D.C. dog rescuer: How an animal lover is saving dozens of dogs from kill shelters

From the outside, it's just another apartment in D.C.

But step inside, you begin to take in what makes Dylan Mellor's two-bedroom apartment different from the others.

He fosters as many dogs as he can to rescue them from kill shelters. So far, he's saved almost two dozen that have called his place home (anyone interested in adopting dogs currently available can scroll below for info).

"One of our things in our family is like, 'live life with no regrets,'" he said, nestled next to one of the many dogs he's fostered in the last few months.

It was the grief that resulted in the loss of Mellor's father from an advanced-stage cancer that led the 27-year-old down a path that made him realize he wanted to do more.

"I have all that love still in me that it's, it's overflowing for me, what I want to do is take all the grief and all the love that I still want to give, and obviously give it to my family, but give it to all these dogs, because that's something that I have," he explained.

"I feel like I have this unique ability to connect with them."

Mellor said his connection goes back to the moment his father sacrificed a dream (buying a motorcycle), and instead decided to use the money he saved up to pay for a stray dog's vet bills.

Mellor's dad then adopted that dog, and the family's history of fostering and adopting pets became ingrained as a tradition.

"I want to carry my dad's legacy forward as well as my childhood dog Tucker's – forever."

"These dogs," he said, pointing to the foster animals he takes in, "the situation that they come from, they dserve to have somebody sacrifice things for them to allow them to achieve the life they deserve – the happiness and love they can get."

When the 27-year-old's dog Tucker passed, he immediately found a way to foster and adopt locally.

But then Mellor began looking for ways to foster animals by using social media to identify the most vulnerable dogs at shelters that put down animals they can no longer keep.

After a few posts offering his own place to serve as a temporary home while dogs find their forever home – he was contacted by a Texas animal rescuer who needed help saving dogs from kill shelters in the San Antonio area.

After going through the necessary paperwork and quarantine period, Mellor was able to help rescue Hank, who is now his business partner's dog.

Once he found success with his first – he decided to do everything he could to help with any other animals that needed a safe temporary home. Using any extra funds from his corporate job in the District, Mellor was able to help save more than a dozen dogs in need, some that have already found forever homes.

"It was beautiful to be able to see social media be used for good," Mellor said of the tool that helped him find a way to rescue.

"The potential here is limitless."

For now, Mellor is looking for a new place to live with more space to better accommodate the amount of animals he hopes to rescue in the future.

"If you do things rooted in love, everything will fall into place, and that's what's happened here."

If you or anyone you know is interested in adopting the rescue animals featured in this story, visit .

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