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.
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.”Canine Cataracts
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