate for homeless pets,” she said.

Love for Paws volunteers engage in various pet adoption events, and plan to devise an array of fundraisers in the future, Garza said. Love for Paws encourages donations of money and supplies to help care for rescued critters.

The organization also is seeking help to procure building materials to finish the physical sanctuary, as well as storage units and appliances. In fact, anyone with special construction skills is encouraged to donate some time toward the shelter building effort. For more information, call (830) 639-4039, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it