A Year in Review

As I look back on the journey of this past year I am amazed at the trip it has been. The year started with me deciding to take a year off from the art fair circuit to pursue my love of beaded sculptures.

This was a risky financial decision but one I had dreamed about for quite some time. I did have one commissioned piece to create so I knew there would be money coming in. Queen Mary Cometh was completed on time and the client was thrilled.

All along I continued to volunteer with Pet Haven and Red Lake Rosie's fostering dogs. By about April I started to realize that my passion for art was waning or at least taking a backseat to rescuing homeless dogs. I kept asking myself if there was someway I could stay home with the dogs and still feed my son?

Not being one to put too much energy into money-I think that gives it too much power-I decided to start a new home business boarding dogs. In June Rescue Buddy Boarding & Beyond was officially born. Mister was already occasionally staying at the house along with sometimes three fosters dogs at once so I knew what I was getting into.

From then on many dogs have come to stay, some several times. Thank you to all who have supported this new venture. Foster dogs are always welcome too. Paden is our 28th one and she has a good applicant coming to look at her on Saturday.

This year I was able to take three trips to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. Getting to know founder Karen Good has been inspirational and a definite highlight of my year. For all of you yet to go up north please make a date on your new calendar to do so. You will be changed forever.

My mom is even getting involved. Since July 4th she has been knitting sweaters for the dogs at Rosie's because the winters are so harsh. I think she is up to about 40 so far. She can not be stopped.

Here is Simon in the bumblebee style.

As the old year is passing my mom and I are looking forward to a new venture. We are excited to be asked to sell the sweaters in a store in downtown Minneapolis. Proceeds of course going to Karen for hiring someone to help her with the endless daily chores. Thanks to Charm a frequent visitor to Rescue Buddy Boarding and her mother who made the connection for us. Charm was shopping in this store while modeling her new sweater that "Santa" brought her when she stayed with over Christmas.

As for my artistic expressions for the new year, well I have gotten the knitting bug too. Yes I am on my first sweater. Of course I do not want to stop knitting so I think my first one will be for a snake instead of a dog.

To the two loves of my life, thank you for being so patient with all the dogs coming and going.

May the new year find you following your dreams.

Just One Dog

As the decade comes to a close and we are looking forward to a new year let us all make a pledge to do just one thing. Call a rescue and ask how you can help, make a donation to help the Stanleys and the Clarences of the world, walk a dog at the local shelter, buy an extra bag of cat food for the local food shelf, do just one thing to make the world a better place for homeless dogs and cats. Thank you for your time. And Happy New Year!

Toby and Paden in the snow.

Our Christmas rush is winding down. Toby the beagle is our last guest still waiting for his family to return from their holiday trip. Here is a video of him and our Pet Haven foster dog playing in the snow. Toby was our 4th foster three years ago. He is now with a wonderful patient family that loves him so much even with his beagles antics. Paden is our 28th foster dog still waiting for her special family.

Merry Dogmas!

We are all safe and warm here at Rescue Buddy Boarding & Beyond. Dog beds have replaced human furniture for this busy weekend.This is Pet haven alums "sisters" Lola and Cocoa's first time visiting. They are such good girls and love each other. Charm and Toby had little transition to do as they are frequent guests. We are all one big happy pack wishing you all Happy Holidays!

Keep the Red Lake puppies alive this winter

This is Clarence, the puppy that almost froze to death last week at Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. He is on his way to good health thanks to the loving care of Karen Good at RLRR. Every sick puppy takes twice as long to clean up, water, and feed each day. Karen already has so much to do along with working at her teaching job three days a week. To help Clarence and puppies yet to come to the shelter Karen needs to hire someone to help her do the chores.

If you said I wish there was something I could do well here is your chance to do it. And in the warmth of your own home. The Clarence Fund will collect funds through the end of the year to pay for a worker to help Karen this winter.

The goal would be to have a helper for 5 hours a day 5 days a week at $10 an hour for three months. That is $1000 a month-$3000 total. That is just not that much money and it would mean the world to Karen. Rescue Buddy Boarding will start it off with $250 for the first week. Can anyone match this? Or $50 for one day? Even an hour's pay of $10 would be greatly appreciated!

Please make checks out to: Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. Mark Clarence Fund in the memo.

