The Las Vegas Rescue Flying Dogs in From the Other Side of the World

Most rescue stories start at a shelter. Retriever Rescue LV’s often start in South Korea.

The Las Vegas-based rescue, founded by volunteers Dani and Jon Lapolla, began the way these things usually do: a love for a breed, a growing awareness of how many retrievers were ending up in shelters and breeding operations, and a decision to do something about it.

What it’s become is something harder to summarize: a foster-based rescue network that pulls dogs from overcrowded local shelters, yes, but also from dog farms and mills overseas, flies them to Nevada, and places them in homes where some of them are experiencing basic safety for the first time.

Why Foster-Based Matters

Retriever Rescue LV doesn’t operate out of a facility. Every dog in the program lives with a foster family while it waits for adoption — which means by the time a dog is placed, the rescue actually knows who they are.

That distinction matters more than it might sound. A dog that’s been living in a home for several weeks has had time to decompress, show its personality, and reveal what kind of environment it needs.

The rescue uses that information to make matches deliberately rather than quickly.

Adopters come away with a realistic picture of the dog they’re bringing home, and the rescue stays in contact after the adoption is finalized, available for training questions, adjustment challenges, whatever comes up in those first months.

It’s a slower model. It’s also a more honest one.

The Dogs From Overseas

For the retrievers arriving from South Korea (and other places), the flight to Nevada is the first good thing that’s happened to them in a long time.

Many have come from dog farms where they were kept as livestock. The rescue’s job, once they arrive, is to give them enough time and stability to start trusting people again.

Some of them get there faster than you’d expect.

Coming Up

The rescue will have dogs out in the community at several upcoming events, so it’s a good chance to meet them in person if you’ve been thinking about adopting or volunteering:

• Puppies & Prosecco at Tivoli Village — March 22
• Pose for Paws Yoga at UnCommons — April 19
• Tesla Community Event — April 25

The organization runs on a quote they come back to often: “Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.”

Find adoptable dogs and ways to support the rescue at retrieverrescuelv.com or on Facebook and Instagram.