This story puts a new twist on our motto “Rescuing One to Rescue Another” ….
The phone call went like this:
Faith Harris: “Jen,” her voice frantic, my stomach tightened waiting for her next words “Oh my gosh…..I was in my therapy appointment at the VA and Fubar started acting crazy, I thought he had to go potty, but when I opened the door I realized he just wanted to GO” her voice was wavering, my head was swarming with worry “He ran so fast the leash went out of my hand, my Therapist and I went to chase him down the hall ….. where we found him in a room pacing around a man who was face-down on the floor”
The Doctors told Faith that Fubar saved his life!
Fubar’s new acronym?
ForUndyingBadassery
At
Reconnaissance
You’ve heard our names. You’ve seen our faces. But do you know why we are part of Stiggy’s Dogs? Find out on My Story Monday.
I operated a wholesale distribution company for eleven years. I worked mostly alone for the first couple years until a dog named Winston came into my life.
He was a fatty tumor ridden Sheltie with horrible breath who loved going everywhere with me. My sister gave me Winston when he was eight years old. From the day I got him until the day he passed he went to work with me. I told customers he was the complaint department. Winston also won employee of the month every month, and yes I put that in the company product flyers. I wasn’t rescuing dogs or anything but it just seemed wrong to let this obedient, loving, fuzz ball go to a shelter. He and I got along great even before he came to live with me. After a while, working alone with all the pressure I applied to myself eventually took a toll on me both physically and mentally. Winston wasn’t trained but I can tell you that he helped me out of a bad situation a few times. I clearly remember sitting on the floor in my warehouse thinking I was going to die of a heart attack and the police were going to have to break the glass out of the door to get to my dead body. Then Winston walked over and just made things slow down and return to normal. Winston lived longer than any veterinarian ever predicted and passed at the age of 14 and half. I’ve had other great dogs growing up but Winston taught me how the right dog with the right person can be something incredibly special.There was no way I was going to wait too long to get another dog. I’ve always loved teaching dogs things and watching them. I decided to foster some dogs which was fun then a mutt I named Servo found his way into my home.
Servo was found on the side of the road. He was young at only around 6-8 months old, very underweight at 25.lbs and not human affectionate. As he gained strength and his personality came out I discovered he was hand shy and very dog reactive. In other words he was a real challenge. It was at this point I started truly learning about dogs. Servo needed my help and I needed to acquire the knowledge and skills to do the job right. At this point I also decided that Servo would remain with me for life. He is an absolutely stunning creature who surely would have been adopted and returned and possibly euthanized with an inexperienced handler or someone unwilling to spend the right amount of time to rehab him properly. If you set a dog up to fail they surely will but if you don’t properly push their comfort zones then they will never have a chance to succeed. We eventually worked through a few things and I decided that to really get him where I wanted I needed more dogs at my disposal. This is like music to a rescue operators ears. I remember someone saying to the effect “You mean you want to take the dog I can’t place and work on them!?!? Pick whoever you want!!” Slowly Servo has changed from a dog who was so afraid of other dogs he looked psychotic to a dog that seems disappointed when I don’t walk through the door with another dog. His transformation has been pretty awesome to witness. Along the way some dogs that were having trouble getting placed found great homes.
Then came Zoltan. The dog who would open doors for me. Zoltan was advertised on Craig’s List for free. His pictures just stuck with me and I ended up grabbing him a day before he was to be dropped off at a shelter were he most likely would have been euthanized. Zoltan is fun and incredibly smart. So smart in fact honestly he’s probably been the easiest dog I’ve ever trained. Jen and Donna from Stiggy’s Dogs came to an adoption event to scout for possible recruits and I practically wrapped the leash around Donna’s wrist and begged for Jennifer to give him a chance. He has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Zoltan is one special service dog who lives a wonderful life with his veteran Jon. Then I found myself with Bentley who after some work I introduced to Jen and Donna. He was going to work for the Stiggy’s Program as well and the ladies from Stiggy’s seemed to think I knew something about dogs. We had a long talk about life that day and became good friends. Looking back at it they were really interviewing me for a position within Stiggy’s Dogs as a trainer which was offered a short time later. This was a dream come true for me. I closed my wholesale business and moved on to the next chapter in life.
