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.

Everything happens for a reason…Nothing could be more true when it comes to my place in the Stiggy’s Dogs family.  Last spring I read a book that changed the course of my life, in all reality…doors began to open and I began to walk through them…and gratefully, one of those opened doors, led me into this amazing organization.  I contacted Jen by happenstance, to see if she might be interested in partnering with another organization for a fundraising idea I was working on…the connection between us was instant….it felt like we had always been a part of each other’s lives and journey.  Over the next few months, we would connect, talk about ideas…she never knowing I was a dog trainer, and me never seeing the significance of sharing that information since it didn’t relate to what we were trying to work toward…

Eventually, It came up in conversation and her excitement was infectious…It was as if she was trying to put her finger on why we were so connected, and where would I fit into her life plan…and then this missing piece of information, put everything in its place for her.  Stiggy’s Dogs was growing and expanding and trying to keep up with the needs and demands of so many veterans.  It was becoming overwhelming for the small 2 woman show.  She and head trainer, Donna Fournier were looking for other options for our wounded warriors to get the help they needed in a more timely manner, and they were thinking about adding a program to be able to help more veterans…what they were missing, was someone to help work that program…they needed to add another trainer…but the fit had to be perfect, a balance of experience, compassion, flexibility, patience…they had to feel comfortable with the new trainer because they had invested every ounce of their souls into this mission for the last few years….for reasons out of our ability to predict, here I am…taking everything that I have loved for so many years…animal welfare advocacy and the desire to heal broken spirits and lives by using the love and honesty of our best friends,  to give back to those who have given and risked everything for us.

I began “rescuing” when I was a tiny girl…hiding mouse traps in the laundry room, so the mice wouldn’t get stuck in them…taking dog food outside to feed the opossums that would run along our fence line, I even tried to save crickets with broken legs, never successfully and always with a tearful goodbye little friend…my mom would help me set the little bug up in a box with some grass and she would tolerate me carrying my treasured broken friend everywhere until it would die and she would wipe my tears and help me find a safe resting place…as an adult, I began working with rescue groups, pulling dogs from shelters and transporting them, then fostering sick dogs that couldn’t go into a new home yet, nursing them through heartworm treatments and broken legs, helping them gain weight and recover from neglect, abuse, malnutrition…and then it just became my life.  Rescuing…I expanded my animal advocacy work into the shelter environment, which perpetuated me to fine tune my animal behavior skills and techniques.  I have over 10 yrs of experience working with dogs specifically, rehabilitating and training them to be stable, balanced and beautiful.  I made a decision recently, to dedicate my time and energy to training dogs as service dogs exclusively with Stiggy’s Dogs.  I know this was the right door to go through.

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You can give to Stiggy’s Dogs securely online on our Rally page.  Please consider a donation to help us continue in our mission of Rescuing One to Rescue Another.