Happy Ending

This is Wilbur. Wilbur came to us last November from a wonderful foster family. Wilbur had been with several foster parents in the last 4 years before we found him. 2 weeks before we adopted him we had lost our shitzu (Buster) from cancer who we had with us for 12 years. We were devastated and knew we wanted another shitzu. After seeing Wilbur on the Small Dog Rescue sight I fell in love and knew I just had to have him. Wilbur was in a puppy mill for 2 years before his first foster parent took him in. The day Wilbur arrived he was very skittish and afraid. He spent a lot of time in his kennel and hiding under furniture trying to find a place where he felt safe. He would shake from fear when someone touched him or tried to hold him. We also recently found another dog to adopt named Orville and they have became the best of friends! Wilbur has learned how to play, bark, and wag his tail and just celebrated his 5th birthday! It had been such a rewarding experience watching this little
guy come out of his shell and is starting to live a happy life! He still does not like thunder storms and wind but he is no longer on anxiety medication and loves to be held by my husband and I. We are still working on walks and introducing new guests that come to our home but we have high hopes for the year of 2014 for our little Wilbur! He is the love of our life!!

Happy Ending

This is Wilbur. Wilbur came to us last November from a wonderful foster family. Wilbur had been with several foster parents in the last 4 years before we found him. 2 weeks before we adopted him we had lost our shitzu (Buster) from cancer who we had with us for 12 years. We were devastated and knew we wanted another shitzu. After seeing Wilbur on the Small Dog Rescue sight I fell in love and knew I just had to have him. Wilbur was in a puppy mill for 2 years before his first foster parent took him in. The day Wilbur arrived he was very skittish and afraid. He spent a lot of time in his kennel and hiding under furniture trying to find a place where he felt safe. He would shake from fear when someone touched him or tried to hold him. We also recently found another dog to adopt named Orville and they have became the best of friends! Wilbur has learned how to play, bark, and wag his tail and just celebrated his 5th birthday! It had been such a rewarding experience watching this little
guy come out of his shell and is starting to live a happy life! He still does not like thunder storms and wind but he is no longer on anxiety medication and loves to be held by my husband and I. We are still working on walks and introducing new guests that come to our home but we have high hopes for the year of 2014 for our little Wilbur! He is the love of our life!!

Happy Tail

Bonnie's story is a true rescue saga. To say she's come a long way is simply an understatement. This sweet little girl was a victim of a failed rescue turned hoarding situation. The first 3 years of Bonnie's life were spent entirely outdoors in a makeshift wooden pen in rural Kentucky. She was surrounded by dozens of other dogs all living in their own filth and suffering this same fate. When they were lucky enough to be offered food and water, the dogs ate and drank out of rust-coated mud-filled dishes. In addition to having minimal human interaction, none of the dogs received any veterinary care.

The discovery of the dogs in this Kentucky nightmare came by way of another tragedy. The man responsible for the dogs in these deplorable conditions was electrocuted while working on his property. When the coroner came out to the premises, the dogs were discovered. The man's wife wanted nothing to do with the dogs and said they could be sent to animal control. The local animal control said all of the dogs would be put to sleep if they were impounded, so in an effort to try to save the dog's lives, animal control reached out to local rescue groups for help.

One local rescue group eagerly took action. Due to the large number of dogs, the timid nature of most of them, and the amount of veterinary care needed, the rescue of these animals was not going to happen overnight, and this rescue wasn't going to be able to do it alone. First, the rescue convinced the widow of the hoarder to allow the dogs to stay on the property while homes were found. They offered to have volunteers come out to clean the pens and provide fresh food and water. She agreed. Then a nation-wide S.O.S was sent out to other rescue organizations, including SDR, for help. With everyone working together, some dogs were adopted out locally; while others made trips on volunteer transports to other rescues in New Jersey, New York, and Minnesota.

SDR agreed to take any of the dogs 20 lbs and under. Because SDR and other rescues can only take as many dogs as they have foster homes available, many of the dogs still had to wait for their turn at a new life. At least once a month, one or two new frightened little furbabies would arrive on a 2-day volunteer transport, more afraid than when they had been discovered. In just 48 hours, they were pulled from the dirty pens they spent the first part of their lives in, given collars and leashes, a ride in a car, a trip to the local vet, and then moved from car to car, and an overnight indoors in a volunteer home, on a 2 day volunteer transport to arrive in MN and begin their new lives in SDR foster homes.

