Project Next Steps Information
What to Expect From, and Of, Your New English Shepherd (pdf)
Project Next Steps: Half Time Review
One month after receiving legal ownership of over 200 English Shepherds (and their deserving friends of other breed mixes), NESR is happy to announce that 100 of those dogs are tucked in their new foster or adoptive homes. But there’s still another month to go, so the work continues fast and furious. The remaining dogs will soon be matched up with homes that are best suited for the dog’s temperament and that will best meet their behavioral needs as evaluated by NESR. Matching the dog with the right home always has been and always will be the driving criteria in our placement decisions. This careful consideration has resulted in a 12 year track record of “wins” for dogs in need and for the families that eventually adopt them.
The initial seizure in December 2008 truly galvanized the larger English Shepherd community into a team. NESR has been proud to help channel support to Operation New Beginnings from breed clubs, English Shepherd owners, and dog lovers everywhere. This cooperative effort led to donations of (among other things) medicines from Schering Plough, thousands of pounds of high quality dog food, office supplies and cleaning supplies, collars, leashes, toys, and treats. The generosity of hundreds of donors allowed NESR to make a $2,700 donation directly to Yellowstone County to retrofit the barn stalls and expand the exercise yard; this donation represented over 50% of our entire budget in 2007! Experienced trainers donated their time and breed expertise to ensuring that these special dogs received the best possible chance at rehabilitation. The success of the taming protocols and handling classes can be seen in the documented progress made by the dogs under the care of their committed handlers.
Those not able to give monetarily were desperate to find some way to let the Operation New Beginnings volunteers know how much they were appreciated. So, numerous volunteer appreciation projects were coordinated by NESR…cookie blitzes, a pizza party, puppy toy drives, cards containing e-mails from people across the world wanting to express their appreciation for the hard work of ONB volunteers.
The thousands of unpaid hours that have been contributed by so many people to both Operation New Beginnings and to Project Next Steps can never be fully documented or acknowledged individually. But in the months and years to come, we hope you will know that you made a difference…in the lives of a dog and their future family, and in the lives of all of us who have been changed by this experience.
