A Birthday to Remember

26 – one year past a quarter of a century. It’s not my golden birthday. It’s not my 21^st birthday. It’s just a birthday where I am one year older than before. Some may say it’s ‘just my 26^th birthday’ but this year it wasn’t just my 26^th birthday – it was a day that nearly saved my organization. 

March hit Grey Face Rescue hard, and by hard I mean we nearly tripled our average monthly vetting expense. March alone off-set our vetting to nearly $4,000.00 which included 3 emergency surgeries. This hardship left me extremely stressed and so incredibly heartbroken as I felt as though my organization was crumbling before my eyes. I felt as though I was letting my team down and it broke my heart to think I let our dogs down. There’s nothing worse than feeling defeated and feeling as though you let something so defenseless down. These senior dogs count on Grey Face Rescue to give them a new life and there’s nothing in this world that I strive for more than giving them a second chance at happiness and the feeling of love and acceptance before their final days.

In late March, I spent endless hours trying to figure out how in the world I was going to raise enough money to help outweigh these vetting costs when in the midst of the madness I remembered my birthday was approaching. I reached out to my rescue friend, Emily Randolph with Furr-Ever Home Rescue who recently launched a fundraiser in honor of her birthday to assist with the outstanding vetting expenses they had for a few senior cats they had recently taken in. I messaged Emily asking if I could steal her idea and like the big-hearted, kind person she is – she said of course. I then launched ‘Bethie’s Birthday Wish’ in hopes of raising money for our seniors. I was looking for 100 people to donate $26 for my 26^th birthday. At first, I figured ANY amount would be wonderful and I had convinced myself that there weren’t very many people out there that give a damn about my birthday but let’s give it a try!

Boy – was I wrong! After 2 weeks of promoting my birthday wish, we have 50+ people donate $26 (10+ donating MORE). We were able to raise $1,927.00 on behalf of my birthday wish for our seniors. Day after day, it was absolutely amazing to see the donations come in and the notes that were included,

“Happy Happy Birthday, girl!! LOVE what you guys are doing with Grey Face Rescue and am SO inspired by your selflessness! You guys are doing so many AMAZING things and I am so blessed to be a small part of it. Thank you for ALL that you do!!”

“Happy Happy Happy Birthday!!! I love what your organization does for the senior dogs!! My dream is to one day walk in an adopt the oldest dog available - Thank you for what you do!”

“You, your family and the GF organization are all doing GREAT things! The love you have for these animals shows in your work. I will be sharing your post! Happy Birthday!”

It was truly an amazing day because of all those who believe in our organization, believe in our mission and believe that our seniors deserve a second chance. These seniors’ dogs can steal our hearts, nearly give us heart attacks, make us shake our heads and bring tears to our eyes but never for a second have I told myself it wasn’t worth it.

No one told me that opening a rescue would be easy – actually, my friend Azure who is the Executive Director of Ruff Start Rescue actually told me it’s really hard and a lot of work. She told me that having a social life was nearly impossible, there will be stress and hard times, and that she had to sacrifice a lot. Of course, I didn’t think she was lying but I did perhaps think she was being a bit drastic. Well, I was wrong. She was being completely honest and upfront.

Since the rescue has opened, I have sacrificed my relationships with friends. It was put a toll on my relationship with my family and mostly it’s put a toll on my body, mentally and physically. My Friday and Saturday nights consists of sitting on the couch with my computer on my lap (and maybe a glass of wine besides me) coming up with new processes and procedures to better our organization, reaching out to businesses for donations and sponsorship opportunities, catching up on the 20+ emails, 10+ Facebook messages and 50+ Facebook notifications that I receive daily. There is ALWAYS work to be done with the rescue.

One thing is for sure though, I absolutely LOVE this rescue. There is nothing in this world that I would rather be doing then dedicating my life to helping these senior dogs live their remaining years in forever loving homes. I’ve learned so much since this rescue has opened. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my relationships with friends and family. I’ve learned a LOT about dogs, especially seniors. Most importantly, I learned that there are a lot of people just like me out there who have the same passion for these senior dogs as I do.

