Juniper

Eva was our German Shepherd Dog, and she was gorgeous. She was 16 years of age and had hip Dysplasia. We decided we wanted to get a companion dog for her, and for ourselves. So we wandered around looking at animal shelters and rescue dogs.

We happened to see SDR online in Augusts and perused their dogs and mission statement and saw the gorgeous Juniper. And by a funny coincidence SDR had an adoption event in Bloomington. We saw little Juniper and her foster Mom Renae and instantly fell in love with her and she with us.

Next was the home visit where Juniper met Eva and her two daddies in a home environment and it went so well we signed the papers of adoption right there and then. We loved how we became guardians and not owners. This was September 1st 2010.

Juniper was a puppy mill down and has serious flash back episodes to that bad time. Her foster parents had helped enormously. Renae keeps in touch and helps us a lot with Juniper.

When we first got Juniper she spend a lot of time in her house which was her security blanket and would run away at the slightest thing. We eventually by being patient helped Juniper slowly come and lay by the couch with us. And slowly she began to trust us to do little things like brush her hair.

We explained to people when we go on walks that she is a rescue dog and needs to trust people and once she gets to know you she will be o.k. Let little Juniper make the first move.

She enjoyed her first Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas and New Year with us.

When she saw snow she was apprehensive about it but now she just is ambivalent although she did try to climb the snow mountains a few times.

We had problems finding someone to groom her as they all seemed so nervous on the phone when we explained about her. Finally foster Mom Renae to the rescue again as she found a nice place called Premier Pet Salon run by Karen who is awesome.

On her first Spa visit in January Juniper was in her element and Karen was so impressed she gave her an A+ rating and Juniper looked so gorgeous. A big shock seeing her shaved but we got used to it. On her 2nd visit Karen said she amazing again.

She had had a relapse a week before as we took her to the Vet for her rabies shot and she got terrified. But a few days later she calmed down - it must have been a serious case of flash back.

She really is a wonderful and loving fur-daughter and she has grown a long way. Sadly 3 weeks after we got Juniper her sister Eva passed away which was really hard to deal with for all of us. But with Juniper's help we got through it.

I have my own photo page on Picassa Web - https://picasaweb.google.com/TheJohansenFamily/JuniperEvaJohansen#

And my own page on Facebook too - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id0001624475457

photo 1 - after first grooming January 2011
photo 2 - adoption day

Making A Difference - Jan McBride and Rusty Schmidt

It’s evident when meeting Jan McBride that she is no ordinary volunteer. Her ready smile, sharp wit, and polished style make Jan a force to be reckoned with. Paired with husband, Rusty Schmidt, she has become one of SDR’s most active volunteers.

Jan holds a degree in Mathematics and Electronics and settled in Minnesota 9 years ago as Senior Director of Global Marketing for Digi International, she travels extensively for work. Her husband Rusty is a landscape ecologist with Washington County Conservation District (as well as author and HGTV personality). Jan, Rusty, and daughter Tara live in St. Paul.

Rusty and Jan are enthusiastic Hockey fans and hold season tickets to the MN Wild. Even with full calendars, they both find that volunteering has made a positive difference in their lives.“As a family we are dedicated to Small Dog Rescue. It has become one of the “things” we do on a weekend as we feel we are really making a difference helping dogs like our own.”

Jan and Rusty’s involvement in SDR began when they adopted two rescue dogs.

Small Fry, a Pom Eskimo had been at the Humane Society for 4 months before being a foster dog at Pet Haven. Ruthie Pie (adopted 3 years later) had been in 4 homes in 2 years before Jan and Rusty became her guardians. It wasn’t easy at first—Ruthie was poorly socialized and not potty-trained. “Now it’s a year and a half later,” says Jan,” and we truly believe that Ruthie was meant to join our family. I had been reading about unspoken affects of the economy today-- animals being abandoned, left in shelters or dumped outside the Humane Society. After adopting Ruthie, I wanted to find a way to help other dogs like her, and I found SDR. They specialized in small dogs and their website featured dogs with all sorts of issues like Ruthie’s.”

Jan applied to do home visits, and soon Rusty was involved as well. “My favorite story is about how Rusty became involved with SDR,” says Jan, ”About 3 months after I joined, I saw an e- mail about some dogs needing to be picked up and transported. I had a hair appointment, so I persuaded Rusty—who had not been involved at that point—to pick up Harley and Manny. Rusty called and told me that Manny had run around like a Tasmanian devil and then threw up in his truck, and then he picked up Harley and got a kennel for Manny who rocked it back and forth the entire ride.  Rusty had to spray Manny down and ended up spending the day with him.”

Rusty was hooked. Besides the occasional transport, Jan and Rusty help coordinate events in the Twin Cities, do home visits, manage SDR's Google ads and train a number of volunteer staff. “Rusty has become our ’People Whisperer’ at Small Dog Rescue,” says Jan.” He is the guy who will walk into a crowd of strangers with a dog in his arms and chat.” Daughter Tara, age 15, helps at events and speaks with potential adoptive families. Now an animal advocate, she no longer goes into pet stores to see the puppies for sale and wrote a speech about puppy mills for a school project.

So, how does such a busy family make time for volunteering? “I seem to be involved in a lot at onetime, which is great! I love volunteering for SDR—whether it is finding those fur-ever homes for the dogs or seeing our events turn into something professional and cool. Rusty and I believe that it doesn’t matter how busy you are, you can always find a couple of hours a week to volunteer for something you’re passionate about. The volunteers and foster parents I have met are amazing. They totally inspire me! “

We at SDR could say the same of volunteers like Jan, Tara, and Rusty. As we near Valentine’s Day, we want to recognize you as three incredible people who have truly given from the heart.