Mail them to: Rescue Buddy Boarding
2211 Pierce St Ne
Mpls, MN 55418
Checks will be mailed all together to Karen in two weeks. Please get the checkbook out now while you are thinking about it and help Karen keep the puppies from freezing this winter. It will warm your heart and their paws. Thank you from all the puppies yet to come to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue.

Mom comes for the holidays.

My mom Janice is here visiting from Nebraska for the holidays. She continues to knit sweaters for the Red Lake Rosie's puppies when she is not making batches and batches of Christmas cookies. One night she even fell asleep knitting. When mom woke up she said, "Well at least I was at the end of the row". Paden our Pet Haven foster dog loves to share the couch with her when there is room.

Trevor is a beautiful black lab who is looking for a home through Pet Haven. He is such a happy boy he even smiles. Trevor gets along great with other dogs, cats, and kids. He would love a huge fenced yard to play in. My mom has taken to him because she has a fondness for the hunting breeds. But Trevor had already fallen for her the first night he was here.

Mister is visiting us for a quickie overnight while his mom is getting more tests done. Here he is checking out my mom's knitting skills. Mister thinks she can knit AND pet him at the same time. Of course mom chooses to pet Mister. She is in heaven with all of the dogs coming and going. This is only the beginning of all the dog visits Rescue Buddy has scheduled for the holidays.

Winter in Red Lake

Winter has come to Red Lake Rosie's. And it has arrived with a vengeance. Temperatures fell to 13 below zero. Chores are done mostly in the dark wearing so many layers it is hard to even move. Water freezes in the dog pails in no time. Short haired dogs shiver to keep their body temps up. They walk on three legs because the snow stings their paws. Calls come in daily telling of more dear ones left at the dump, thrown away like last night's pizza boxes. Kennels are full to overflowing with dogs and puppies fighting to stay alive through the frigid night.

One pup, Clarence, almost did not make it. He strayed away from his littermates during the night and old man winter grabbed him. His still cold body was found at dawn and was rushed to the warmth of the cat house where he was given warm water to get his blood circulating again. Somehow that little guy fought back with all he had left and is now on a slow recovery back to health. That was my first eye opening glimpse into what winter is like on the rez. And it broke my heart. My tears frozen to my cheek. But there is no time for sorrow or pity. Emotions are pushed aside because there is so much work to be done in order to save the rest.

How does Karen Good do all that she does to help every animal that comes into the shelter? She, like little Clarence, is in survival mode. She is fighting with everything she has to keep going day after day to rescue as many animals as she possibly can. It is neverending back breaking work in brutal weather. Karen is a saint among us and to tell you the truth I am not sure how long she can continue to go on without our help.

Please do one thing right now to help.

Foster a Red Lake dog or puppy for Red lake Rosie's foster group, Pet Haven, All Dog, Act V,
Minnesota Pit Bull Rescue or other rescue that takes dogs from Red lake Rosie's. This is the most important piece needed to get the dogs out of the cold. Pass this message around to five other people and ask them to do the same. We will be stronger in numbers.

One of the adult dogs that needs to get out immediately because of her short hair is Abbey a beagle pit mix. She runs free now with all the other dogs. Here she is trying to get in an igloo with some black puppies to warm up.


Make a donation to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue to help pay for an employee to work at the shelter. Karen is also working three days a week teaching so those days are 16 hour days for her. If she had help at the shelter even a few days a week she would be able to gain some of her energy back.

Take a trip to RLRR to help out with chores and transport animals to the cities. It is only a five hour drive. The trip can easily be taken over a weekend. And the thrill of seeing suffering animals transferred to loving arms on this end makes it all worthwhile.

Please, please do something to help. Winter has just begun. While you are sitting at your computer all warm and toasty remember the puppies huddled together fighting for their lives. Do something to help them! Email me at laura.leonard55@gmail.com to find out more. Thank you from all the animals from Red Lake Rosie's Rescue.

The Pet Project Success

Just got back from helping deliver 8,000 pounds of dog and cat food collected at The Pet Project's first holiday pet food drive. Kim Carrier-You Go Girl!! The Pet Project supplies pet food to some of the local food banks. From a little seed of an idea in the summer has blossomed a huge successful rose of a project that helps many folks keep their beloved pets.

We were told by one of the workers at the senior food shelf in NE Minneapolis that most of the cans of tuna they give out go to people's cats. Seniors will go without food for themselves to feed their pets. So they are thrilled to finally get the pet food. Thanks to Kim for dedicating her life to such a great cause. Every dog or cat that is helped is one less in need of rescue.