I am so grateful for the extraordinary team that is behind me every step of the way. To think there are individuals out there that love dogs as much as me, want to dedicate endless amount of hours to these dogs and share my passion for the seniors in need of a second chance. My family has recently endured some hardships and without a question, these amazing people have been there for me. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work, determination and endless amount of effort to make this organization the best ever but I can’t thank those individuals who have helped me overcome the last couple days.

Last but not least, I can’t thank the community, my friends, my family and those I have never encountered in my life for your generous donation that has helped save the dogs we have dedicated our life to. Your donation has help overcome and outweigh the enormous vetting expense that has left me frantic. Because of you, I can finally sleep without worry and can be relieved from the feeling of defeat as Grey Face Rescue can move forward and continue to save seniors but giving them a second chance at life and a place to call home. Thank you.

Rescuing Across Country

This past weekend, Grey Face Rescue & Retirement teamed up with the folks at Happy Ending Rescue in Waco, Texas to transport 9 of their dogs the 1,000+ miles across country.

Happy Ending Rescue is a dog rescue located in Hewitt, TX. Happy Endings opened its doors in 2006 with the goal of rehoming large breed dogs, specifically Rottweilers and Pitbulls. Unfortunately, due to insufficient funds, Happy Endings Rescue will be closing their doors in March which leave many dogs homeless with the only choice to be transferred to their local shelter. Happy Endings Rescue made an emergency Facebook page seeking rescues to take a majority of their dogs and one way or another – Grey Face was contacted.

Our Intake Manager, Elise Lieser called me and surprisingly she wasn’t crying because a special senior is pulling at her heart strings. She calmly said, “I’m going to ask you something, and it’s kind of crazy.” Mind you, we’ve been open for less than a year and our ducks just don’t line up in a row quite yet so her opening statement was very  frightening. She told me all about the rescue, stated that they were closing their doors due to insufficient funds and they don’t want anyone to judge or be disrespectful, we just need to find homes for their dogs. Obviously, I had a few questions like how the heck would these dogs get here? But Elise had it covered. I told her if she can find transportation, guarantee the dogs are vaccinated, fixed and ready to go then why not!

Elise was quick to start posting multiple dogs on our Dogs Needing Foster Facebook group. At this point, we failed to communicate this cross-country rescue to the rest of our team who suddenly came out of the woodwork in a panic (rightfully so). We gave a brief overview of this very large rescue mission to the team and began moving forward. Sherry, our Foster Manager (who by the way, is a SAINT) started to put together the ever so fast moving pieces while adding new team members to our Fostering Team (did I mention Sherry was the ONLY volunteer handling our fostering at this time? Yep, she’s a saint). She was stress… to say the least but I made sure to supply the beer on our recent Wednesday meetings which have now become Beer Wednesdays!

Long story short, we found long-term and short-term fosters for all 9 dogs. The folks at Happy Ending Rescue showed up at 7:00 PM exactly with all 9 dogs in tow. Our team, the fosters and volunteers waited patiently outside the van looking at our new temporary house guests.

Stella was one of the first out the door and she was SO shy. Johnny B walked out with a member of their rescue who spent a few minutes one on one with the big boy as they had a close relationship. Oliver came out like a bat out of hell! Franklin and Mighty were lifted out of the vehicle as their porky bodies weren’t ready for the steep jump. Karlee was quickly uploaded and warmed with a blanket by her new foster mommy. Ginny was nervous but warmed up quickly with her foster parents. Casey was one of the first to come out of the van as well and she was quickly placed in her vehicle to head to her new foster home. Last but not least, Sandman the GREAT made his way out of the vehicle and with his foster parents (who have one other Grey Face Foster).

All dogs received an exam from the wonderful Dr. Bea Winkler and our Vetting Manager, Sherin. They both did a phenomenal job assessing the dogs (although some were pretty amped up).