The dogs that were the most timid were left to wait the longest, as it was hardest to place them in foster homes. Bonnie was reported by local volunteers to be the most afraid. She was also said to be 40 lbs. After a year of working on this case, there were just 3 dogs left living in the dirty pens. They were all terrified and had been waiting far too long for their turn at a better life. Since Bonnie was reported to be 40 lbs, she was not a candidate for SDR. After seeing countless email pleas sent out to dozens of rescue groups across the country, and no offers to help Bonnie, SDR stepped in. The two other dogs left behind were coming to SDR, and the organization couldn't bear the thought of leaving Bonnie in Kentucky to die alone in a shelter. SDR's Board of Directors unanimously voted to accept Bonnie into the rescue, despite her size.

The day the last 3 girls left Kentucky on transport was a very exciting day for everyone involved in this case. When Bonnie arrived in MN, she came with a $300 donation check from one of the volunteer transport drivers in Kentucky who had been following her story. She was so thankful that SDR had accepted Bonnie and wanted to offer all the support she could.

When a rescue pulls a dog from a shelter in another state, they never know what to expect. With Bonnie, the foster home was prepared for a very scared dog, and that is what she was. The unexpected discovery about Bonnie was not her temperament, but her size. Though she was literally skin and bones when she arrived, Bonnie only weighed-in at 17 lbs at the vet, nowhere near the originally estimated 40 lbs. Along with being severely underweight, Bonnie had an intestinal parasite, which is not uncommon for a dog that had lived outdoors and never had vet care before in her life.

Even though Bonnie was now in a safe, warm, loving home that provided her with fresh food and water daily, she was still terrified. Bonnie was so scared that she refused to venture from the laundry room of her first foster home. She would go to the bathroom in her bedding since she didn't know a life where she didn't have to lie in her own filth. After a few months of very little progress, Bonnie was moved to a new foster home that had more experience with working with timid dogs. Here she came out of her safe spot and interacted with the resident dog and even learned to walk on a leash, but was still very timid towards humans. Bonnie still needed another foster home that could work more intensely with her to help her come out of her shell.

While waiting for her new foster home to become available, Bonnie spent a few weeks with a family that had watched her while her previous foster parent had been on vacation. Bonnie immediately took to the father of the family, and showed signs of progress, so she went to stay with them until being moved to a foster home with more resources. While with the temp foster family, and with the help of their resident dog (another from the same Kentucky nightmare that Bonnie came from), Bonnie began to come out of her shell. She quickly picked up on potty training by following her foster brother's lead, and would snuggle on the couch with her foster dad. When the time came for me to take Bonnie, she was much further along than when she had arrived at SDR many months prior, but she still had a long way to go.

When I went to meet Bonnie and pick her up, I saw an extremely fearful little girl. But in less than half an hour, she warmed up to me enough to let me pet her and walk her on a leash. Once we got home, she hunched in the corner for a few minutes, and then to my surprise, she promptly jumped up onto the couch and snuggled up right next to me. I couldn't wait to get started on working with her to come even farther out of her shell.

Over the first few weeks with Bonnie, the only way she would let me touch her was if I was sitting down and she approached me. Once she was there, she would let me pet her, brush her, or carry her. She would start out tense and eventually melt in my arms. Within a few weeks, she allowed me to walk up to her and attach her leash, or even pet her. She even started coming to me when I called her. Now she wags her tail, wiggles her butt, and trots right over to me when I come home or when I have meals or treats for her. She sleeps curled up at the foot of my bed and licks my face to wake me up in the morning. She's still fully house-trained and is learning to sit on command. She loves going on walks or playing with her foster brother at the dog park. Now at a healthy 25 lbs, Bonnie is finally ready to start looking for her forever home.

To find out more about Bonnie or other dogs available for adoption, please visit www.smalldogsminnesota.org.

BJ and Ruby

It has been a week babysitting BJ while her foster mom is vacationing and I am discovering how delightful she is. She would be so wonderful in a family with children that know how to treat animals with respect. Why? Because she loves to cuddle! Can't you imagine doing your homework, reading a book, working on a project, and BJ snuggled right up by your side? She is a miniature schnauzer, house trained, crate trained, loves to go on walks, loves frozen stuffed kongs, and chasing you around the house! What a gem. Here she is with my dog Ruby, SDR alumnus. Ruby is a 10-lb toy King Charles Cavalier.

