Boxer Butts & Other Mutts

Boxer Butts & Other Mutts www.boxerbuttsandothermutts.org We do not currently have a facility and all of our dogs are in separate foster homes.
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Please contact us via email to arrange a visit with our pups or come see us at an adoption event. All Boxer Butts & Other Mutts rescues, will be spay/neutered prior to adoption, unless they are under 6 months of age or recommended by our vet for health reasons.

And as promised - we will begin the countdown to May 6th when we make our big announcement and share some of our most me...
04/23/2026

And as promised - we will begin the countdown to May 6th when we make our big announcement and share some of our most memorable cases.
And we will start with Onyx.

That first picture was sent to me on 12/21/15 at 7:27am and I sent a message back saying " I really do not like starting my day out with a picture of a dead dog" and the response I got back was " she is not dead - she is alive" and my heart sank - she was a baby - a shell of a puppy and I went with my gut and arranged for her to be picked up from the shelter ASAP and transported to our vet at the time - the transporter messaged me when she was about 5 miles away and said I do not think she is breathing and I said just keep driving and get her to the vet.

She was in fact still breathing - barely and her heart beat was so faint that you had to really listen. Her body temperature would not even register - she was put on heat support and put in IV fluids and I remember parking sideways in the parking lot to get to her and when I saw her lifeless body laying there, the tears started. The vet said " I do not think there is much hope" and I said let me sit here with her for a minute.

I pulled up a stool and held her cold paw and watched her lifeless body taking a breath so randomly that I had to really watch to make sure she was still breathing.

I remember this like it was yesterday - I had tears streaming down my face and I said to her "Little girl, I need you to show me some kind of sign that you want to fight and if you can't , I understand and I will let you go and hold you as tight as I can" And in that very moment after those words left my mouth - with everything she had in her she opened her eyes and looked directly into mine (it was the first time she had even opened her eyes) and that was the sign I needed and I told her we fight and should would not have to fight alone.

We transported her to the specialty hospital and the doctor there said "Heidi , I can only give this pup a 1% chance of survival" and I said 1% is better than 0% - so you do whatever needs to be done because this girl did not survive this long for nothing

So we fought - she had been hit in the face with some kind of object that had nails or something sharp in it - hence the holes in her face and there was major infection and later on down the road we had major sinus issues - every night she slept with me and I would be covered in snot and boogers - hence her nickname "Bo**er"

She remained in ICU and for the most part the updates were either really bad or good but Christmas Eve I got a call that morning and he said "Mrs. Wagner - we have a Christmas miracle on our hands" and Onyx was discharged and spent Christmas with us

Now there were a lot of bumps in the road without a doubt - but we made it - and today she resides with my Mom and Dad and is their world.

So many lives saved in 16 years but some of them taught me lessons that no human could even come close to teaching me.

Onyx taught me that giving up is not an option even when it looks like there is no chance - because as I always say " You give them something to live for and they will fight with everything they have" and Onyx did just that

A true underdog without a doubt

I posted the Amazon wish list a week before my surgery and somewhere along the way all the slips that I use to thank eve...
04/23/2026

I posted the Amazon wish list a week before my surgery and somewhere along the way all the slips that I use to thank everyone have magically disappeared. I of course am blaming Mr. Todd , but in all honestly things at the zoo have been a little more hectic with me trying to recover. But with that being said I only shared the list once and with facebook always limiting the amount of people that see our posts, especially with me not being able to post as much right now, we did receive many items and a HUGE thank you to all that sent stuff, but the zoo is low again on all the basic supplies and yes that includes Mr. Pickles treats - I do think Mr. Todd has been slipping him some more treats trying to become his favorite person, but sorry Mr. Todd - Pickles is a Momma's boy. I will have to share the story soon of when I was able to come home after surgery and Mr. Pickles - he was beside himself and the most vocal I have ever seen him.
So if anyone can send an item off our list, it is greatly appreciated.

Well lets get an update out there so nobody texts me again asking if I died :) Nope , I am 10 days post op and still try...
04/19/2026

Well lets get an update out there so nobody texts me again asking if I died :) Nope , I am 10 days post op and still trying to recover - I for sure am moving slower than normal but in normal Heidi fashion, it is hard to keep me down and yes I am sure most days I have overdone it but by the evening it is all I can do to keep going , so going at a much slower pace for now but regardless even with some help, I have a lot of lives here at the Wagner Zoo that depend on me - and we also learned very quickly that Ridge is for sure my boy as he decided it only needed to be the lady that took him outside - but it was like he knew and was gentle as could be and is still being a very good boy for me
And apparently , Stella decided she was done trying to behave and said I had to get in the dirt a little lady

So yes updates have not been posted as I am just trying to get through each day and I am still not done with my medical stuff but will get there.

For the most part, everyone is doing well, we have had a couple in and out of the vets, I have sent over 800 pounds of food to families in the past 10 days as that need never stops.

