Charlie! (aka Paprika)

We had a wonderul oppertunity to adopt little Paprika, now Charlie, a 4 month old minature poodle! Charlie has turned out to be one of these best puppies my family has ever had and loves playing with his sisters Abby (toy poodle/american eskimo) & Wilma (min pin). He loves retrieving, keeping the squirrls out of the backyard, walks, and socializing with new friends. He has been a wonderful addition to our family and could have not found a more perfect puppy! Thank you SDR you guys do a wonderful job!
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Tammy Matson - A Volunteer With An Open Heart

 

Tammy Matson is used to being a caregiver with an open heart. Tammy is a Nurse living in Blaine with her family and 2 dogs, Corky and Abdullah. Tammy has been volunteering with SDR for nearly three years now, and has been involved in various aspects including fostering, transport, publicity, Board of Directors and supply coordination. Even though a new job has made her life even busier, Tammy stresses the importance of staying involved: “I know firsthand how just a little bit of help goes a long way and is appreciated,” emphasizes Tammy. “To these dogs, (volunteering) is very important. SDR is a non -profit organization and it has no paid employees. It’s a great bunch of people who all work together to save dogs’ lives. I'm very proud to be a part of SDR and it always amazes me how many people have opened their hearts and their homes in order to give these dogs a second chance.” Canine family members Corky and Abdullah came to Tammy from SDR. Abdullah was initially a foster. When Tammy took him in, Abdullah was very sick . ”For the first couple of mornings I thought I would wake up and find out that he died. But he didn't. When you read his story you'll see how he pulled through. When I would get home from work I would call his name and he stayed curled up but he started to wag his tail a little at a time. After all that Abdullah went through to survive, I couldn't let him go.”

Her second dog, Corky, was surrendered reluctantly by his elderly guardian, who left in tears.“On the ride home, Corky wouldn’t even look at me,” says Tammy. Within a week, however, Corky found a permanent home with Tammy. He became such a part of the family she couldn’t give him up. Even Tammy’s Mom has become involved, helping with events and caring for dogs if Tammy is away.

Along with other work for SDR Tammy continues to foster additional dogs, though sometimes parting with them isn’t easy. She does this because she believes she can make a difference. “Even if I would have fostered only one dog and found the perfect home. I've made a difference in that one dog’s life,” says Tammy.” Many may have been put down if SDR did not take them in. Saving one dog at a time is how you have to look at it and saving that ONE dog’s life is worth a lifetime of happiness.”  We couldn’t agree more, Tammy, and we want to recognize you for what you have done for SDR, and for all the happiness you have given to so many small dogs. 

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.

Adorabelle

When I was buying my house, I told my mom that one of the things I wanted was a fenced in backyard so I could get a dog some day. I closed on my house in August and the end of November I got in touch with Small Dog Rescue about fostering. Thats when Adorabelle came in to my life. She came from a foster family up past the cities and was having no luck being adopted. So SDR moved her down here to give her a better chance to be adopted. I feel in love with her the minute I met her. I was unsure if I was ready to adopt her so I waited a few months and finally decieded it was the time to give her forever home.

The funny thing about me adopting Adorabelle was I never thought I would have a shedding dog in my house but I loved to her so much so that didn't matter to me anymore.

She loves to give kisses and loves being around people. She must take after me as she is a very social dog and loves it when we have company or when we go to visit family. She has certainly come a long way from the puppy mill where she spent the first few years of her life.
Now I can't imagine my life without my sweet little dog..

Josie (formerly Tiny)

Back in May, we did our volunteer dog transport and picked up little Tiny (now Josie) in Eau Claire to bring her to her foster mom at Small Dog Rescue. Tiny came from a shelter in Tennessee that got flooded during the spring rains. She's now our little Country Bumpkin!

In the photo we took during the transport (with red harness on), you can see how thin she was, and she was fighting lots of skin infections, and had what looked like a bite mark on her forehead. But despite feeling sick and tired, and coming to the end of her two-day voyage to MN, she was so loving and wagged her tail when she got in our car.

After three months with us, she was fattened up and all her infections were gone! You can see the change in the "After" photo from July (wearing pink collar). She is super-friendly and her tail is always wagging. One of her best little quirks is her patented "trust fall" -- she jumps on your lap, leans over, and just falls over onto your chest for some extreme cuddling! She is a pure joy in our lives and makes a wonderful side-kick for our other terrier, Gidget.

Thank you so much, Small Dog Rescue!

Nancy and Tom

Mr PUNK

Last year my sister found a half dead chihuahua in the parking lot of her building. She took the little poor dog to the vet and she was told that there was almost no blood left in her body. She was infested with flees and they had sucked most of her blood. Anyway, this poor chihuahua now has a very happy live living with my sister and her cat. She has transformed my sister life and cured her from a very debilitating illness. That story broke my heart and inspired me at the same time. After I met Miss Cici I fall in love and I developped what my husband calls "chihuahua envy". Finally after long months of relflection I filled out an application on the website of the rescue organization and few weeks later we had Punk delivered to our house. Punk is an eleven years old boy and the sweetest thing ever but with an attitude. He is very protective of us and of his little sister, Miss Twiggy, a three pounds chihuahua.
We love Punk and we think EVERYONE should adopt a senior dog. They ate the best !