When her dog Max died eight months ago, Irene Vlach was devastated.

The West Highland White Terrier had been her world for the last 16 years. With no children and no family in Central Oregon, the 59-year-old Vlach fell into a deep depression. She buried herself in her work and prayed every day that God would send her a new best friend.

Then, she saw a photo of Cooper on an Instagram account from Street Dog Hero, a Bend-based rescue operation that works to re-home street dogs from around the world. In an instant, Vlach knew she and Cooper were meant to be. Without delay, she contacted Street Dog Hero to see if Cooper had already been adopted. To her relief, the 3-year-old Maltese-Yorkshire Terrier was still available.

But there was still one problem — Cooper was in Norman, Oklahoma.

For Street Dog Hero, Vlach and Cooper are a success story, one of many they share a role in telling. Cooper was one of 32 dogs at Norman Animal Services that were on track to be euthanized due to overcrowding but were instead flown to Bend in July. All but one have been adopted.

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Bend group rescues dogs from overcrowded Oklahoma shelter

The nonprofit is not a shelter, and Manny Ramos, Street Dog Hero adoption manager, said people only reach out to adopt dogs before they arrive in Bend about 30% of the time. Because Street Dog Hero is not a shelter, the rest of the incoming dogs are placed in foster homes as they wait to be adopted.

Most families aren’t comfortable adopting dogs before they’ve had a chance to meet them, Ramos said, but he still works hard to promote incoming rescue dogs through social media in the hope that someone like Vlach will see the photo and fall in love.

“It means they go straight to a home instead of being placed with a foster,” Ramos said.

Typically, Street Dog Hero works internationally to rescue abandoned dogs in countries such as Mexico, India or Albania. Each year, it brings in 500-600 dogs to be fostered and adopted in Oregon.

But recently, the organization has noticed an increased demand for aid from domestic shelters like Norman Animal Services.

“From the beginning, we knew that we wanted to help anyone and everyone that we could … so we try to help as much domestically as we can too,” said Ramos, who said Street Dog Hero found out about Norman Animal Services through one of its project partners, Dog is My Copilot, which helps transport Street Dog Hero’s rescues back to Bend.

“As an organization, we have been so happy with all the dogs from this shelter,” Ramos said, referring to the Oklahoma shelter. “You can see the energy and the work put into these dogs. They aren’t like the dogs we pull off the streets in Mexico. They have medical records and have some training.”

Cooper arrived in Bend on a Wednesday afternoon, July 19. Vlach’s boss let her out early that day to pick him up, and the second she held Cooper, Vlach started crying. Before she found out about Cooper, Vlach had tried to adopt other West Highland White Terriers that had reminded her of Max. None of those adoptions worked out.

“Street Dog Hero has just made it so easy,” Vlach said.

With Cooper settled in at home, Vlach laughed as she recalled Street Dog Hero’s three-day trial period, which she learned was a standard part of any Street Dog Hero adoption. She knew Cooper had found his forever home.

“But it’s nice to have the acknowledgment that if it doesn’t work out, you won’t be penalized,” she said. Ramos agreed it is one of Street Dog Hero’s most appreciated policies.

The last of the Oklahoma dogs, Susie Q, may have just found her forever home.

“Susie Q has a pending meet-and-greet,” Ramos said. “She’s taken longer than some to get to this point, but it’s no surprise. She’s an adult, and a pit bull mix. No matter what we did with social media, putting her in tutus — she stole the show at adoption events — people never seemed to commit to her. But once they know her, there is very little not to fall in love with. She’s more of a couch potato than anything else.”

Today, Vlach and Cooper are happy together. A far cry from her depressed self, Vlach said she is excited to go home every day at lunch to see Cooper.

“He is just a ball of energy. He’s been a real joy,” she said. “He makes me laugh…and he saved my life.”