Rocket Dog of the Week:
Abby
Sweet Abby is a very special girl with special needs.
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MIGHTYminnow
Our Volunteers
Laura
What has been your most incredible/influential experience with an animal?
My very first foster dog was a 2 week old sickly pit bull puppy named, "Pee Wee". I bottle fed him and nursed him to healthy and my parents ended up adopting him. Now he is 80 pounds of adorable pit bull fatness...I still think "Pee Wee" is the best name for him. He is goofy and silly and perfect.
Who is your most memorable Rocket Dog?
Hmm...I really fell in love with Twinkie, who was a big headed American Bulldog. He was just so super goofy and sweet. Oh and I really loved this old lady chihuahua named Pritzie that I had for a a little. OH! I also really adore Rudy, my very first Rocket Dog foster. A friend of a friend found him wandering in the Dogpatch area of SF and turned him into the shelter. My friend told me I had to go rescue him because he was a sweet little puppy. I already had 3 foster dogs for other groups but I thought I could handle a puppy and he would get adopted pretty quickly! I called the shelter and they told me that Rocket Dog was interested in rescuing the dog. I then called Pali and she told me that they were very interested in getting him out but they needed a foster home so I said I would foster. Pali got Rudy and met me. At first I was confused because the dog Pali was holding was a full grown, emaciated, blind pit bull! AHHH!!! However, my word is my word so I took in Rudy. He turned out to be the most super special dog of all time and we ended up getting him a great home! I've had so many amazing foster dogs...I'm really lucky!
Why do you donate your time to this cause?
Because helping animals, any animals, is important to me. I would
rescue pigs from factory farms and monkeys from labs if I had room to
put them somewhere and it was legal! Rescuing dogs is the one thing
that won't land me in jail! I'm KIDDING!
What do you do when you're not saving dogs?
I sleep!
What do you think is cool?
The book, "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins really opened my eyes to all sorts of things. You know, we euthanize 6 million dogs a year in our nation's shelters but we kill one million animals an HOUR for food in this country. Cows, chickens, pigs and many others...animals with feelings JUST like our dogs and cats. I think it's so important for people to learn about this...when I found out, I knew I wanted to change. By switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet, you will save more than 100 animals a year. I love that there are organizations like Animal Place in Vacaville (www.animalplace.org) and Farm Sanctuary (www.farmsanctuary.org) where you can go and spend time with all sorts of rescued farm animals! Petting cows and kissing pigs is just as great as going to a dog park. I love it!
Also, I'm obsessed with celebrity gossip. Pink is the New Blog is my religion. I know, it's bad, but I can't get enough!
Julia
What has been your most incredible/influential experience with an animal?
"Joey, aka Joseph Heller, is my dog. He is a pomeranian mix that I adopted from a pomeranian rescuer named Jan Yale. I absolutely adore him and he is one of the most important things in my life. Some people in Rocket Dog refer to him as a devil dog because he is snappy with strangers- but he is a gentle, loving and happy dog that brings me so much joy. Adopting him inspired me to rescue others; he was going to be euthanized because his eyelid had been split open and the shelter did not want to perform the surgery to sew it back together. It was easy to fix and now he is in a forever home. I want to help other dogs have the same experience!"
Who is your most memorable Rocket Dog?
"I have had over 20 foster dogs and I have loved each of them so so
much. I try to keep in touch with all of their adopters and my
favorite thing in the world is to get pictures of them in their new
homes. Of course Billy Beane, my boyfriend's dog, has to be the most
memorable (namely because he is still with us). My boyfriend and I
were both in finals and were NOT supposed to be taking a dog in, but
an emergency came up and we agreed to take a 30 lb. manchester terrier
mix. My boyfriend took one look at him and said, "I am adopting him!"
I said, "No you're not, I still want to foster!" We struck a deal: We
would adopt Billy Beane IF we could still foster, and so he stayed
with us and became part of our pack."
Why do you donate your time to this cause?