Thank you to the amazing fosters and volunteers that made this incredible experience worthwhile. Most importantly, thank you Happy Endings Rescue for not only driving across country but for donating kennels, food, medication and more. We will never be able to thank you enough for your great doings. We wish we had more time to spend with ya’ll (my attempt to reenact their southern accent). Until next time, Texas – we will keep you updated!

Time to SLOW down

Between a full-time job, running a rescue (with the help of amazing people), being a wife, step-mom, dog & cat mom to 5, keeping the household down and with the Holidays fast approaching, I needed a minute to just stop and smell the roses.

Life is good and I mean like really good. The rescue is great and becoming more of a success than I ever thought could. My job rocks and I enjoy going each day. My husband is hot so that’s a plus and my step-son is like the coolest kid ever! Plus, I’m going to Mexico in less than a month so what do I have to complain about!

Well, then I suddenly woke up from my fairy tale by Barnabee’s excruciating cough. Then I start to think, when is the last time I’ve spent some quality time with Barnes, aside from our good morning kisses and evening snuggles but some good quality time. It dawned on me that time is going by quickly and Barnes is only going to be here for a little while longer so I need to put down the computer, put down the cell phone and give him my undivided attention. Let me tell you, he was stoked!

B loves his hair brushed and cut so that’s exactly what we did. Usually, I prefer my salon to be outdoors with the overwhelming amount of hair that comes off my 100lbs dog but seeing we live in Minnesota, that wasn’t an option. We would freeze our butts off so the living room it was. I trimmed up his paws that were similar to a gremlin foot and shaped up his ears. I tell him that with his short ears he looks like a “spring chicken”. Then we brushed his whole body until we had a pile of hair the equivalent to April (my black cat).

Winter is so hard on Barnabee and to think this could be his last breaks my heart. His body is getting older, he’s getting stiffer and walking to get a drink of water has become a chore. They say you know when you’re ready but do you really?

What I do know that right now isn’t the right time. He’s wagging his tail, giving me kisses and greeting me with his big ole’ B smile still. He goes to the bathroom outside, he’s eating and drinking and loving every moment still with us (besides when the cats drive him nuts or Deuce is being a pain). He’s loved and he’s happy, that’s all that matters. 

So going forward, I am going to slow down and enjoy the time I have left with Barnes. I love the quote “Blessed is the person to have earned the love of an old dog” and I truly am. Now it’s time to go, I have a hot date with a 14 year old “Mutt”! ;) 

It's been awhile!

Hi, it’s me – Bethie! The writer of this blog. You may have forgotten about me because of the neglect my poor blog has received. The neglection of my blog doesn’t reflect the care of my poor animals although since starting the rescue they think my computer has become a new family member that has my full-time attention and they are a bit jealous (and confused to why it doesn’t bark or meow).  

We are on month THREE of Grey Face Rescue & Retirement and I feel as though we have been up and running for year. I’m exhausted and my brain is about to explode but I am so completely in love with what I do (shout out to my husband and step son as well – in love with you both as well!).  

I learn something new every day and I’m going to emphasize the everyday! Today, I learned that looking for a space that will allow us to not only utilize as an office and meeting space but to store 100’s of pounds of dog food along with treats, kennels, toys, bowls, bed and everything else needed to keep our senior dogs happy AND have the ability of letting dogs come to the building if need be… is difficult. Oh ya, it must be cheap too and big to store all our stuff. Piece of cake, right?  Not exactly. This is something we need now too but there’s another obstacle… donations.

Which comes to the next thing I’ve learned. Donations aren’t a walk in the park – that’s for damn sure! You would think that when you start a non-profit for something you are really passionate about people (friends and family) would just throw money at you, right? Nope. That’s not how it goes. You have to earn it by hosting fundraisers, selling merchandise, having a silent auction or you can follow in my foot steps and drowned everyone’s Facebook in pleas to donate to Grey Face. I’m curious to how many people have blocked me from their News Feed. I don’t blame them… I’m annoying but I’m consistent, passionate and have the mindset if I fill up their News Feed with cute senior dogs that need their help then just maybe they will give us a dollar. DO NOT FOLLOW IN MY FOOT STEPS because it’s not working and I’ve most likely pissed some serious Facebookers off from their daily creep session (I get it, I’m a creep too – it’s often I find myself on my co-workers, Grandma’s, Best Friend’s page and totally forget how and why I’m there).

