It’s been a rough week, so, we thought we’d send it off with something sweet: a video of a cute rescue dog.

Rescue dogs and cats are the best. They’ve got so much love to give, plus, when you give them anything — and I mean anything — they freak. Example: This rescue dog lying in a bed for the first time. And yes, I can say that this is the typical rescue dog response to beds, blankets, couches, toys, etc.

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Dogo!, a new “dating” site has one goal — to connect “dog-lovers with rescue dogs who are need of some lovin’.”

If you’ve ever adopted a rescue dog, you know what it feels like to be totally and unconditionally loved. I have two rescued dogs and they are incredibly cool.

Over the years, I’ve also volunteered at many rescue shelters. All the rescue dogs I cared for, walked, and fed were gigantic sweethearts, too. The thing is, though, that many of these dogs get overlooked when they are in the shelter.

If you’ve ever been to a shelter, you know how hard it is to “pick” a pup. They are all sweet! Well, a new site just launched and it has a goal that all dog lovers can get behind.

Danielle Bowers, a self-proclaimed dog lover, created Dogo! after years of volunteering at local shelters. Bowers’ years of volunteer work allowed her to witness how stressed full-time workers at local shelters were. Most shelter workers were pressed for time and in need of help. So, she created a solution.

Bowers’ site allows people who like hangin’ with dogs get connected to pups at local shelters. A person can take a dog on a pup date, and then, at the end of the date, return the dog to the shelter. The dog benefits from all the human love and activity, and the human (who can’t adopt for any number of reasons — or maybe is just trying to meet different dogs before he picks “the one”) gets to interact with a great pup.

Here are the ins and outs of the site:

“Once you get through the simple two-hour orientation on the site and a following procedural session, you’re able to log into the site’s Google calendar and sign up for a pup date whenever your schedule permits.”

While Dogo! is only available in San Francisco, California, right now, it may (hopefully!) be available in other cities in the future.

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The casting call went out last January, not to big Hollywood agents but to animal shelters and rescue groups across the country.

Looking for four-legged crooners, black and white, who can get along with others on tour, do the old soft paw on stage, and won’t leap off into the audience when they hear the sound of applause.

Dozens of shelter dogs got the parts for the The 101 Dalmatians Musical including Rascal, a puppy with a broken leg found on the side of the road. Like the others, he has been given a new leash on life by getting to reside on a Florida ranch and travel in a celebrity tour bus while the show begins a national tour this month, starting in Minneapolis.

Animal trainer, Joel Slaven, told the Associated Press it was tough finding dogs to cast for the show.

Apparently, following the release of the popular live-action Disney “101 Dalmatians” in 1996 there was a rush on Dalmatians as  family pets, a role not suited to the breed. After the cute puppy stage, many new owners abandoned the dogs which flooded  shelters. Since then, canine rescuers are protective of the animals being exploited.

“When the movies came out, they were over-bred and that made the breed, which already has some health problems, even worse. People got the dogs, couldn’t afford the vet bills, found the dogs untrainable, or that they didn’t get along with kids. Shelters, Humane Societies and rescue groups don’t want anyone to use these dogs for entertainment, and they don’t want to help someone who’s going to do this again,” Slavin said.

I guess they came around when Slavin convinced them the animals would be treated like divas and dapper, leading men. Training the newbies like Rascal (above) involved helping the choreographer stage a three-minute finale of all dogs performing a dance routine to a tune by composer Dennis De Young of Styx fame. I hear it’s “jaw dropping.”

But instead of using the Dalmatians throughout the show, their parts are primarily played by actors, as in the musical Cats.

Images: Bree Bailey, The 101 Dalmatians Musical

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