Bassets are rescued from shelters or received directly from owners who feel unable/unwilling to continue to care for them. The basset is placed in one of our organization's volunteer foster homes where it may be evaluated in terms of temperament and behavior. Medical conditions are addressed and all unaltered animals are spayed/neutered prior to being adopted by their new "forever families". The vast majority of our rescue hounds come into our care with heartworm infection and will not be adopted until the disease is treated to remission. Despite the time and expense involved, it is our mission to provide the most appropriate and humane medical treatment to each basset hound in our rescue. In conjunction with our rescue activities, educating the community regarding responsible and humane pet ownership is another aspect of our mission. This includes informing the public of the current pet overpopulation crisis, the benefits of spay/neuter programs, and the dangers of irresponsible breeding. Finally, our group is also focused on promoting a sense of community amongst those who are "owned" by a basset hound (or would like to be). We host a local Basset Hound Meetup Group and encourage anyone interested in a little basset-friendly socializing to sign up.