Gizmo

In honor of all the senior dogs, here's our Gizmo g-man! We adopted him after having fostered him in the spring of 2010. He was 8 yrs old at the time, and is looking forward to his tenth b-day coming up in February. He's quite a clown and a very good companion to his rather neurotic little sister, Meena! The picture was taken after a walk along the MN River this summer - and as you can see, they were both ready for a drive! This month has been an interesting one for Gizmo, since he's just started to show some interest in toys, and has discovered that his new favorite game is chasing me around the main floor of our house - and he's in way better shape than I am! He's a delightful little dog with some truly quirky habits, and we love him for it!

Lacey Lou

Back in July of 2010, we adopted little Lacey into our family. She was 11 yrs old at the time, and full of personality! She was sad to see her foster mom go that afternoon, but by the next day she was making herself at home! She has become the head cheerleader of our 6 furbabies. She supervises them all and keeps them in line! She loves all people and greets them all at the top of the stairs. We could tell when we first got her that she was given attention, but probably wasn't hugged or cuddled during her younger years. Over time she has come to like being held and cuddled and has become quite the daddy's girl. She has become very attached to him, but still is very friendly with anyone she meets. She is missing many teeth, so her adorable little tongue hangs out most of the time-so sweet! She is very good about letting mommy play dress-up with sundresses, Halloween and Christmas outfits. She just sits there with that look on her face like, "really mommy, again?" She
loves naps in her little bed but isn't shy about asking for treats and dancing around for them. She has some old disc issues with her back now and again, but with some temporary meds she's fine after a few days. I believe when she came to SDR she was very ill, and it sounded like her previous owners didn't want to deal with an older, sick dog, but they were definitely the losers in this case. Lacey is a treasure to us and we will love and care for her in her golden years the way we want to be taken care of later on in ours. Lacey is funny, sweet and spunky and she has been a blessing to our family. Three of our six dogs are seniors, and we feel very lucky to spend their final years with them. Please, please don't let older ages of animals deter you from adopting. They are a true blessing and just want to be loved like everyone else.

Our Little Buddy

Just over a year ago I rode along to Rochester with my daughter who volunteers with SDR, to pick up a 12 yr old hearing impaired Maltese mix named Buddy. She was going to foster him until he was adopted. Buddy sat on my lap on the way home and I think we started bonding then!! I kiddingly said that I should maybe take him home with me (we'd always been a one dog household). To make a long story short, he did go home with my daughter that day, however he was back at our house to stay 3 days later on October 16, 2011. It didn't take him long to adjust to us and his new surroundings. He follows me all over and he and our 10 yr old Westie, Ernie, are great pals and have their daily play chases. Buddy will be 14 yrs old on December 1st, and he's doing so well. He's very active, and loves to go for walks and explore our big yard. He is good with our small grandchildren, is well trained and has been a great addition to our household. We just love him! His previous adoptive
family was thinking about putting him to sleep because of some minor behavior issues, but thanks to SDR he wound up with us instead! With the help of our vet and some medication for his "getting older" condition, he is doing wonderful! He is a very happy little guy and loves to drag treat bags from the pantry to a nice soft spot for him and Ernie to eat! He has a lot of personalty! Don't let age be a factor in adopting-senior dogs are wonderful and we can't imagine our family without him!

Our Little Buddy

Just over a year ago I rode along to Rochester with my daughter who volunteers with SDR, to pick up a 12 yr old hearing impaired Maltese mix named Buddy. She was going to foster him until he was adopted. Buddy sat on my lap on the way home and I think we started bonding then!! I kiddingly said that I should maybe take him home with me (we'd always been a one dog household). To make a long story short, he did go home with my daughter that day, however he was back at our house to stay 3 days later on October 16, 2011. It didn't take him long to adjust to us and his new surroundings. He follows me all over and he and our 10 yr old Westie, Ernie, are great pals and have their daily play chases. Buddy will be 14 yrs old on December 1st, and he's doing so well. He's very active, and loves to go for walks and explore our big yard. He is good with our small grandchildren, is well trained and has been a great addition to our household. We just love him! His previous adoptive
family was thinking about putting him to sleep because of some minor behavior issues, but thanks to SDR he wound up with us instead! With the help of our vet and some medication for his "getting older" condition, he is doing wonderful! He is a very happy little guy and loves to drag treat bags from the pantry to a nice soft spot for him and Ernie to eat! He has a lot of personalty! Don't let age be a factor in adopting-senior dogs are wonderful and we can't imagine our family without him!