Working at Stiggy’s Dogs has made me incredibly proud of what I do. I have a few family members and many friends who have served in the military. I’ve always greatly appreciated their service to our country and it’s an honor to be able to help those veterans in need.
We’re not miracle workers, but I get to see some things that are miraculous such as Terrance/Major, Mike/Barrett and the great man that Terran has become. I also get to learn from Donna who is in my opinion an absolute master of her craft. Jen told me that Stiggy’s isn’t about just training dogs and boy was she right. The dog aspect can be the easiest on many days but I love the human aspect of it just as much if not more. My life today is incredible and I have the greatest job in the world. I work at Stiggy’s Dogs helping real heroes get their lives back with the help of their best friend.
I have been asked if Ben was my husband, brother, boyfriend, or my son. Ben “Doc Stiggy” Castiglione was my nephew, my husbands nephew actually. But he was so much more than that to me ….
I met Ben he was 14years old. Being new to a big family and trying to *fit in*, Ben made it easy for me. He spent a lot of time at our house visiting, many nights and weekends full of laughter, movies, games and fun. If I had to sum up the character of Ben it would be Caring, loving and funny. Ben loved people, he was wonderful with kids and small children spending many family get together’s playing and teasing them. Ben’s sense of humor is something that grew as he did. Being funny and making people laugh came naturally to him. His natural charisma attracted people. Ben cared about animals, always helping one if it was hurt. If there was a dog around, you could find Ben by it, rubbing it’s ears. It was a family joke about how much Ben loved dog ears!!
In 2008-2009 my husband and I moved to Atalanta Georgia for his job. The move was very tough for me, and Ben understood that. There were times when he was deployed that he would call just me, not Joe and ask for me, but just me. Here he was, in war zone and he would call and ask how I was, how I was?????? Are you kidding me? Because we lived closer to where he was stationed (Camp Lejeune) Ben made several trips on his weekends off to stay with us. This is when we became even closer. I am forever grateful for that time we had. The many talks about everything, Military, his men and how he asked to be deployed to Afghanistan to take care of them. I will never forget that conversation. “I don’t care if I die Aunt Jen, I just need all my Marines to make it home alive.” … chills run through me even know as I look back on that.
I believed, at that time, that I was Ben’s favorite Aunt. In fact, it wasn’t until after is death that I realized everyone was Ben’s favorite.The young man had a unique way of making everyone feel so special that we all thought we were his favorite. I cant tell you how many times we hear that “Ben was my best friend”! This man had more best friends than anyone I know!!
Ben, to me you are a inspiration. I try to live in honor of who your were daily. The loss of your life will always be a grief I struggle with. I love you and miss you daily. I know you are probably a little upset that I made this big hoopla over you, but I am finishing what you started…..taking care of your Men (and woman).
Please take the time to honor this man, who lost his life at 21. Never had a Drivers Licenses, never married. Gone to soon. Never forgotten. Ben ‘Doc Stiggy’ Castiglione.
Introducing Chief: aka Radar, Rusty, Swamp Thing, Sexy Mother, Golden Boy and Knuckle head All nicknames wrapped in one dog! Originally Donna and I went to Capitol Area Humane Society to look at another dog we saw on Petfinder. On a drive back from Holland Michigan, we made a *quick* stop to see if there was a potential dog. Donna stopped at the cage of the dog we were there to see, as I went three cages down. There was a dog that reminded me instantly of Stiggy. I did not even look at the other dog, we walked out of there with our next recruit!
Meet Navy Chief Jeff Morrison. Who has been patiently waiting for two years for his dog. Once we knew that this dog was going to pass, I made the phone call. I had Jeff go online as I waited to hear his reaction seeing his new dog …. I held my breath as he opened his Facebook page …. “Ha, he looks like a Knuckle Head” Jeff chuckled. Well, that was not the response I was waiting to hear. This *Knuckle head* was our golden boy!!!
