At RuffCue, the dogs choose their owners – not the other way around.
Since January 2023, Devia Vyne has been operating RuffCue, a non-profit dog shelter that focuses on rehoming dogs in need. With dozens of dogs in town needing homes—and an ongoing demand for shelter, food, and medical care—Vyne, who had long helped dogs unofficially, saw an opportunity to step up.
“I’ve done under the table rescue for a lot of years,” she said.
“In my teenage years, I knew various breeders, they would have dogs that were cast off for whatever reason. Sometimes it was behavioural, sometimes it was that they weren’t growing right, sometimes the runts of the litter.”
Vyne had moved away from doing rescues for a time before a dream struck her.
“I had a dream, and I dreamt the name RuffCue,” she said.
“I don’t remember a lot of my dreams, so this was pretty significant. So I jumped out of bed, woke myself up, ran to the computer, spent the night searching for RuffCue, did it exist already?”
RuffCue was in fact unclaimed, and without any further hesitation, Vyne seized on the opportunity, and started building her rescue.
Now established and operating out of her own home, RuffCue is a modest but well-organized space currently caring for five dogs, who are each waiting for their new home.
RuffCue has a unique approach to rehoming and adopting dogs, not commonly seen by other rescues. All adoptions are completely left to the dog’s decision making. The potential owner cannot choose a dog to take home if the dog does not show mutual interest.
Vyne said that this is to ensure maximum compatibility between owner and pet, to avoid the dogs needing to be returned.
“I don’t approve or decline an adoption form, the dogs do,” she said. “I know that might sound absolutely ridiculous, but if you’re interested in a rescue dog, you have to come in and do what we call a sniff test, and see if the animal is willing to follow you home, and if they are, then you can fill out an application, but we don’t send dogs off with somebody just because they think they’re cute,”
Vyne said that dogs are intelligent enough to know what works and doesn’t work for them, and including them in the decision making process has led to a far higher successful adoption rate than other shelters, with 80 dogs adopted to date, and only two returned.
“We trust the dogs to know what they need and want best,” she said.
“Out of 80 dogs, only two have come back, so if you track the numbers, you see it’s successful.”
RuffCue also maintains a connection with all the dogs they re-home or adopt out. Vyne said it’s important to follow up with adoptions to make sure that everything goes smoothly, and these dogs stay where they were adopted to.
“For a lot of rescues, once you’ve taken the dog and they’re out of the building, they’re gone, they’re done, they don’t want to hear from you again,” Vyne said.
“We have a clause in our contract that says if the dog is to be re-homed, you let us know first.”
Vyne said that this is not about judging or punishing owners for an adoption that doesn’t work out, but to protect the dog from any stress or anxiety that could come from being returned, re-homed or moved. It also protects owners from unexpected situations concerning custody of the animal.
“This isn’t about judging people, it’s about being able to monitor or protect the dog,” she said.
“So if somebody takes the dog willingly or unwillingly, whether it’s stolen out of your yard or it’s lost and somebody picks it up, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. If the information on that form that you provided does not match where the dog is currently residing, then that dog is going to be picked up and taken back to their humans.”
“Right now, I have a situation with a lady in Toronto who, 10 years ago, took a dog from me,” she continued.
“Her now ex-husband has stolen the dog and ran off with him, and I’m able to intervene for her in court, and make sure that she will get her animal back.”
In order to maintain their standards and keep dogs safe and taken care of, Vyne said she relies on community support. Volunteering is always a service high in demand, as is community partners.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a whole lot of time and ability to care for all these dogs,” she said.
“I’m always dealing with the paperwork, checking the vetting, cleaning up, and training. I don’t have time to go out with them. We’re happy just to have people who are going for walks on the boardwalk stop in and take a dog with them.”
RuffCue is also looking for community partners, whether to spread the word or to raise money in donations.
“I am always looking for community events or places that are willing to host the dogs,” she said.
“So if there’s any schools or Girl Guides that might like to have a talk about dogs, their care and cost and husbandry and such, I’m very interested. If there’s anywhere that might be willing or wanting to do a pet therapy session, I’m open to all kinds of community interactions.
With RuffCue continuing to grow, Vyne is committed to ensuring that every adoption is not just about finding a home — but finding the right home.
With a unique, dog-first approach, strong community support, and a passion for animal welfare,
RuffCue continues to help dogs in need — one adoption at a time.