Paden needs a home for the holidays!

Our dear Miss Paden will be at the Eden Prairie PetCo tomorrow, Saturday December 5th, from 10-12. The address is 8020 Glen Lane. Paden would love to have her own family to spend the holidays with.

Red Lake Rosie's Revisited

This past weekend my new friend Anne and I were fortunate enough to visit Karen Good founder of Red Lake Rosie's Rescue in northern Minnesota. The weather was glorious-sunny, no wind, and 35 ABOVE zero. Not a fan of the cold I prepared myself with many layers of clothing. To my surprise I was actually hot and spent most of the time without gloves or a hat. And it was lovely not to have to fight off mosquitoes and ticks.


We finished putting tarps around the kennels to protect the dogs from the bitter winds. We fed, watered, walked, and loved up the dogs and tended to the cats.

Anne fell for a boy named Elbert, a terrier mix puppy with no hair. He was lucky enough to spend his time up at Karen's house. I think Anne may even foster this boy when he is well enough to come to the cities in a couple of weeks.

There was one dog I was especially drawn to. Her name is Carly. She was a very sick little puppy that spent the weekend in the cat house. The first night she could not even drink water. Karen gave her a syringe full and we prayed through the night she would pull through. Much to our delight the next morning as I opened the cat house door I was thrilled to hear barking. And I was never as excited to see poop that was not red. Carly was able to drink a little rice water that Karen made for her. Later that day she gobbled down turkey from Karen's Thanksgiving meal. She continued to improve throughout the weekend. Carly will soon be ready for her a foster home if anyone is interested.

Then there was the German shorthaired pointer, Cheetah, that I would have taken home in a second but she already had a foster home waiting for her. Since she had short hair we put one of my mom's new dog sweaters on her. She wore it all weekend and was very proud of it. Karen asked if we could send it with her to her new life. I said of course. When I opened the kennel to let her out after our long transport ride I found that Cheetah had taken the sweater off and was laying her head on it. It was like a piece of her old life taken to her new life.

Three days are not enough to spend at Karen's. I would encourage everyone to make a trip to this magical place at least once. Karen's spirit transfers to the dogs she rescues. Below is a photo of the pack dogs that are residents at the shelter, Ginger-top, Mama, and Grandpa-front. The little girl in the left center snuggling up to Mama is Daisy now a Pet Haven dog. The rest of the pack accepted her right away.

If you can not travel then consider fostering for one of the rescues that supports Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. My experience is with Red Lake Rosie's foster group and Pet Haven. The more fosters we have the more dogs and cats we can save. Karen has yet to say 'no' to a dog or a cat but the rescues are filling up and adoptions are slowing down. Please help if you can.

How to change a dog sweater into a dog toy in 14 seconds!

Here are three of the sweaters mom knit for Red Lake Rosie's puppies in action. What fun. Thanks mom!!!


I am excited to deliver them all to Karen tomorrow. Mom comes for a month long visit next week. We will for sure have a knitting party. I may even learn to knit. Thanks to the quilters in Nebraska that donated all the fun yarn. Here is what mom has been up to with it.

A step in the right direction

Help for pet owners in abusive situations

For pet owners leaving a domestic abuse situation, Animal Care and Control can provide a no cost five day stay for their pet.

The City Council recently approved a measure that will help pet owners in domestic abuse situations. The Domestic Violence Intervention Initiative involves Animal Care and Controlpartnering with the Minneapolis Police Department to identify victims who are afraid to leave a violent domestic relationship because they have nowhere for their pet to go.

In many cases, crisis shelters do not allow pets. There is also a relationship between domestic abuse and animal abuse. Up to 75 percent of domestic violence victims report their partners threatened or killed family pets. Up to 48 percent of battered women delay leaving abusive situation out of fear for the safety of their animals. The City Council will allow Animal Care and Control to provide temporary (five days or less) no cost kenneling for victims in abusive relationships to support them in leaving a violent relationship.  

Heading Back To Red Lake Rosie's

Along with three other women that I have yet to meet, this Friday I will be heading back to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue for a weekend of fun and hard work. We will be preparing the kennels for the brutal winter that has yet to show up-thank goodness, feeding and walking dogs, and changing litter boxes.

