A truly selfless vacation

Today's guest blog post comes from a pair of generous women from Rhode Island.  They spent their recent vacation in Colorado, volunteering at NMDR's kennel.  Huge thanks to Trish and Michaela for the tremendous amount of work you did and for being such a wonderful inspiration to others.

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Hi!  Our names are Michaela and Trisha.  We live in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and recently volunteered for a week at NMDR.  We were asked to right a guest blog about our visit. 

Michaela grooming Bess

We were very excited to come and help the dogs; however, we were both a bit apprehensive.  Having read so much about puppy mill survivors and the horrible situations the dogs have come from, we assumed NMDR would be somewhat of a sad place.  We couldn’t have been more wrong!  This place is so amazing because as soon as you begin to walk around the premises and meet the volunteers and dogs you realize it is a place of hope.  The dogs have come from horrendous backgrounds but they are all on a good path.  They are moving forward and all of the compassion the volunteers show, and the patience they give to each dog; it is nothing short of phenomenal!

Trish drying Teddy

The first day we were literally slack-jawed with astonishment with the amount of work that is constantly done by volunteers.  The sheer coordination involved in the feeding, medicating, socializing, and exercising all of the dogs could be overwhelming yet everyone involved does the tasks needed and they do it pleasantly and efficiently.  It truly is all about the dogs.

Trish making friends with Jacob

Michaela is a professional groomer so most of our time was spent bathing and grooming dogs.  By the second day we were accustomed to all of the volunteers talking about each dog by name when they stopped by the groom shop.  Truly, every dog is known by name and most volunteers would mention some tid-bit of information about the particular dog’s background, quirks, etc.  When these dogs arrive at NMDR, they instantly become part of the “family”. 

Michaela and Timmy

While we enjoyed meeting all of the dogs, as always, there were a few that touched that extra special places in our hearts.  For Michaela, it was Timmy, a six year old Bichon Frise who had recently arrived at the rescue with matted and stained fur, skin injuries, terrible teeth and eye sight yet has the swagger and self-confidence of a Newfoundland.  For Trisha it was Sasha, a four year old Siberian Husky also a recent arrival.  Sasha is timid and sweet and wants to be friends with everyone she meets.  Watching her toss a ball up in the air, knowing where she had been such a short time before, we had tears in our eyes.

Several of the volunteers took time to have dinner with us and NMDR founder, Theresa, along with Darrell and Dee shared their stories of rescue trips.  Hearing first-hand how tirelessly these folks work to rescue as many dogs as they can, brings to mind the famous Margaret Mead quote “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

These folks are changing the world one dog at a time……

P.S.  To all the blog followers – Massachusetts and Rhode Island are now on the official volunteer roster – which one of you out-of-staters is going to be next???  J