Annie

Meet Annie. She is a 10 yr old female shih tzu with hearing loss and a heart murmur. Annie was kept outside for the first part of her life by a family in Southeastern Missouri. They finally dumped her at the local animal shelter because they thought she was too old and not worth keeping around any longer. An independent rescuer saw Annie at the shelter and stepped in, pulling Annie out of her cage and into the woman's home. She reached out to many rescues, including SDR, to find help placing Annie in foster care. No other rescue would take Annie in due to her age, health issues, and appearance. Being kept outdoors her whole life, Annie was severely matted and incredibly dirty, so much so that she was unable to see through her hair. She had to be shaved down completely once she was pulled from the shelter in order to get her cleaned up and able to see again. SDR took one look at the photo of Annie when she was found, and agreed right away to take her in.

So Annie made her way on a volunteer transport from SE Missouri to Rochester, MN. Her first foster family fell in love with Annie the minute they met her. But the family barely had a chance to enjoy Annie's company when she started acting very lethargic after her arrival. Annie ended up being hospitalized due to extremely irregular blood work results from unknown causes. But Annie had a full recovery and went to stay in a new foster home that was closer to the vet clinic in case any other issues arose. Her second foster home was full of children and other dogs, and Annie made herself right at home amongst them all, stealing everyone's hearts in the process.

Next comes the best part of all. After everything that Annie survived in the first part of her life, her unique forever home was found. An adoption application for Annie was submitted for an elderly man named Harold on behalf of his family. Harold has assisted living staff in his home around the clock, along with constant visits from family members. Harold wanted to help a senior like himself out and give Annie a forever home. In return, Annie has given Harold's entire household the joy of having a dog. Below is an update from Harold's daughter on how everyone is adjusting to their new life…


"Things are going even better than I had hoped!!! She has brought such joy to not only Harold, but all of us. I truly feel as though Harold and her were meant to be together. He is so protective of her and has fallen in love with her. She loves to play and we all love to play with her - staff are always on the floor playing with her with her toys. We have two beds for her and she has always preferred to sleep in the livingroom but last night she slept in the one next to Harold's bed:) She has us all wrapped around her little paw. She loves her head, cheeks and under her chin scratched and makes little grunts while we do this. She now owns us, the house and the block (at least she thinks she does)!! She is the best and we are soooo blessed to have her. Thank you so very much for helping make this happen:)
She got a bath, haircut, nail cut, etc. Tuesday. She was an absolute angel. I was so proud of her. While we were there we picked out an adorable raincoat, winter coat, nametag, and a new collar since she doesn't like the halter. Harold insisted on staying up until she returned he was so excited and worried about her and how she would do. She is sooo funny. She digs her head in any bag or purse left on the floor looking for treats, tries to play tug of war with Harold's lap blanket, and comes running in from outside right to her treat canister. She was helping me fold clothes the other night - I was trying to fold as she was trying to unfold and play! Of course she won, she always does:) The other night Harold was having fish for supper and Annie was waiting for some. He gave her a few little bites and then the caregiver told him he needed to eat the rest that Annie had her own food. He grins at her with his eyes sparkling and moves his fork with a piece of fish on it to
the end of the table ready to give Annie more. The caregiver said, 'Harold, you need to eat that." He just continued grinning as he dropped the piece of fish onto the floor for Annie. A few of us were talking tonight about how we miss her so much when we go home and can't wait to return to see her again. Having her around has brought staff closer together as well. It is amazing! She has to have all of her toys in her basket when she lays down. I try to tell her there isn't room for her and all her toys but she insists:) Since she got her haircut she likes to have one of her blankets covering her now too when she sleeps. I could go on and on and on. I am so proud of her I feel like I'm finally a 'grandma.' And Harold continues bragging about her, even if you've heard it all before. What a blessing she is! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!"