I am excited to catch up with Karen and to meet all the new dogs that have arrived at the shelter. On my last trip I ended up falling in love with an Aussie mix, Dusty, that I soon fostered and rehomed.

If anyone has supplies that need to be returned/delivered to Red Lake please let me know. They can be dropped off by my garage anytime before 9am on Friday. I live in Ne Minneapolis. Email for address. Karen has an overabundance of linens so if you have any of these items please find someone else that can use them.

Karen has had more animals surrendered to the shelter than ever before. If you know anyone who would like to become a foster and save a life please let me know. On Sunday we will be bringing many of these dogs and cats to the cities to start their new lives. Here is a photo of one of the pups that needs help. Can you provide a home for Carley?

Little Details

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote "To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization."

Do you think picking up the poop in the yard is what Harriet is talking about? Because I am really good at that little detail thanks to my dear Buddy. And the fact that I like to be able to walk through the yard freely without looking where I am stepping. Just wondering................

Travel Safely with Your Dog

Many of you will be traveling by car to visit loved ones over the Thanksgiving Day week. Here is a blog entry from the Pet Haven blog that you should read before putting your dog in the car.

Did you know that the safest place for your dog to enjoy a ride with you is in a sturdy plastic crate? In a collision, the hard sides will help protect your dog, even if the crate itself rolls. Dogs have been known to survive a car crash only to escape from a damaged car and be hit on the road by another car. The new Honda Element has a dog friendly version complete with crate and ramp. Wow even car makers are being influenced by our canine pals.

Dogs should never ride in the front seat of a car with airbags. Even an impact at low speed can inflate the airbag, which can injure or even kill your canine friend. I recently heard of a beloved family dog who was mortally injured in just such an accident. If you child can not ride in the front seat why would you allow your best canine friend to sit there.

If you don’t have a crate or have a dog who will not ride in one, you can buy a safety harness that fastens to the car’s seatbelt. While not providing as much protection as a crate, it is a pretty good alternative and will keep the dog in place in a crash. 

Besides protecting your dog in case of an accident, confining your dog to the backseat can help prevent one, too. A dog trying to sit on your lap while you are behind the wheel or burrowing down around your feet is a hazard and it is hard to correct inappropriate behavior while you are traveling on the freeway at 60 m.p.h.

                                                                            

Taking a car ride with your dog can be a lot of fun. Make it a safe time, too.

A Rotta Love Plus comes to the Rescue!

This is a  story about a lovely senior dog, Amora, being rescued to live out her days in a loving foster home. I just love this idea. Thanks ARLP for giving this sweet girl some dignity at last.

 Amora is A Rotta Love Plus first Compassion Hold. What is a compassion hold? A compassion hold is when an “unadoptable” dog (read old, sick, frail) is taken out of animal control, off of death row, and brought into the home of a very special foster. In this home these richly deserving dogs are lavished with love, wonderful food, soft clean bedding and those other creature comforts that make life that much better. They are given the best few weeks any dog can ask for before they are delivered from this earth in the arms of someone who loves them. Every dog should be so lucky.

Paden has a new friend, Gracie.

Paden our Pet Haven foster dog has a new friend visiting Rescue Buddy Boarding this week. Her name is Gracie. She is a husky/border collie mix that is a high energy girl-quite the match for Paden. Gracie has one blue eye and one brown eye-maybe one from each of her breeds.

Both girls are heavy duty players. Tug-O-War is a favorite game and has taken many victims. The pink elephant is now two toys-a head and a body. The dogs do not seem to mind this. In fact they very much enjoy the tiny cow leg and fox tail. My mom just told me someone is selling stuffed toys without stuffing.  Wow who is buying those? I know who is making them. The dogs! Why didn't I think of that?? I certainly have enough toy 'skins' around here. Anyone want to buy one?

Johnson a Purebred English Setter

Johnson is a lovely 6 year old purebred English setter being fostered through Pet Haven. He has a beautiful silky coat that does require some brushing. But Johnson loves to be groomed and welcomes a chance to spend some one on one time with you.

Johnson can be trusted to have free roam of the house while you are at work. He gets along great with other dogs. While a bit shy at first Johnson warms up quickly to be a cuddly couch potato. Here he is sharing the couch with his foster brother Gunnar-a Pet Haven alum.

Please consider Johnson if you are planning on adding a member to your family. He is definitely move-in ready. Please check out his Pet Haven bio.