....Jamie Kowal!

How long have you been with APB?
My 5 year anniversary was September 11th. That day, 2001, I was not going to work because of a migraine. I drove to Indiana after I received a call from an APB volunteer stating there was a little Fox Terrier mix named Skylar in a shelter who was due to be euthanized if no one picked him up - so off I went!  Amazing how I couldn't possibly go to work with a migraine but I could sit in the car for 5 hours....

Why did you sign up to work with the group?
To Foster Dogs! Of course! I had been doing a little bit of rescue on my own before APB, one dog at a time as they came along but it was too costly. When my roommate moved out I decided I would do rescue 'for real' and I filled out forms like crazy! Every group I ran across online I filled out a volunteer app with. Lucky for me that little dog in Indiana needed a place to go, and an APB volunteer ran across my app to help. I am so happy she did! Over 100 foster dogs later I have no intentions of ever leaving APB! I learned early on that APB's adoption policies could have been written by me! I knew I had found my group! :)

What kind of things do you do with APB?
I mainly just foster dogs; young dogs and puppies mostly. I thoroughly enjoy fostering litters of puppies. There is no better feeling than knowing that you are really saving a life - or 10!
Watching puppies grow up and move out is hard - but knowing that they are moving into homes where they will be cherished family members for the rest of their lives is THE BEST! Especially when their future was bleak before APB came along. Sometimes I will help with transports and temp fostering as well.

What's your favorite kind of dog, and would it be your favorite kind of dog to foster?
I love so many breeds this could be a very long list!  There are very few breeds that I have no interest in. I love and am (or have been) a mom to Rottweilers and Wire Fox Terriers. I love everything from Mastiffs to Chihuahuas and almost all in between. One breed that I have yet to foster, and can't wait for the opportunity - is the Great Dane! A puppy of course!

What's your most memorable foster/volunteer experience?
(tears swell) The Most memorable is Roger. Roger came to me not long after I started APB. Another foster mom, Ellie, and I volunteered to drive to Missouri and bring back a 'load' of Puppy Mill Dogs. Roger, a scared little Wire Fox Terrier boy, was one of them that I volunteered to foster. He was a true Mill dog - scared of everything!  After two failed adoptions (because of his personality) I really was in a place where I had to make a decision...what to do with this poor dog who is scared everywhere except with me? Well - of course - I adopted him myself! He was a joy, more than a joy, he was my baby!!! Sadly Roger passed away October 2005, at age 6, I still miss him horribly. The HAPPIEST Memories are the 4 litters I have had. Two Puppy Mill Wire Fox terrier moms, One Jack Russell Mix mom (Daisy, on our Adoptable Dogs page had 10!) and one Lab mix mom. Birthin' babies is the best - only rescue dogs of course!

If you should share one doggie lesson with folks, what would it be?
Oh my gosh! MOST important 'passion' for me is two fold. First - Spay and Neuter - Please! Even with all of the rescue groups out there today- there are still millions of dogs being killed every year! If only more dogs were spayed and neutered we would not have this horrible problem. We rescuers could be out of a job - and that would be a dream come true!

2nd - Please keep your pets inside your home! There is not many things that are more heartwrenching to me than seeing a dog chained (or penned) outside in the dead of winter or heat of summer-alone! I feel horrible pains in my heart for all dogs who are forced to live
outside, alone, for their entire lives, never to know the joy of a warm bed, a snuggle by the fire, and the love of their human friend. We are their world, I can never understand how someone can ignore that.

Anything else you'd like to share with us?
Not much else exciting about me. :) I Love Dogs, plain and simple. I love animals plain and simple. My dogs KC & George also share me with our cat, Peanut and our horse, Brandy.

Be kind to animals- I don't care what animal or how you are kind to them. If every person helped just one animal a year - that would make a huge impact. It would make a difference to THAT Animal. Put yourself last sometime! See how it feels to help another. You won't be sorry. If you see a dog on the road- try to help him, don't just keep driving. If you see an injured cat on the road- help her. My most recent case - if you see an injured seagull on the side of theroad -help him! (haha) I did! That bird was euthanized instead of dying a long and painful death on the side of the road.

We are all crazy in our own way but if we work together it will make a difference! Even for just ONE!