SDR is thrilled to be a part of this touching success story, and will continue to work to help more dogs like Annie find the forever homes they deserve too. Thank you to everyone who helps make this work possible.

Volunteer. Foster. Adopt. Donate.
www.smalldogsminnesota.org

Velvet

I adopted Velvet in August 2012 after her elderly owner passed away. She is the sweetest dog I have ever met. I love her.

Photo #1: The photo that earned Velvet hundreds of views on Petfinder
Photo #2: Adoption day
Photo #3: Everyone is convinced Velvet's part kitty

The Love of my Life

Looley(aka Alexi) was kept in a tiny cage for the first 10 years of his life and used as a breeding dog. I adopted Looley when he was 11, and he is the love of my life, the center of my world. He spends his days following me around and sitting at my feet. He is always there no matter what and I can't imagine life without him.

Ruby's Favorite Holiday

Ruby (formerly Alli) dressed up at Pet Crossing Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic where she had surgery on her mouth. Life at the puppy mill was tougher than I thought. X-rays revealed evidence of a broken nose that was never set. Her severe periodontal disease had wasted away half of her lower right jaw and even more on the left side. Lack of bone structure caused the left jowl to hang and accumulate pools of noxious bacteria-ridden saliva. She lived with painful sores for years. Thankfully, Dr. Knutson was able to help Ruby with a face-lift!

Happy Tail

Hi, This isn't a story, but a request for more t-shirts that say, "My dog is a rescue". I purchased one from SDR a few years back for my husband, and it has finally worn out. It was a really nice design, not too loud, with the statement just in a small patch off -center, on the front of the shirt. He says that he has never worn a shirt that has gotten more comments and friendly remarks. While your other shirts at cafe press are cute, this shirt was a winner, and I am hoping you will consider "bringing it back" for purchase.

p.s. Single people should know that this shirt was real "chick magnet" or conversation initiator, not unlike walking around a lake with an adorable puppy or "small dog rescue".

Thanks for ALL you do!

Fly Free Little Prancy

I became a foster to Ablaze in 2009. She was an eight year old Papillon resuce from a Nebraska Mill. She had not been out of her crate, had weak muscles in her back legs and a tattoo of 315 in her ear. She never considered herself a foster because she instantly found "her person" in me and that was it. We renamed her Prancy becasue she had this little prancy dance she would do when she saw me or food or it was time for bed.
Prancy crossed the Rainbow Bridge this morning in my arms at 9:00. She had developed congestive heart failure and last night was a difficult one.
She had two months shy of three years of being loved, pampered. Out little dog Winston was her great teacher in learning to do the things dogs do and enjoy. We laughed until we had tears streaming when she first tried rolling on her back to copy Winston. She got to go on vacations, sleep on anything she thought would be comfortable, eat soft dog food (no teeth) and her favorite treat was rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club.
We are so sad but so grateful that we could give her what she had never had. She knew she was loved and she loved with her whole little self.
Be happy little one
Lynette Martin

A Closer Look

It's no secret that Small Dog Rescue of MN (SDR) prides itself on taking in any and all dogs in need that are 20 lbs and under. Most other rescues turn dogs away due to behavioral issues, age, or increased veterinary needs. SDR does not. It is not only important to give the best care possible to the dogs in SDR foster care, but to educate our followers on what we do and why we do it. As a way to understand what exactly SDR takes on when accepting these dogs, here's a closer look at a dog currently being fostered…

Meet Dori. She is an 8lb, 8 year old, red min pin. The first years of her life were spent being used by a backyard breeder to produce puppies for profit. In addition to putting Dori through excessive breeding, the breeder also had Dori "debarked". By the age of 7, the breeder decided Dori was no longer of use to her, and chose to have Dori euthanized. A kind and concerned neighbor caught wind of Dori's fate and intervened by offering to take Dori into her own home. This Good Samaritan reached out to SDR for help with finding Dori a suitable home. After almost a year on the intake waiting list, Dori was finally able to be placed in a foster home with SDR.

