The Southern Oregon All Breed Rescue was established to match unwanted or stray dogs with new loving owners

Penny Mayben tugs gently on the leashes in her hands, signaling the two friendly giant Saint Bernards Cal and Dixie to plop down on the floor.

While two dachshunds, Lena and Holly, curiously explore to the end of their leashes, MaryAnne "Granny" Petersen holds a squirming cocker spaniel mix puppy named Missy in her arms.

This is the heart and soul of the Southern Oregon All Breed Rescue, a nonprofit adoption program founded in 2005 by the two women in order to link prospective owners with appropriate pets.

Missy, who gleefully accompanied her companions on an outing on Monday, is the only one of the five not already spoken for.

"She's just a little wiggle worm," said Petersen of the 3-month-old puppy who yearned to hop down and play with her much bigger pals.

"We don't place any before 12 weeks," explained Mayben. "... her social interaction with the giants. Because she has interacted with them, you have a very well-adjusted social dog. "That makes a nicer pet."

In close partnership with the Jackson County Animal Shelter, Mayben and Petersen try to bring together those who want a dog and those who can no longer care for one.

"Our intent is to save the dogs," Petersen said. "We have a list of people who want a dog and those who can't care for their own dog for whatever reason. We try to match the dogs with the right people," she added. "We try to do it as fast as we can but we want to make sure it's a good fit."

The women closely assess each prospective home before turning over an animal.

"If that dog doesn't fit that person's life, they don't get the dog," Mayben said. "If we get one in and it eats kitty cats and they have six cats in the house, they don't get the dog. Those are the kinds of things we're looking for."

"We want the dog to fit the family because we want a permanent placement," she added. "We deal with a lot of seniors who are being put into homes and can't take the pet with them."

As a rule, all dogs must be spayed or neutered when they are adopted. If either operation is needed, it is the new owner's responsibility to pay for it.

"We take all breeds, all sizes," Mayben said. "We don't turn any away."

Recently, a dachshund mix traveled by plane to its new home in Dallas, Texas, after being rescued in Southern Oregon. The new family discovered the program on the Internet. Petersen said long-distance adoptions are not uncommon for them.

"we just took five standard poodles down to California to a friend of ours who was able to adopt them out in less than three days," she said.

Dogs are rescued from all types of situations. Some are products of irresponsible dog owners who simply decide the dog does not fit in their life and shrug off the commitment, while some are left homeless through no real fault of the owner.

"We had a call about a Chihuahua in January of last year from a woman in Medford," Mayben said. "She said the lady next door had been put into a home and the little dog was thrown out into the yard. It had been left there for two weeks. The neighbors had been feeding it but they were concerned it would freeze to death at night. We were able to place it with a lady who dearly loves the dog."

Petersen has travel plans booked to Roseburg later this week to pick up a small dog named Lizzy.

"She's a little Jack Russell terrier," Petersen said. "The people who have her can't take care of her anymore. She'll come down and spend a week or so with me. We'll find her a home."

They recently received a call from a young man with a Belgian Malinois who needed temporary care while the man's parents put up a proper fence on their property to keep the dog.

"He's going into the military in two weeks," Petersen said. "He just needed someone to provide foster care for 30 to 60 days. We got someone to do that."

Meanwhile, they are hoping to find a home for Missy.

"She's from the Roseburg area — a lady with a cocker female mix brought us a whole basket of puppies," Mayben said. "Missy is the last one. They were all sweet like her."