Dear KSP Followers,
It is my pleasure to have Ross Norwood as a guest blogger today.
Ross began her non-profit in December, 2010. There are two locations that are licensed shelter facilities in the state of NH. In Manchester, Melissa houses pups in her home while awaiting adoption. In New Boston, the pups have their own building on Ross’ property. Between the two locations, and a wonderful group of volunteers that help us care for the dogs, advertise the dogs, and process applications, Canine Commitment is saving hundreds of lives each year – and they continue to grow each year!
Ross grew up primarily in Texas, and attended the University of Texas in Austin where she graduated with an honors interdisciplinary liberal arts degree. Professionally, she spent her career in marketing and PR in both Austin, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts. She became a stay-at-home mother in March of 2003 with the birth of her first daughter, Jamison. Annelise followed in November of 2006. In 2008 Ross and her family adopted a dog through Canine Commitment in Maine, where she met the director and told her “if you ever need someone to pick up a dog or anything, you should give me a call.” The rest is history. Ross and her family eventually moved from their home in Bedford, NH, to a home in New Boston on 22 acres, where the rescue pups could have their own building. Ross raises her two daughters with her husband, Scott Setzler, while managing the day-to-day activities of Canine Commitment. As a full-on ADD sufferer, Ross’ favorite saying is: Rescue is a lot of things, but it is never, ever boring. She has not been bored one day since starting this rescue journey. It provides the highest highs and lowest lows, but she knows she could never go back to not being a part, no matter how small, of a solution to our country’s overpopulation and killing. In the future, Ross hopes to work on educational programs to help teach children that animals deserve our respect and kindness. Perhaps, if we start with kids, we can all achieve a day where there will be no more dogs killed in our country for lack of a home.
I personally have had the privileged to work with both Ross and Melissa. When I tell you these ladies work hard it is an understatement. These ladies care for sick, injured, scared and abused animals all day every day. There’s is not a 9-5 job! As much as Ross compliments me, she and Melissa are the ones doing the real work. I hope you enjoy Ross’ post and please consider adopting from or donating to Canine Commitment.
http://caninecommit.org/
If you are lucky enough to know Kimberly Sarah Photography and you follow them on social media, you likely have seen Kim’s gorgeous photos of Canine Commitment’s dogs.
It was our lucky day, truly, when Kim reached out to us and offered her amazing talents to help us showcase our pups and help find their homes. Kim asked me to share a little bit about Canine Commitment, and I’m happy to do that!
Canine Commitment is an all-breed dog rescue based in New Boston and Manchester, New Hampshire. We have been around as Canine Commitment of New England since 2010, and since then thousands of dogs – and even a few hundred kittens – have come through our doors. “We” is two of us who are licensed as shelters out of our personal homes. We are set-up a bit differently than most rescues in that we work hands-on with each and every dog that comes through our rescue, and also work with the potential adopters. We utilize a handful of foster homes when needed, but primarily keep the dogs with us so that we know them well, can answer questions, and have them ready to meet potential adopters.
But “we” is also dozens of dedicated volunteers and a few employees who care for the dogs daily, assist with medical records and adoption packets, and keep two crazy rescuers sane! Over the years, the rescue has grown in wonderful ways and brought so many amazing dogs and fantastic people to us. We are so grateful that the thing we hear the most from applicants is that they know several people who have adopted from us, or even that they have adopted from us in the past and want to work with us again! It is incredible to us that we find great homes for not only the cute fluffy puppies, but also the senior dogs with medical issues, and the three legged pups and the deaf pups … all because so many people in our area open their homes and hearts to rescue dogs.
New England is unique from many parts of our country in that we do not have overflowing shelters and puppies in boxes for sale at every flea market. That, and much, much more, is what our rescue partners in the south are dealing with each and every day. Through our wonderful partnerships with Tupelo-Lee Humane Society, Southern Magnolia Boxer Rescue, and several independent rescuers, we are able to help move dogs into New England that otherwise would have no hope of finding a loving home. Whether you are looking for a puppy to grow up with your family, or a calm, older dog who didn’t get the best start in life, or a fun-loving, ready-for-adventure goofball, you can find what you are looking for through rescues like Canine Commitment and many other wonderful, dedicated groups across New England. And if you are really, really lucky … it might be one who has a glamour shot done by Kimberly Sarah Photography!
~Ross
Kimberly Sarah Photography 