Once Dori arrived at SDR, she was seen by a veterinarian for a general health exam and routine dental cleaning. There were immediate complications with trying to place an endotracheal tube for anesthesia in order to perform the dental cleaning, creating a very touch and go procedure. Upon further examination by a veterinary specialist, it was determined that Dori's trachea had suffered major trauma from the debarking procedure that the backyard breeder had chosen to have done. The fibrous tissue that grew from the scarring had webbed across Dori's trachea, blocking her airway. She had a raspy sound when breathing and also choked a little when eating and drinking. Because of the blockage in the trachea, her oxygen intake was restricted, causing her heart to compensate by working harder to pump more blood. Because of this, her heart had increased in size and was very stressed.

Debarking is a heated topic in the dog world. It is an extremely risky surgery with no health benefits, and many health risks. It is solely performed for behavior modification, nothing else. Many breeders or hoarders will have this procedure performed on dogs in an effort to keep the noise of such a large number of animals contained in one place to a minimum. Families will also choose to have a dog debarked simply because they don't want to hear it. To go to the lengths of performing a surgical procedure on a dog for behavioral modification purposes only is simply inhumane. Surgical specialists that work with SDR agree that debarking is cruel and dangerous. The long list of side effects include compromised airway, dysphagia (problems swallowing), adhesions, formation of granulation tissue, stenosis (hardening) of the windpipe, infection, cutaneous fistula (hole in the windpipe), bleeding, aspiration pneumonia, gastrostomy tube dependence (relying on a feeding tube), tracheotomy
dependence (relying on a breathing tube, cardiomegaly (enlargement of the heart), and even death.

Dori was experiencing many of the common risks of debarking, and was referred to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center to have surgery to help alleviate the suffering she was going through. The surgeon working with Dori was able to remove excessive amounts of scar tissue from her trachea with the use of a laser. Because of all the trauma her throat had suffered, a large amount of swelling occurred, and a tracheotomy tube was placed to assist Dori in breathing while she recovered. Dori was kept in intensive care overnight and woke up very panicky. The staff at the U of M helped to keep her calm by taking turns holding her while she recovered as this is how Dori felt most comfortable in her unfamiliar environment, a measure that was very appreciated by SDR.

Thankfully, Dori is now back in the loving arms of her foster mother and recovering very well from her surgery. Dori's medical costs are currently totaling $2,200.00, and she is worth every penny. Her adoption fee is a mere $300. This fully-vetted, house-trained, sweetheart of a dog deserves so much to find her forever family where she can continue enjoying the safe, happy and loving lifestyle that SDR has been able to introduce her to. For more information on Dori or other dogs currently needing homes, please visit www.smalldogsminnesota.org.

Happy Tail

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Ruby's continued progress

More on Ruby ...
Photo 1: Ruby enjoying a day at the apple orchard.
Photo 2: Ruby trick or treating on Halloween!
Photo 3: Ruby hanging out with friends.
Look for more Ruby adventures in the near future!

Ruby's Progress

I adopted Ruby August 2009. Here are pics of some of her experiences.
Photo 1: Ruby on the day of her adoption.
Photo 2: Ruby in the unemployment line.
Photo 3: Ruby at her new job!

Doing What We Can

Since childhood I have been raised to advocate for what I believe in. My mother's idea of rebelling against her parents was to wear a seatbelt and be a non-smoker, and she let everyone know it. She stood up for what she believed in, and the world followed. I hope to do the same with my passion for animals.

My awareness for animal welfare was instilled at an early age, as my mother also made a point to adopt our family dogs from the local humane society. I think I was the only kid in town who refused to go into the pet store, because it made me sad. And I was sad for more than one reason. I could already comprehend at a young age on my own that the living conditions were awful in the pet store. I could also see that so many of those puppies and kittens would end up at a shelter later on. So giggling about how cute the little furballs were didn't come naturally to me.

Then I grew up. My mother was going to let me take home a pug as a high school graduation present, and even though I wanted the dog, I knew I wasn't ready to take care of it, so I declined. If only I could have been as responsible and wise with so many other decisions in my life!

After several years on my own as an adult, I was finally ready for a dog of my own. I bought dog books and researched the breeds that would best suit my lifestyle. I fell in love with the papillon. I was referred to Petfinder.com by friends to find my new family member, but was having trouble finding a papillon puppy nearby. Finally another friend found a breeder, Bell Kennels in Northfield, MN with a litter of papillon puppies, so I hopped in the car with my dog savvy friend, Tracy, and picked up my new dog, Olivia. I got so caught up in finding the perfect dog that I actually lost sight of the fact that there were so many more dogs out there that needed a home. It is hard for me to admit that, but it is the truth.

