Pawsitive Energy®

A 15 year old deaf Black Lab dumped at a high kill rural dog pound by her family 30 years ago started me in rescue. I had never even been to a pound before, but one day a friend who literally hated dogs said:

“Let’s go to the pound."

And that was the day my life changed forever.

I was always a major dog lover - I already had 4 - so of course I said “Sure”. We drove to the landfill (Yeah. That’s where it was.), parked in the tiny parking lot, went in, & there stood my Jane, so forlorn & scared. Her card had a big red X on it & I asked what it meant. They told me she was going to be euthanized that day and the vet was already there. I literally fought with them to let me take her & they finally relented. She was a funny old girl & I loved her. She lived with me for two great years. 

My next dog was a white, medium size Bull Terrier cross. I found her out in the pound’s muddy back pen - they weren't even going to bring her into the building. She was filthy, skinny, covered in fleas & ticks, the side of her face was caved in & her eye was gone. They laughed at me when I said I wanted her but let me take her anyway. She turned out to be an amazing girl & I cried my eyes out when her new family (who never even mentioned her appearance - that’s how I knew they were supposed to be her forevers) took her. They kept in touch until 15 years later when she passed. Hannah was much, much loved! 

I was completely & forever hooked. After my little Hannah & Jane, I started regularly pulling one or two dogs at a time, getting them healthy, working with them, and then finding them great homes. 

When Lowell & I got hitched 20+ years ago, I roped him in to help. He had one (1) cat when we met but turned out to be a huge softie and the best guy ever. Over the years, we've helped rescue a few hundred animals. (Nobody does it alone - it’s always a group effort.) We've had as many as 70 dogs living here at a time. Besides our own & our rescue’s dogs, cats, horses, & birds, we fostered for other groups; served as a way station for dogs being transported all over the country; and kept dogs short & long term for people in emergency situations.

In honor of Jane & Hannah, we specialized in dogs no one else wanted due to aggression, age, health, whatever, and gave them a forever home. 

We’ve been slowing down for the past few years, but we still have 28 dogs here who will live with us until they pass. 

It’s been years of highs & lows, lots of sacrifice & heartbreak, but mostly a huge, gigantic amount of love, all due to one little old lady dog who broke my heart wide open.