January 23, 1999

For Susan Sebring, Vice President of Small Paws and My Rescue Partner

Happy One Year Anniversary

One year ago today I met an amazing lady. We had worked together via e-mail and telephone since the fall of 1998, but until this day, January 23, 1999, we had never actually met in person.
The first time we worked together was in the fall of 1998 to get a little senior Bichon, out of a shelter. That would end up being K.C., our first little Bichon trooper.

Small Paws® Rescue: K.C. Shelter Dog, A Bichon Trooper

K.C. was in very BAD shape. In fact, he was almost dead.

Susan lovingly took him into her home and of course to the vet.


Together they nursed him back to someone who was beginning to look like a Bichon.

He was blitzing in the yard and showing signs of being very loving. Then, all of a sudden, poor K.C. began to fail. Susan rushed him to the vet where an xray would reveal that little K.C. was dying from pneumonia. Susan held him in her arms, crying, while the vet helped him to cross the Rainbow Bridge. Little did we know that this was to be the birth of what would soon be come to known as Small Paws Rescue, Inc.

Later the following January, I was notified of 10 Puppy Mill Bichons who needed to come into rescue. They would be brought to Coffeville, Kansas, on January 23, 1999. Susan would drive from her home in Topeka, Kansas, and Dale, my husband and I would drive from ours in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We would meet in Coffeeville, and Susan would help me transport these guys back to the vet in Tulsa. Little did we know about the horrors awaiting us in Coffeville, Kansas, that cold and snowy Saturday morning.

When we arrived there was a rescue van totally FULL of dogs. Many were ill or injured. Some had only one eye. One had a prolapsed vagina. There were dogs everywhere...Eskimos, Poms, Poodles, Pekes, and yes, Bichons...not just 10, but 14.

All of these other dogs were brought to us because they were scheduled to be gassed, a very painful way of euthanization, the next day if we couldn't take them. They were all "culls" from the Puppy Mills of Missouri. That's when for one reason or another, the millers throw away certain dogs. Maybe they aren't producing enough puppies, or maybe they required a C-section with their last litter.

There we were...with 27 dogs, and only TWO vehicles, and NO where to take these guys. I got on the cell phone and called the Animal Rescue Foundation, of Tulsa. I spoke with Shelly, the President of that group, and through my tears, explained what Susan and I had gotten ourselves into. Thank GOD. Shelly instructed me to go ahead and bring all of the dogs back to Tulsa. We began to try and load them up. Man, were we ever inexperienced in rescuing HUGE numbers like this all at once. And we were scared....wondering about what would happen to all of these dogs...and who was going to take 14 Bichons...all at once.

When we arrived back in Tulsa, that frigid evening, we drove to the address of the house that Shelly had given us. There was snow covering the ground. The garage door was open and there were many cars parked out front...and there were PEOPLE everywhere....PEOPLE holding CRATES, and LEASHES, and HARNESSES, and NOTEBOOKS. Susan and I were moved to tears. These people had come out on a night not fit for man nor beast (and we had 27 of 'em in our cars). ..and yet they were there for us and for the dogs.

Mable, one of ARF's volunteers, was the General in charge. She checked each dog in, noting it's age, sex, health condition, and tattoo number. The busy chattering of people bustling could be heard in the background while each person decided which dogs they would foster. One by one, these dogs left with loving volunteers. They would all be vetted on Monday Morning and the bill would be paid by ARF.

That left Susan and I with the 14 Bichons. We headed over to my vet's office and unloaded them at the McKinley Hilton (McKinney Animal Hospital) for the night. The next morning I would drive towards Denton, Texas, the home of Ponder Poodle Rescue. Debbie, the President of that group, agreed to foster ALL of our Bichons. Over the next few months she was able to place all but one of them, who was a biter. Debbie still has Blair, (named after Linda Blair of "Exorcist" fame), and she says she always will.

Soon, Susan and I were rescuing several Bichons a week from the Puppy Mills of Missouri and from shelters across the country. We formed a not-for-profit organization named Small Paws Rescue, Inc, which rescues Bichons nationally, with volunteers in al 50 states across the country. Well, now you know the story of how Susan and I got together.

My, how we have grown since that time, one short year ago. Susan and I e-mail each other up to 25 times a day, about this rescue or that rescue, and we speak on the phone, several times a week. We have met at various places all over Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. We have seen each other with no make up and covered with dog barf (and worse). We have attended a Puppy Mill auction, together. Now THAT will rip your soul right out of your heart.

Susan is a wonderful rescue partner. We have never had a cross word and we would be there for one another no matter what. She has a great business sense and is a wiz on computers. She has so many strengths that I am missing, and her compassion for the dogs in our charge is truly amazing to me. I am truly blessed to have her as my rescue partner, and my friend.
Happy One Year Anniversary, dearest Susan. I love you.