I wasn't able to deny what I had done for long at all. The experience at the "breeder" was horrible. Tracy had brought her first dog home from a breeder and the circumstances were nowhere near the same. Her perspective on the different establishments helped to identify what kind of a facility we were in. Tracy's dog Frankie, a boxer from Brewster Boxers in Brewster, MN, was romping happily on the property with his litter mates and parents. Mine was swapped out of the viewing kennel in a dirty concrete building by an unorganized woman smoking cheap cigarettes who had a litter of bichon frise puppies waiting for me instead of the papillons I had asked about. Both litters of puppies were standing in their own waste and in a cramped kennel. There was a heavy metal door with a "Staff Only" sign on it that was opened when the woman switched out the litters, and we caught a glimpse of the rows of kennels with so many more dogs and puppies in the same disgusting conditions.

I bought my dog from a puppy mill. Me, the girl who wouldn't go into a pet store as a child. I bypassed the middle man and went straight to the source. It was a wake-up call that I have refused to ignore since I brought Olivia home.

(http://m.startribune.com/local/?id=131830988)

To counteract what I had done by giving money to that puppy mill operation 3 years ago, I have thrown myself into animal advocacy, as loudly and proudly as I possibly can. I first began by volunteering with the Small Dog Rescue of MN on behalf of my little girl Olivia. We started by bringing rescued dogs to adoption events and volunteering for other miscellaneous tasks. We soon began fostering dogs for the rescue and even adopted our first foster, Boy. He came from a barn in Tennessee that had over a hundred other dogs living in it.

I was also asked by SDR's president at the time, Dallas Rising, to be her administrative assistant. Being involved with the Small Dog Rescue of MN and Dallas Rising opened up a huge network of animal rescue opportunities to me. I said yes to everything I could possibly do. Before I knew it, Tracy and I were taking weekly road trips for Mobile Mutts Rescue Transports hundreds of miles throughout the Midwest to pick up all types of dogs being saved from certain death from all over the country to bring back to Minnesota to different rescues that were ready and willing to do whatever they could to find a forever home for these helpless dogs.

I am proud to live in a state that has so many rescue organizations and so many citizens willing to help. Small Dog Rescue of MN, MN Boxer Rescue, and Secondhand Hounds are just a few of the rescue organizations that Tracy and I have been able to help by transporting their dogs to them. Our experiences with these dogs is all the motivation either of us need to keep getting back on the road to transport, open our homes to fosters, and raise awareness and funding for animals in need.

Every day I ask myself what else I can do for these animals. One answer to that question has led me to my career. I want to be able to help these dogs in any way I possibly can, and therefore I am in school to be a veterinary technician. Another way I help is through community activism. On one of my mother's visits, she and my sister joined me with the Minnesotans Exposing Petland group to hold a peaceful demonstration outside the Petland store in St. Paul. I am also a card carrying member of the ASPCA.

Unlike the dogs that I help rescue, I have a voice that can be heard by other people. I keep doing what I do in the hopes that one day I won't have to anymore. The human race can get ugly, everyone knows this. And in this case, without rules and regulations, the animals suffer because of it. From the community of animal rescue I have found in Minnesota, I know I am not alone in how I feel. The No-Kill rescue movement is sweeping the nation and making major strides for animal welfare. Please help keep the momentum going by educating others on puppy mill practices, and by volunteering, donating, fostering or adopting a homeless dog from a local rescue group.

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Foster Dog Photo Appreciation

An SDR volunteer found this excellent video about a professional photographer's passion for photographing rescue dogs. We thought it was so in tune to what we try to do with our SDR foster dogs that we wanted to share it with everyone! Please take a few minutes to check it out.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7381500n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

It's wonderful to see that the rescue movement is really taking hold of the entire country. We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the generous photographers that have volunteered their time and talents to our SDR dogs. Much appreciation goes out to Studio Seven Photography, Emily Griffith Photography, KME Photography, Kloud Cover, Courtney Church Photography, J.A. Photography, all the other photographers that have helped us out through the years, and our own SDR foster moms Leah Scholl and Tracy Turbak. What you are doing really helps make a difference in the lives of our foster dogs. SDR is forever grateful for your help!