Introduce yourself! How did you get involved with Dog Star? How long have you been a volunteer? What teams or aspects are you involved in?
I started volunteering with Dog Star in the fall of 2020. I was at a polo match with my hound Molly and Dog Star happened to be there that day. I met some Dog Stars, spoke with some volunteers and decided I wanted to become involved!
My first experience volunteering with Dog Star was with the Kennel Team. Back then Rachel Blackmer was leading the kennel team and I still remember my first day of orientation and the dogs that were there. Fun Fact – Shawn Wheeler and I both had orientation that same day … I learned from and with the best! I was hooked and loved being able to spend part of my day with the Dog Stars that were in the kennel.
Shortly after that I started volunteering on the Transport Team. I remember it was so exciting seeing the newest Dog Stars arrive off the bus and helping them settle in and get ready for the adoption events. That quickly turned into me staying and handling dogs at the adoption events.
As we all know, at the end of adoption events there are dogs that need foster homes to go to or stay in the kennel at headquarters. I felt so badly for the dogs that didn’t have a foster home to go to, so I signed up to be a foster.
I still participate on all of these teams (Kenneling, Transport, Events and Fostering). I have three resident dogs at home, two of which are Dog Star Alums (DS Sherman and DS Loretta/Pearl). They are great role models for the fosters that stay with us.
Your above and beyond efforts to Dog Star, especially as a foster, does not go unnoticed. Why did you choose to become a foster? What motivates you to continuously help?
In January of 2018 my husband and I found a hound that had been dumped at a gas station in Montana. She was starving, freezing and unknown to us at the time she was pregnant. We brought her back to Connecticut with us, nursed her back to health and gave her a safe place to have her puppies. We named her Molly and made her part of our family. We found homes for all six of her puppies and even took one back that had behavior issues. We worked with a trainer and eventually found that pup a new home.
I knew nothing about rescuing dogs at that point in my life but I took it as a sign that I should do more to help dogs like Molly. I had two resident dogs at the time that handled having a new dog and 6 puppies very well. It was work but so rewarding to see Molly’s transition from being a scared stray to becoming more comfortable as time went on in our home.
Over the years I have learned so much about resiliency from these precious souls. I have heard the stories of their lives before they came to Dog Star and am inspired by how they preserved through their hardships and are able to trust humans again. I feel fortunate to be able to provide them safety and comfort (and maybe spoil them a little!) until they find their forever homes. Seeing them get adopted and getting updates on them makes it all worth it to me and makes me want to do it all over again.
What is your favorite Dog Star movement or activity?
Definitely Transport days! There is so much energy at the rescue between the newest Dog Stars that arrive and the coordination amongst all of the volunteer teams. There are those on the Transport team that arrive early and set up all the crates and kennels, and then there is the anticipation of meeting all of our newest pups as they walk off the bus to embark on their journey of finding their forever home. It is truly magical to see the coordination amongst all of the volunteer areas. The medical team does their part to vet the new arrivals, transport team helps them settle and get them ready for the events. Then the event volunteers show up, adoptions team, behavior team and before you know it the bell is ringing signaling that dogs are being adopted.
It is a long day spent with other volunteers that share the same passion for helping dogs find their way to better lives. It’s great to sit back at the end of the day over food and drinks at Hooker next door and recap the day with our newest foster dogs. We are fortunate to have a brewery next door that allows us to bring our dogs and supports our mission!
What have you learned from Dog Star?
I’ve learned that I cannot keep every foster dog that captures my heart even though some are very hard to say goodbye to!
In all seriousness, I’ve learned that rescue is tough work and it really requires a village to accomplish our mission. There are many volunteers that invest their time and energy so that we can live our mission of helping dogs find a better life. It’s much more than just the volunteers that we see at the rescue on transport and event days. There are also heroes behind the scenes that help keep our vision alive whether it is through intake, fundraising, communications, IT, going through the many emails/inquiries that we get on a daily basis, screeners, maintenance, etc. No one person can do it all but if each of us participates in the areas we are passionate about then we can make a huge impact!
We are fortunate that we have great leadership that keeps us all in line and at the end of the day I think that is one of the things that sets us apart from other rescues. I think that along with the dedication of every single volunteer is what makes us so successful.
Do you have any advice for volunteers?
Any bit that you can contribute helps! Everyone has different skills and abilities that they bring to the table. Try out volunteering in different areas and talk to as many other volunteers as you can. We have such a great network of dog lovers that are willing to help and support each other. Rescue is not easy, but the dogs depend on us. There will be tough days but the rewards far outnumber the challenges.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’m grateful that I am part of the Dog Star community and I feel fortunate to be able to do my part to help those that need us most. So many times when I tell people that I foster and volunteer with rescue dogs, the reaction I get is “How do you do that? Don’t you get attached? How do you let them go?” Now that I have the experience that I do and have heard the stories of these resilient souls, I tell others that I cannot imagine not doing what I do. The alternative of not helping is too unbearable to think about.