And as most of you remember, I have mentioned a BIG project that we are working on - that announcement will be made public on May6th as I can't think of a better birthday present to myself . It's a pretty big announcement and yes we are still going to rescue but we are going to do so much more and I can't wait to share this news with all of you.

So I decided that from now until May 6th , I am going to post some memories of some of our most memorable dogs from the past 16 years, so many of them but it will kind of be like a countdown to our big announcement

And now to ask for a little bit of help
Due to my medical issues I have not been able to fundraise much at all - basically everything has come out of mine and Mr. Todd's pocket for all the fosters needs, but with that being said after having to spend thousands on my own medical , we could use a little help with some upcoming needs as we have over 800.00 in medications and of course Montana's special food that needs to be ordered this week and a little help would be so appreciated. If 80 of our supporters donated 10.00, we would have it covered.

You can donate 1 of 3 ways

PayPal (boxerbuttsandothermutts@yahoo.com)

Venmo (underdogs4ever Heidi Wagner - last 4 of phone number is 4148 - make sure it is the all lowercase as scammers are still out there)

or checks can be mailed to 108 Schermerhorn Lane Arden,NC 28704

As always, we appreciate your support and patience as I know things have been slow on the page but sometimes you have to finally realize that you have to take care of yourself and that is what I have been trying to do

04/12/2026

Totals for the Rae Dunn auction will go out on Monday Evening. If we do not have your address, please send it to us so we can get your total to you as well.

Totals will be sent on Sunday. Once payment is made items will be shipped.
04/11/2026

Totals will be sent on Sunday. Once payment is made items will be shipped.

Bidding has ended. Totals will be sent to winners once shipping is calculated. Thank you to everyone for bidding. Hope e...
04/05/2026

Bidding has ended. Totals will be sent to winners once shipping is calculated. Thank you to everyone for bidding. Hope everyone has a very Happy Easter 🐣

Many of you remember my post from a couple of months ago about Opal - we were dealing with some pretty significant behav...
04/04/2026

Many of you remember my post from a couple of months ago about Opal - we were dealing with some pretty significant behavior issues - none that were disclosed to us when we pulled along with other medical issues she deals with - but sometimes that is the way it goes - I can't count how many times she bit me - just randomly - like something would snap in her and that was it - food aggressive - charging other dogs and the list goes on - I know several rescues that would have euthanized her and do not think that it did not cross my mind as nobody likes to be on guard and just randomly get bit but I knew deep down there were issues that were not her fault - I do believe this girl was used for nothing more than breeding - not much human contact, not much socialization and did I really have time to work with yet another behavior dog - sadly no but you see Opal deserved it and we have worked hard together and 2 months ago if you would have asked me if I would let her kiss me in the face - I would have said no because there was always that chance that she would decide to bite - but today after much work and patience, we have made leaps and bounds and she loves nothing more than to lick my face , almost like she is saying thank you for not giving up on me
These underdogs deserve every chance we can give them - is it always ideal - of course it isn't but as a rescue , it is not always rainbows and unicorns - I do not know many people that do not have issues - dogs - well the issues they have behavior wise is almost always because of humans and the situation they came from - we did not give up and we continue to work together (Opal and I ) and make sure that she always knows she is safe and loved

When you have a house full of "hard" dogs that have been failed by society and The Wagner Zoo is their sanctuary - well ...
04/04/2026

When you have a house full of "hard" dogs that have been failed by society and The Wagner Zoo is their sanctuary - well my upcoming surgery this week is going to prove to be a challenge with some of the dogs here - I have been having a talk with Ridge every single day , explaining to him that I love that he is so very loyal to me but for a while he is going to have to let others take care of him , they will feed him, brush him, play ball with him - just like I do every single day - but it just won't be me doing it - he does listen but I am pretty sure it goes in one ear and out the other because all he is worried about in this picture is me throwing the ball again
The next couple of weeks will indeed be a challenge here at the Wagner Zoo but we will manage - we always do and I am going to try with everything in me to not do things I am not supposed to do and not be grouchy (my family that reads this will be rolling their eyes without a doubt)
Just a bump in the road but we are pretty accustomed to those bumps in the road

Charlie says we are going to get a hamburger right lady ? Well first the vets sweet boy
04/04/2026

Charlie says we are going to get a hamburger right lady ? Well first the vets sweet boy

Updated Amazon Wish List with basic needs that will help stock us up before my surgery next week - I looked for a cat st...
04/02/2026

Updated Amazon Wish List with basic needs that will help stock us up before my surgery next week -
I looked for a cat straight jacket for one cat in particular but was unable to locate one - always nice when you go to an appointment this morning and the doctor says "Have you been fighting a lion" - umm no just a 9 pound cat named Tiny :/ - hot mess express is what he is

Any item sent is always appreciated

Address

108 Schermerhorn Lane
Arden, NC
28704

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We do not currently have a facility and all of our dogs are in separate foster homes. Please contact us via email to arrange a visit with our pups or come see us at an adoption event. All Boxer Butts & Other Mutts rescues, will be spay/neutered prior to adoption, unless they are under 6 months of age or recommended by our vet for health reasons.