One thing I do suggest… NETWORK! Befriend all those crazy weird animal advocates and join the army of misfit dog and cat lovers that speak a different language then the rest of the world. We’re the kind of people that live each day for slobbery wet puppy kisses (smelly dental diseased kisses in my case). We’re having full on conversations in our highest pitched voices with dogs that don’t understand a thing we’re saying (so you think).

Something my husband has requested I work on is that when I get home from work I kiss him first prior to finding all 5 of my animals, give them big hugs, quality pets and hairy kisses then with my furry mouth attempt to give him sloppy sixths (sevenths if we have Deagan). Can you blame him?

Until next time… possibly next month J

What I have learned about the Rescue Biz

Since launching Grey Face Rescue & Retirement, I’ve had my ups, my downs, smiles, tears and a new found late night bedtime which means lack of sleep. This isn’t a “hobby” nor a day or evening job. This is a 24/7, around the clock, working your ass off VOLUNTEER job – when you’re the President. I currently work a 40-hour a week job plus am apart of AAF of Central Minnesota so time is limited but that hasn’t stopped me. Here are a few things I’ve learned thus far:

1.       Time Management: This is key – especially for individuals like myself. I’m balancing a full-time job, AdFed, a family, 5 animals, friends AND Grey Face. If only there were more than 24 hours in a day I would do one hell of a job but for now, I think I’m doing ok.  God bless my husband for listening to me vent about the massive amount of papers to file for our 501(c)3, crying over meetings that weren’t encouraging, extreme happiness over meetings that went fantastic and the fact that after working 8 hours I go straight to my office for another 4-5 hours every evening. Therefore, I am nearly invisable to him but he understands this is a dream and he’s supportive. He deserves a medal or a vacation or a lifetime supply of beer… SOMETHING. The guy is a saint.

2.       There will be good times AND bad times: There will even be times where you consider giving up or feeling as though “I don’t think I can do this”. I’ll admit – I’ve thought that. There is A LOT that goes into a rescue and I’m only 3 months in! It’s only going to get harder from here and don’t worry, I’ll blog about what I’ve learned 1 year, 3 years and 5 years into the world of rescue but for now, this is what to expect at the beginning.

3.       Don’t expect too much: I’ll admit it, I thought my family and friends would be throwing money at the rescue and the support would be endless but not all people are rescue people nor animal people. Hell, the Facebook page has been up and running for a couple months and about ¾ of my Facebook friends list hasn’t even “LIKED” it (I just keep telling myself that they don’t check their “Liked Page Suggestions” – or whatever it’s called). Donations are HARD and you end up begging but it’s part of the job.

Don’t get me wrong – through the smiles and the frowns, I am SO happy with my life and the path that Grey Face is going to take me. I’ve met AMAZING people along the way thus far, worked with awesome rescues, felt so much support and have had lots of encouragement. It’s truly a challenge but I feel as though I’ll learn a lot along the way. Cheers to just the beginning and years of savings seniors. 

Don't Let Old Age Slow You Down!

Is your dog slowing down? Are they having a hard time getting up and down the stairs? Did their happy-go-lucky personality slowly turn into the world’s cutest couch potato? If so, they might not be receiving the supplements they need.

Barnabee was slowing down and his health was becoming a concern. At 13 years old, everything is concerning to me but we seek every option to keep him happy, comfortable and healthy until the time comes where we have to say good-bye.