"I donate my time to Rocket Dog because I love it! It is incredibly fulfilling to know you have helped to save a life. I often get dogs straight from the shelter—depressed, sick, fearful. I get to watch them come out of their shell, learn to trust and start to feel better. Some come to me more broken than others, but all have within them that insatiable love and loyalty which is what makes dogs so wonderful. I also love helping at adoption days, communicating with the public, educating people about adoption and rescue, and helping to find dogs their forever homes. It's important to me that I help to give rescue a good name so that people do not turn to breeders."
What do you do when you're not saving dogs?
"I am a law student and will soon be a lawyer. I am fortunate that my boss loves animals just as much as I do and is involved with Rocket Dog. I will be practicing employment law, but I hope to do some pro bono work that involves animal rights."
What do you think is cool?
"I think San Francisco is cool! I also love the Rocket Dog community- which to me is such an integral part of the San Francisco experience. What could be better than seeing an adopted Rocket dog cruising down 24th Street or running along the beach at Fort Funston? Potrero Hill, my neighborhood, is also cool! Farleys coffeehouse on 18th street is amazing- I love to sit outside with a mocha and my dogs (the dogs get treats thrown to them from the Farleys' people). Not to mention the Potrero Hill Pet Parade on Halloween—a must do for all dog lovers."
Paul
What has been your most incredible/influential experience with an animal?
"The most incredible and influential experience I have had is with my son (dog) Joey, to experience life with him in general. Knowing that he is there for me and knowing that I am there for him for always. Knowing and understanding that a true bond of love, understanding, and forgiving has been created."
Who is your most memorable Rocket Dog?
"I hate to say it but of course, my dog Joey!"
Why do you donate your time to this cause?
"I donate my time because I want others to be able to share in the joy and love that Pali and Rocket Dog has given to me."
What do you do when you're not saving dogs?
"For the most part I work. Rocket Dog takes up a solid amount of my time being the treasurer, not to mention owning a mortgage business, two homes, and a loving relationship. I don't have much time, but I will tell you I get a wake up call from my dog every Saturday and Sunday morning for a run at the dog park."
What do you think is cool?
"Giving back in any capacity."
Carol
What has been your most incredible/influential experience with an animal?
"I have always loved animals, especially dogs. I was bitten by dogs as a small child for trying to hug them, which hurt my feelings mostly because I didn't understand why they didn't like me. So many experiences all of them incredible in their own way. The communication, the trust, the love never cease to nourish me and amaze me."
Who is your most memorable Rocket Dog?
"Probably my first foster dog. I started volunteering saying I couldn't foster because my elderly dog wouldn't like it. And then I met Emma and her puppy Becca. Emma (now named Onyx), a black lab that Pali manipulated me into offering to foster with her puppy although I didn't realize it at the time. (She is good. Pali that is.) Emma was terrified of just about everything and everybody and ended up being heartworm-positive. I would sit on my front step with Emma and watch the world go by, trying to desensitize her to the sounds of the city. An uphill battle at best, complicated by the need to keep her quiet after heartworm treatment. I saw Emma not too long ago. She is a different dog. Happy, outgoing, ready for the world. And she still remembered me. My heart grows warm just thinking about her."
Why do you donate your time to this cause?
"I started because Jake, my dog, was getting older. I felt I likedJake being an only dog, but I couldn't deal with being alone after he passed. I thought I could help other dogs by volunteering. Jake was 11 at the time. Jake is now 14 and has an adopted sibling Badger (a Rocket Dog). I am still volunteering and sometime fostering, because I love dogs. I feel good when I can free them from the shelter and find homes for them. It enriches my life in a way I don't know how to describe. Somehow I need to continue doing this. It fills a need in me to make a positive difference in the world."
What do you do when you're not saving dogs?
"I travel between San Francisco and Tacoma WA. I work as a physician, an OB/Gyn. I dance, West Coast Swing and Ballroom. I knit and make jewelry. I read. I travel. I try to spend time with my friends and family. Oh, and I try to have enough time for my own dogs."
What do you think is cool?
"I am not cool. So it's hard to say. Actually, I have never been cool. I used to want desperately to be cool. I've given that up. It's part of the reason I love dogs so much. They don't care if you are cool. You can be uncool, awkward, out of it, but they know if you love them. They can tell if you are warm and caring and loving to them. And that matters." (Oh Carol, come on. You're very cool.)