Smart Woman: Rescuing Dogs, Rescuing People

Ten thousand dogs are put down each and every day! Family pets, abandoned dogs, unwanted puppies that never had a chance to show us who they really are. Now, one woman is rescuing these dogs in hopes they will return the favor and rescue people.

Ben and Eric are part of the national disaster search dog foundation -- founded by Wilma Melville after she and her dog Murray were called to help search the rubble after the Oklahoma City bombing. At that time, there were only 15 search teams in the entire nation! She focused her energy on building more teams, and she started by rescuing dogs in shelters.

Wilma looks for dogs that are 18 months old or younger and healthy. They have to be bold and driven.

Today, the foundation has 75 certified rescue teams. They were on site at the world trade center and in Haiti after the massive quake hit in 2010. Wilma's next goal: to build a 14 and half million dollar training facility in California for rescue teams across the country. To date, she's raised almost 12-million dollars.

The foundation does all this with a staff of ten people and seven board of directors. Wilma does all of her work as a volunteer just like her rescue teams. Training for each team is a lifelong commitment. It takes eight months to become certified. If you would like to donate, log on.

For more about rescuing dogs, rescuing people, log on to smartwoman.