Posted by TeamCharlie on September 30, 2008 under Wags for Hope | 
Since I am involved with Wags for Hope, I seem to be called upon whenever a situation with a dog or cat arises in our neighborhood. Recently I was summoned by a lady who wanted to rehome her Labradoodle. She has two children (approx. ten and eight) and a husband. She asked if I could help. I saw this coming as a result of our last conversation about her dog. They were having chewing issues among other things. I asked her why she wanted to get rid of the animal and she said that it was because the dog sees noone for most of the day (both parents work) the dog is very hyper when they come home. The breeder had told them the dog would not get larger than 60 lbs., but at 8 months it was already 85 lbs. Her kids have sports after school, and “the dog is too big to take along, so this just exacerbates it’s hyperactiveness when we get home again.” In addition, “Labradoodles aren’t supposed to shed” but this one does. I asked if the dog could be returned to the breeder. Most good breeders have it in their contract that they do get returned to them before they end up in a shelter or get rehomed with an inappropriate family. She said that he would take the dog back, but “he’s Amish and he has all kinds of dogs running around – my dog would be one of many and would have to fend for himself.”
In her defense, she came to me because she didn’t want the dog to end up in the “pound” as she called it, and was concerned enough about the dog that she wanted to ensure a good home for it. I don’t like using my Wags email list for personal things such as this, but I do know that these are the best people in the county as far as dog ownership is concerned, and I know that if one of them adopted the dog it would stay there and live out a very happy life. For the sake of the dog then, I sent out the request. As of this writing, she has some interested parties but I do not believe the dog has been rehomed yet. Read more of this article »
Posted by TeamCharlie on September 20, 2008 under Wags for Hope |
A number of months ago I heard about two of our Wags for Hope volunteers who were trying to get a horse to visit the Montevue Home, one of our regularly visited assisted living facilities in Frederick. Charlie and I also visit there from time to time, as it is so close to Citizen’s Care & Rehab which is my regular spot. I thought this was a great idea, but having never been around horses I didn’t give it much further thought at the time. Recently I spoke at a Suburban Frederick Kiwanis Club meeting and was approached by one of their members after the fact. We got into a discussion about things and I was just commenting about our wonderful volunteers, mentioning that two of them are trying to get a horse to come out to their facility. This person’s name was Sue Vona, and she responded, “Well it just so happens that I have 22 acres and more horses than acres – when would you like one to come out?” What fabulous luck. To make a long story shorter, today was the day she brought Satin, a nine-year-old Morgan horse to visit the folks at Montevue home. As you can see from the pictures she is a stunning horse. The gentleman in the sunglasses seen petting the horse in the first picture was the main reason for me being interested in this. His granddaughter owns and shows horses – something that he used to do. We arrived about ten minutes early and I noticed he was outside already prepared for this visit. I must really thank Sue for putting that smile on his face.
Check out the accompanying article from the Frederick News Post here.
Posted by TeamCharlie on September 15, 2008 under Wags for Hope |
On Saturday we conducted another Wags for Hope orientation. I really don’t know how many that is for us, but given the fact that we started in April of 2006, my guess is that we have done over a dozen of them. My wife asked me if I get tired of doing them, because although the slides are altered a bit each time, they are basically designed to disseminate the same information. My answer was a resounding “no.” The reason for that is because every time we do one a whole new group of really excited faces are there to greet me and participate in the program. The more I learn the more I see that Wags for Hope is providing a service not only to the community, but to its volunteers as well. In the beginning of the orientation, we go around the room and get people to introduce themselves and talk about their pet. I asked the first couple why they were considering Wags for Hope, and their response really depicted why a lot of people do this. They said that they have so much love for their dog, they just want to share that with other people. That is the exact reason why I started visiting back in 2004 with Charlie. There is so much positive energy in that bond that we have with our animals that it just grows when we share it. This answer might stray from the expected “I want to give back to the community.” However I have always held the position that if this is the only reason people volunteer they will not last because they get nothing in return. Many philanthropic groups are seeing declines in membership due to the economy or other reasons, but we are still consistently seeing quite a few people sign up to these orientations. I think that it is for the reason that our volunteers gain so much from this activity. I also maintain that not one of us should feel guilty for reaping these rewards – it is part of what makes it fun.
Posted by TeamCharlie on September 8, 2008 under Kids are Heroes |
This past Saturday was Kids Are Heroes Day at the FSK Mall. This is something that had been planned since June of this year, and I must say that despite a tropical storm that dumped 5 inches of rain and heavy damaging winds, we had a wonderful turnout and a great time. Fifteen heroes were honored by five local adult heroes – the ceremony was very touching. And despite the deluge the heroes raised just over $1000.00 for various charities. It was really wonderful for me to get to meet all the parents and heroes themselves. One of the highlights was watching all the kids interact with each other – many had not met before this date and they all got along wonderfully. Many parents (including ourselves) were challenged with the task of keeping their child at the table as their main objective seemed to be to play with the other kids. That was frustrating for me too, but I secretly liked the fact that they all got along so well. All in all it was a great success and we must thank Christina Steinbrenner from the FSK Mall so much for all of her hard work.
The five adult heroes that introduced the children were: Bill Derbyshire, Lt. George Thomas, Amy Dockendorf, Jeannine Milyard and Colleen McCarrick.
The fifteen heroes that participated were: Kimani West, Mercy Blouin-Escoto, Anna Lemick, Julia Lemick, Mandy Mossburg, Julie Yankaskas, Courtney Williams, Reagan Joy, Rianna Joy, John Sun, Taylor Garner, Shannon McQuin, Todd McQuin, Amy McQuin and MaryMargaret O’Neill.
On a personal note, I would also like to thank my sisters MaryAnne and Maureen for coming from Florida and Canada, respectively, just to support us. My cousin Paul and his wife Dale drove through the storm an hour and a half one way just to spend a couple of hours there. My father-in-law who we lovingly call Pappy also drove an hour and a half from York, PA to be there. We must not forget my brother Geoff for coming up from Silver Spring in the same horrid weather as well.
What a heartwarming day it was – I am already looking forward to next year.
Since I am involved with Wags for Hope, I seem to be called upon whenever a situation with a dog or cat arises in our neighborhood. Recently I was summoned by a lady who wanted to rehome her Labradoodle. She has two children (approx. ten and eight) and a husband. She asked if I could help. I saw this coming as a result of our last conversation about her dog. They were having chewing issues among other things. I asked her why she wanted to get rid of the animal and she said that it was because the dog sees noone for most of the day (both parents work) the dog is very hyper when they come home. The breeder had told them the dog would not get larger than 60 lbs., but at 8 months it was already 85 lbs. Her kids have sports after school, and “the dog is too big to take along, so this just exacerbates it’s hyperactiveness when we get home again.” In addition, “Labradoodles aren’t supposed to shed” but this one does. I asked if the dog could be returned to the breeder. Most good breeders have it in their contract that they do get returned to them before they end up in a shelter or get rehomed with an inappropriate family. She said that he would take the dog back, but “he’s Amish and he has all kinds of dogs running around – my dog would be one of many and would have to fend for himself.”
