In 1992, I adopted a 4 month old Pointer puppy directly from a shelter. He was incredibly smart, and over the years, he taught me how to live with an active birddog. I never forgot. 

After he passed away, I waited about a year, and in late 2005, I adopted young Pointer girl directly from a different shelter. I successfully applied my previous lessons to this new girl, but as it often happens, she taught me more than I taught her. As she grew, she told me that she needed a pal, so I started looking through Petfinder – and I discovered the world of Rescues. In the fall of 2006, I started fostering, and one of the early fosters was an English Setter. I never stopped loving Pointers, and continued to foster Pointers, but by the time my Pointer and I had our first foster fail, we were both hooked on English Setters! My early lessons about how to live with active birddogs were invaluable, but she was the one that really taught me how to foster! My Pointer and I continued to foster both Pointers and Setters, but our foster fails were English Setters. 

My job became more demanding, and I stopped fostering. Several years went by and my pack got older and started to dwindle. I was ready for another foster. This time I looked for a rescue that specialized in English Setters, and I found A Better English Setter Rescue. I fostered sporadically, and as I got to know this rescue better, I found that I wanted to help in other ways, too. When I retired, I learned to do Transports, then moved into the Foster Home Coordinating Team, and then the Intake Team. I really like working in teams. I have a soft spot for adult and senior dogs, and any dog with special medical needs. I am also interested in grant-writing. I still assist in transports when needed, but I focus on Intake and Foster Home Coordinating. Somehow, amidst all those Setters, a senior Border Collie managed to sneak into my pack!