Events – Current & Pupcoming
The 2026 CALENDARS are here!
The wall calendar – A beautifully curated calendar, where each month unfolds with a delightful collection of heartwarming dog portraits, capturing the joy and charm of man’s best friend in every season. The desk calendar – One great photo each month sits on your desk giving an easy overview of the month.
Buy in bundles and save! Add 2+ calendars to your cart to see a discount.
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$
DOGWISE is another MAESSR affiliate whose mission is to bring humane, understandable & scientifically sound information to people who enrich their lives by working with, playing with & loving dogs. Many of the books, including the booklets, in the MAESSR library can be found at Dogwise.com. You can support MAESSR & get great training advice by shopping. They also sell some training products. Look for the $5 books on sale while you are there!
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.
The Marketplace
The MAESSR MARKETPLACE is open 24/7 for purchases. We’ve also got cool toys for man’s best friend and companion. The MAESSR store and website are in transition – thanks so much for your understanding while we make improvements to the store and website.
Training Library
The MAESSR Training Library has over 300 titles of ACTUAL DVDs, CDs, and books, both fiction and non-fiction, to lend out. You can BORROW items directly from the Training Library by simply adding them to the shopping cart and checking out. The material will be mailed to you and is due back in three weeks; YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR RETURN POSTAGE.
Library Wish Lists
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!
Featured Library Titles
FOR THE LOVE OF A DOG: UNDERSTANDING EMOTION IN YOU AND YOUR BEST FRIEND (332 pages) by Patricia B. McConnell, PhD. Yes, humans and canines are different species, but current research provides fascinating, irrefutable evidence that what we share with our dogs is greater than how we vary. As behaviorist and zoologist Dr. Patricia McConnell tells us in this remarkable new book about emotions in dogs and in people, more and more scientists accept the premise that dogs have rich emotional lives, exhibiting a wide range of feelings including fear, anger, surprise, sadness, and love. In For the Love of a Dog, McConnell suggests that one of the reasons we love dogs so much is that they express emotions in ways similar to humans. After all, who can communicate joy better than a puppy? But not all emotional expressions are obvious, and McConnell teaches both beginning dog owners and experienced dog lovers how to read the more subtle expressions hidden behind fuzzy faces and floppy ears. For those of us who deeply cherish our dogs but are sometimes baffled by their behavior, For the Love of a Dog will come as a revelation–a treasure trove of useful facts, informed speculation, and intriguing accounts of man’s best friend at his worst and at his very best. Readers will discover how fear, anger, and happiness underlie the lives of both people and dogs and, most important, how understanding emotion in both species can improve the relationship between them. Thus McConnell introduces us to the possibility of a richer, more rewarding relationship with our dogs. While we may never be absolutely certain what our dogs are feeling, with the help of this riveting book we can understand more than we ever thought possible. Those who consider their dogs part of the family will find For the Love of a Dog engaging, enlightening, and utterly engrossing. Donated by Cathy Moyer.
Rainbow Bridge Crossings
Long-time dedicated volunteer GERAINE STOCKER of Williamsburg, VA. She is survived by her husband, Vernon D. Stocker; and her children, Kevin Stocker and Katherine Shea; and grandchildren Garrett Stocker and Claire, Caitlin, and Caroline Shea. Geraine was most passionate about her dogs – both her own dogs and the rescue organizations for which she volunteered, including the Williamsburg Animal Shelter and MAESSR. Geraine volunteered in many roles/events for MAESSR including holiday events at which she and Vern warmly welcomed MAESSR folks into their home. No doubt, the warmest welcome to Rainbow Bridge by past pets was in order.
Did You Know?
If any volunteers wish to promote MAESSR and the work we do at an event in their community, please email Vicki Phillips. These are marketing events only to hand out information.
To learn more about the website, check out the tutorials here.
If you need to contact MAESSR, please click on & read our CONTACT page to avoid your message going to the wrong place. The CONTACT button is immediately to the left of the MAESSR logo on the website homepage.
IF YOU SEE A SPRINGER NEEDING RESCUE: For a springer being re-homed in an ad on social media or in a newspaper, please email the relinquishment team. For a springer in a shelter, please email the shelter dog team. In your email include contact info such as links to the online post, shelter name, state, and phone number.
Did you move? Did you change your email address? ADDRESS CHANGES should be emailed here. On the new website you can also set up an account under the Shop tab so that MAESSR can keep track of your mailing address; your email can also be changed under Your Account in the top right-hand corner with Edit Profile.
If you need advice regarding behavioral issues, certified and credentialed trainers that use positive methods only to help guide people to the correct resources can be found at CCPDT and IAABC.
Gentle Nudges
RAINBOW BRIDGE CROSSINGS are shared on a monthly basis. If you want your MAESSR dog included, send your name, dog’s MAESSR name if different than the post-adoption name, year of adoption, and a PHOTO to updates email. Feel free to include who fostered and a little background info about your dog. To have the information posted on our Facebook page, send it (including photos) to the social media team.
When you send your notes about events or requests for help, please cc: updates email to help ensure that all events are mentioned in the Weekly Pupdate.
Mistakes happen! Corrections or omissions to the Weekly Pupdate can be sent to the updates email.
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
To share pics, videos, and/or articles about your MAESSR dog to our social media team. Videos for adoption pages & YouTube channel get sent here. Be sure to include dog’s MAESSR name including number, if one, and adoption year.
Pup-ulation Report
Total dogs in our care: 27
Permanent fosters: 4
Dogs pending foster home: 2
Moving to foster home:
Stokes to Debbie Lipcsey
Moving to furever homes:
Puddles to Burch
Woo-woo-woo!
Submitted by volunteer Cathy Moyer with thanks to those who contributed submissions/info.
PO Box 807 Goochland VA 23063 – Phone (804)774-6730
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.