Weekly Pupdate for 9-28-25

THIS WEEK! MAESSR’s First Annual VIRTUAL Springer Sprint 2025:  Wednesday, 10/1 – Tuesday, 10/7.  Never done a virtual walk/run? It’s easy and fun! Simply sign up, and then walk or run 5k during National Walk Your Dog Week. Do it all at once or over the course of the week, and log your progress on the website. Do it by yourself, with a friend, or with your dog. Get a tee shirt and a bandana for your furry friend when you’re done! Check out LINK or send EMAIL for information

Featured Dogs

Check out our senior/special needs dogs! Our program, SENIORS FOR SENIORS, charges a $75 adoption fee for adopters aged 60 and over who adopt dogs nine years old and older or special needs dogs. If interested in one of our senior/special needs dogs, contact Candi Lynn here.

Fund$ for Foster$

iGive is a MAESSR affiliate which is an automatic donation when shopping at +1500 online stores. Go to iGive.com, fill out the form, choose your cause – find MAESSR listed under VA – & then install the app. You can also install the iGive button on your toolbar so when you go to eligible sites, a pop-up will appear on participating sites.

Thanks to all of the families who feed Verus dog food. The free bags that MAESSR receives from the Rescue Frequent Feeder Program help the foster homes. To learn more, link to Rescue Frequent Feeder Program.  It is a really easy way to help foster homes. If you need a frequent feeder envelope, please email Debbie. 

Training Library

The TRAINING LIBRARY has TWO Wish Lists.  New or used titles can be purchased from the Amazon list; Dogwise has new books and DVDs.  Purchases can be shipped directly to the library.  Pretty quick and easy way to help out MAESSR as well as educate adopters!  

NEW TO THE LIBRARY! 101 WAYS TO DO MORE WITH YOUR DOG! (208 pages) by Kyra Sundance. Play, jump, drive, pull, help, or just soak up the limelight—101 Ways to Do More with Your Dog builds confidence and jump starts the bonding process between dog and owner. You will never have a bored, rainy day again! See happy dogs and their owners participating in a wide range of activities together, and bringing joy to others, and you, too, will be inspired to find new things to do with your beloved dog. You may have heard of agility, search & rescue, or thought, “My dog should be on TV!” With our busy schedules and demands on our time, we can’t always convert our dreams into reality. With 101 Ways to Do More with Your Dog, you have 101 easy ways to get inspired. For each activity, you’ll learn the best type of dog, how to get started, and where to find governing organizations. Then, you go one step further: enjoy the visual, step-by-step instruction on how to teach your dog the basics. That way, you can try the sport out on your own at home, without the commitment of signing up for a class. And if you DO decide that this is an activity that you’d like to pursue, you can go into a class with confidence! Activities for you and your dog include: Volleyball – Jump Rope – Scent Work – Sledding – How to work with hearing-impaired dogs – Becoming a therapy dog, an animal actor, a dog blood donor, and much more!

NEW TO THE LIBRARY! BRAIN GAMES FOR DOGS – Fun ways to build a strong bond with your dog and provide it with vital mental stimulation (160 pages) by Claire Arrowsmith. This book provides more than just fun ways to challenge a dog’s thinking and puzzle-solving ability. Claire Arrowsmith strongly suggests that such challenges help build a strong bond between a dog and its owner. She examines the accepted evidence of the importance of mental stimulation and why it’s important to use only reward-based teaching methods. She also explains how to use hand signals and incorporate mental challenges and learning into everyday activities. Icons for each game indicate whether it is interactive, solo or group, where it can be played, the level of difficulty and whether any props or toys are used. Some of these great games are: Puppy Play – Hide and Seek – Carry It – Egg and Spoon Race – Mini Agility Course – Nature’s Obstacle Course – Find the Treat – Roll Over, Play Dead and other performance tricks. With straightforward text and full-color photographs, Brain Games for Dogs is a valuable guide to important elements for successful and fun dog training.

Rainbow Bridge Crossings

TOBY 17 (class of 2014) came into LAURA NICASTRO SIMONSEN’s life as a foster & immediately became the best part of his family’s lives. Laura couldn’t imagine life without Toby & quickly became a foster failure. Toby was loyal to a fault & lived every single day as if it was the best day ever!  Toby was the happiest dog – his tail was always wagging & they swore he had the best smile. He loved to swim in the pool & the ocean, loved jumping off the boat, running, family walks & any activity where he was around those he loved.  Toby was the best big brother to his human brother, Harrison, & loved all of the extra attention (& extra snacks!).  Toby passed away after a short & sudden battle with a malignant brain tumor.  Even until his last breath, he showered his family with kisses & pure, unconditional love. Toby’s absence has left a hole in their lives that they are not sure will ever be filled. They know he is waiting for them on the other side of Rainbow Bridge, with a toy and a wagging tail, ready to play as soon as they are all reunited.

Did You Know?

Pup-ulation Report

Submitted by volunteer Cathy Moyer with thanks to those who contributed submissions/info.