Jeff drove from Virgina the next week to start training. Jeff’s little Knuckle Head met him with heart bubbles over his head, kissing his face, pawing him constantly. Jeff’s smile as big as his dogs. The connection was instant and the training began. Both seemed to have wanted this for a long time, working together learning each other came naturally. Although each morning when we saw Jeff, he had a new *mark* on his face or head. His *swamp thing* (big webbed Catahoula feet) would paw at him and scratch his face, eye and head. After three days it looked like we had beat him up!!
One afternoon after training, Jeff and Chief were in the next room. Donna heard his phone ring, Jeff answer and mumbled a couple of words. The you could heard him say “Chief .” Then the patter of feet circling around the floor. Donna went in the room to see what was happening. Jeff still on the phone, Chief pawing at him desperately, circling him. Jeff turned around, with tears running down his cheeks. His aunt had died. I felt the mixed emotions of sadness for Jeff’s loss mixed with pride for the dog that *felt* his energy, knew something was wrong and trying to help! They were bonded already, this was very good. For Jeff wanted to leave earlier than anticipated to be home for the funeral. After witnessing what we did, we knew Jeff and Chief were well on their way already!
Passing their test and cramming in much over the next two days. We are so proud of both Jeff and his Chief!!! We look forward to following your journey ….
You’ve heard our names. You’ve seen our faces. But do you know why we are part of Stiggy’s Dogs? Find out on My Story Monday.
Back in the winter of 2011, I was trying to find a new home for this sweet, smart, gorgeous older pup named Brutus. He ended up coming to live with me for a time, during which I took him to obedience classes and got to know just how special and smart he was. During this same time frame, my sister and I had made a connection with the Better Life Canine Center. They had taken in Brutus’ mother and found her a great home along with a number of other dogs from our area. In June 2011, I felt Brutus was ready to find a new home, BLCC posted him on Petfinder for me and I also attended a couple adoption events with him, as well. About the same time, Jennifer Petre had been starting to look for a dog to potentially pair with a veteran currently in the Stiggy’s Dogs program. Since they had worked with BLCC in the past, she was keeping an eye on their adoptable dogs and Brutus sure caught it! Long story short, Jennifer Petre, Donna Fournier and Jason Keller came up to Frankenmuth in early July 2011 to meet Brutus and the rest is history. Once Brutus became the service dog for veteran Jason Keller, I continued to follow and support Stiggy’s Dogs in any way I could.
I have two personal dogs of my own, Connor and Kobe, and my option to foster a dog for Stiggy’s is usually contained to the summer months. But it has been my experience learning about dogs and training my own two dogs that has made me feel comfortable in taking in a dog to foster for Stiggy’s, since I also work on making sure they are highly socialized and well mannered before sending them on to Stiggy’s for further training. My next foster for Stiggy’s was a bit of a fluke. Stiggy’s didn’t have a veteran to pair with him at the time he came to me, but I knew once I met Corspman that he would be the perfect dog for Stiggy’s. He just needed to grow up a bit since he wasn’t quite a year when he came to me, so I offered to foster and train him until he was old enough to enter the program. I am now currently fostering Rotor who I am sure will be moving on to be paired soon!
"The experiences and lessons I learned from working at a Humane
Society, motivated my future. I have spent the past 4 years trying to
make a difference. Dogs listen, love us unconditionally, are loyal and
can be life saving. I am passionate about my goal of helping one dog at
a time, and now one soldier and family at a time. I am proud to honor
Ben and determined to carry on his legacy of helping others through
Stiggys Dogs." Jennifer PetreFounder - Stiggy's Dogs
Do you Twitter?
Help us out by clicking on the green button and re-tweeting this website to your followers. Every bit helps, thank you so much!
Sign up for Stiggy’s Dogs Quarterly Troop Tails Newsletter!
Sign up here to receive the quarterly newsletter from Stiggy's Dogs. Stay up to date on all of the news and events for Stiggy's Dogs.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, contact us at info@stiggysdogs.org.
All nicknames wrapped in one dog! Originally Donna and I went to
Site by 