After starting my adventure with Grey Face Rescue &Retirement, I reached out to rescue groups in Minnesota asking for advice and the items they felt were necessary for Senior Dogs. Katie Jo, bless her heart, from Secondhand Hound’s Hospice Program, reached out and informed me that supplements are a senior dog’s #1 need. In the meantime, I’ve been giving Barnabee Fish Oil pills, a suppressant for his coughing and was on a sodium-free, boiled rice and hamburger diet. All seemed to be working ok but not as well as I would hope. Katie recommended WapitiLabs Senior Mobility. You can purchase them from Amazon. She had mentioned that dogs have entered their hospice program not even able to walk and after a couple weeks on these supplements they were running. I thought, WOW – I need to try these for B.

Let me tell you, it’s been a world wind! B is running, yes… running! I don’t think I’ve seen Barnabee run since he was a puppy. He has energy. He’s getting up and down great and walking around the house. It feels great to see his health improve so quickly and so tremendously. He’s really happy and you can tell by his big puppy-dog smile.

If you or someone you know has a senior dog struggling from old age, I highly recommend these supplements. It’s been nearly night and day for Barnabee and a blessing to see him comfortable, happy and healthy. 

Grey Face Rescue & Retirement

It’s here… it’s finally here – Grey Face Rescue & Retirement. I’ve waited my whole life to open a rescue. I’ve always wanted to help animals but there were limitations. Such as, I could NEVER be a Vet Tech – I am WAY too emotional. I cry when the Vet Techs (bless their souls) hold Deuce down to clip his nails (it takes two of them and muzzle). I thought about working at a Shelter but I can barely walk into the place without adopting an animal that I think working there would be terrible for not only my pocket book (my animals cost an arm and a leg) but also my marriage. My poor husband can barely keep up with 5 animals, let alone any more. I’ve also been told that I wouldn’t “fit” in a shelter setting – I don’t know what that means but I trust them.

With the influence of very successful and amazing rescues and shelters in the St. Cloud area along with my favorite show Pit Bulls and Parolees – I thought a foster-based rescue is exactly what I wanted to do. Ok, I accomplished that, a foster-based rescue but who am I going to rescue? Cats? Dogs? Fish? Horses? Monkeys? Well, dogs, of course (hopefully someday we will take in senior cats but at this time, only dogs) but do I take in ALL dogs, special need dogs, puppies, seniors, black dogs? This question took a while… but once it came apparent I knew it was the right choice. B (Barnabee) is the most important thing to me. He is my 13 year old “Mutt” that has the world’s largest heart, so goofy and so full of love AND he loves no more in this world then me.

You can read the story of how we got B here but since he’s been at MY house for the last 2 years, we’re inseparable.  B’s one and only flaw is that he gave Josh the misconception of what dogs are really like. B made Josh think that all dogs are calm, sleep all day, can go hours without being let out, didn’t need much exercise but preferred to be petted for a good 10 minutes. He thought dogs didn’t bark, didn’t chew on things and didn’t jump on the furniture. All you had to do was give them a scoop of food in the morning and night. Boy, was Josh wrong and Deuce made that VERY clear. I could go on and on about how much I love B and how much he means to our family but this isn’t what this blog is about.

It’s about Grey Face Rescue & Retirement - Grey Face Rescue & Retirement is a non-profit, foster-based rescue dedicated to giving senior animal’s stability and security when the norm becomes unfamiliar.  We provide high quality care & love to senior animals.

Grey Face is to represent all those senior dogs that have grown their fair share of grey hair that cover their muzzles. Grey Face Rescue & Retirement will provide comfort to senior dogs that are no longer able to stay with their original owners by no fault of their own. Their previous owner could be enduring a tragedy such as a medical condition or death within a family. Or they could simply be a poor excuse for an animal caretaker (because we won’t refer to them as family) and give up their senior dog because “it doesn’t get along with the new puppy”, “they just don’t have time for it”, “10 years after we got the dog we have now developed an allergy”. All are real life, douchey, excuses. But have no fear… that’s why Grey Face is here!

LIKE our Facebook page and DONATE today to help find these old souls their forever retirement home.