RezDawg People – Carol Kuzdek by Steven Sable

Danny was fostered by Carol Kuzdek – and it wasn’t a simple endeavor. Danny came down with panleukopenia (equivalent to canine parvo) but with LOTS of intervention, she survived… and was adopted to a young girl who wanted a kitten so badly she watched YouTube videos on how to take care of kittens.  They’re best buds these days…

When we started this blog, we promised we’d “toss you over our shoulder and take you on a tour of Rez Rescue.”  The mission is simple:  to share information about what we do, how we do it, and introduce you to the amazing people who make it all happen.

Carol Kuzdek, President of Whole Pets in Boulder, CO, is one of those people.  She’s a RezDawg donor, sponsors adoption events, fosters cats (recently added puppies to her skill set) and has been an advocate for animal welfare her entire life.  It’s difficult to assess how many Rez Dogs and Rez Cats are alive and thriving because Carol got involved – and she’s not one to count totals.  Numbers like that aren’t important when you’re the kind of person who judges achievements by focusing on what can be done today and tomorrow rather than looking back at what happened yesterday.  In the way of all things Rez, it was her direct nature (plus a bit of pure chance) that hooked her up with RezDawg in the first place…

Carol met Angela Cerci, the President of RezDawg Rescue, in a “normal course of life” way in Boulder.  Carol was a vet tech for Longmont Humane before opening Whole Pets and Angela is, well, Angela.  As you’d expect, it wasn’t long before they started talking about rescue – and an important partnership quickly formed.

As Carol puts it, “Effective animal welfare work – particularly on the Rez – only happens once you’ve gotten to the root of a problem.  Once you understand what’s happening and why, long-term results come from providing educational opportunities to prevent that problem from happening in the first place.  But if the problem already exists, it’s key to support programs that stop the suffering – while you’re working on those long term solutions.  That’s why I’m such a supporter of the “transport” part of what RezDawg does and feel it’s a crucial piece of the puzzle… and even that wouldn’t be effective unless you include low cost/no cost spay and neuter in the mix.  It really does take a variety of strategies to deal with situations as complex as the Rez Dog problem in the Four Corners Region.”

Carol’s most recent foster, Sammie.  This Maine Coon mix was “sweet as hell” and went to a home with two dogs and another Maine Coon

Angela Cerci couldn’t agree more.  Whole Pet’s is a valued rescue partner because Carol personally and Whole Pets as a business match so well with Angela tries to accomplish with RezDawg.  In Angela’s words, “Carol gets rescue.  She understands what’s involved in running a busy, safe and effective rescue operation.  That’s why Whole Pets is such a perfect partner for RezDawg – because Carol doesn’t have to ask ‘why?’  She just knows what we’re trying to do and whether it’s opening her business to an adoption event or donating masses of dog or cat food, she’s always there for us.”

Carol’s understanding of animal welfare goes beyond the day-to-day logistics that make rescue work.  She believes that, “All too often, rescues like RezDawg want to do more – the need is certainly there – but too many people either lack empathy for the problem or they don’t know what steps to take to become involved.”  She’s a big believer that kids have an innate ability to feel empathy and it’s important we encourage their natural bond with animals whenever possible.  The sooner the next generation comes to appreciate and value animals, the sooner we’ll resolve situations like the Rez Dog problem.  “Plus, rescue work is just fun.  You get to spend time with people who love the same things you do and the sense of achievement when you impact the life of an animal in need is awesome.  To be able to do this kind of work with people you like AND that it’s a cool activity you can do with your kids?  It doesn’t get any better.”

I asked Carol about her motivations in life… her work at Longmont Humane as a vet tech, opening Whole Pets, the animal welfare work  that has always been part of her life and making sure her daughter is exposed to the beauty (and hard work) of rescue.  Without hesitation, she said, “Having a successful and unique store was great, but as busy and successful as I was, the piece that was missing was being as actively involved in animal welfare as I had once been. Providing second chances to lost, abused and neglected animals strikes a chord with me because I was also adopted.  On an innate level, the idea of adoption just made sense and I always want this to be part of my life… to be able to offer second chances because I got a second chance myself.”

That’s why Carol is such a hard core RezDawg.  She sees the work we do, philosophically relates to the how/why we do it and is one of those people that pushes a bandwagon rather than jumping on. She’s a natural fit for the RezDawg family and we’re glad to have her company on the wild ride we call rescue.

Bubbles was carol’s first puppy foster. Mangy, scabby, skinny, lethargic… she took awhile to heal and then was adopted to customers from Whole Pets.

Please comment.  We need to know if you like the blog as-is or would like to see something different.

For more information about what you’ve read here or about RezDawg in general, please visit RezDawgRescue.org, The Rez Dog Biographies, or stevensable.com.

Want to be notified when we post another blog? Please sign-up for our mailing list. (And for those of you who are already on our RezDawg mailing list, we encourage you to fill out our quick form or update your settings so you can receive the blog notifications too!)

Your donations are critical for helping RezDawg Rescue save lives. Every donation can make a difference…here is what your donations can do:

  • $15 pays for a microchip
  • $25 pays for a rabies, distemper, or bordetella vaccine
  • $30 feeds a dog or cat for a month
  • $50 pays for a veterinary exam
  • $85 pays for neuter and $105 for spay procedures
  • $120 refuels our van for more transports from the Four Corners area of the US
  • $250 readies for adoption by providing a wellenss exam, spay or neuter, all vaccinations, deworming, microchip and a month of food
  • $500 sponsors an entire interstate transport
  • $1,000 sponsors one month of transports
  • $5,000 covers veterinary expenses for all animals in foster for one month
  • $10,000 covers transport and total adoption costs for six months
  • $150,000 provides down payment on RDR’s future rescue and boarding facility

Every dollar makes a difference!

donatebutton

 


  1 comment for “RezDawg People – Carol Kuzdek by Steven Sable

Comments are closed.