Brett and his Springer, Maddie

It all started when Brett Asplund was driving down the road one day last Spring and saw a homemade sign along the side of the road that said “Springer Puppies For Sale.” The story below will explain how Brett was introduced to English Springer Rescue America, and how we helped him in a time of need.  Now, Brett wants to do something to help ESRA.

Brett is a competitive Inline Skater. Every year along the North Shore of Lake Superior there is a 26.2-mile marathon for skaters, called, appropriately-enough, the NorthShore Inline Marathon . It will be raced on September 13th.

Brett wants to do something for ESRA in a way he knows how, and that is to skate a "sponsored" race, and that's where WE come into the picture! 

Brett will be wearing one of our distinctive red ESRA Rescue T-shirts during the race to show for whom he is racing.

Besides concentrating on being out front, Brett will be thinking about that little puppy once on the side of the road, now named Sophie.

To help Brett with his goal of significantly helping to fund ESRA, he needs your sponsorship.  How do you do that? By going to our Donations Web Page and clicking on the place that says "Sponsorship of Brett Asplund's NorthShore Inline Marathon" and completing your donation to ESRA.  Your sponsorship of Brett will be shown below.  You will be making Brett real proud, and will be helping out the organization that made little Sophie's life worth living!

Brett did the right thing for Sophie, and now wants to do it for ESRA.  Let's all do the right thing for Brett's cause, too!
Remember, it's all about the dogs! To sponsor Brett's race for ESRA, click here.

Brett Asplund's Proud Sponsors Are:

Lynn Asplund	Brett, you have a wonderful heart!
Terry Sprague	In memory of Ginger.
Maureen Latimer	In memory of Daily and Zip, and in honor of Joe.
Cathryne Slaughter	In memory of Bailey.  Thanks, Brett, for rescuing Sophie.  Welcome to ESRA!
Christina Roby	In memory of Patches and Maggie.  Thanks for saving Sophie B!!
Mary Roby	In memory of Coco, Patches, Maggie, and Max.
Deb Frechette	In memory of Chester.
Bob Knell	Thanks for helping Sophie!
Lorene Knight	In memory of Maverick and Tasha, and in honor of Bear and Jack.
Renee and Don Holmes	In memory of Palmer Holmes.
Merrie Corbett	In memory of Gizmo, our special blind angel boy who is now at the Bridge.
Patricia Nichols	In memory of Hayley. Thank you, Brett!
Ed Mashman	Woo-woos of support from Luke; thank you Brett!
Therese A Schmidt	In memory of Penny Girl.
Judd M Roby	In memory of Patches and Maggie McGee.
Barbara McDonell
Debra Ouellette	In memory of Cindy and Bandit.
Susan Moore	In memory of Spencer and Freckles.  Bless you Brett, for giving Sophie a second chance, and including ESRA as part of your marathon.  God Speed!!
Caryn and Bob Pola	Go Brett, Go!
Linnea Maxwell
Kathy Armstrong	A gift to honor a friend, Anna Lee. Thank you, Brett, for taking a chance, and taking Sophie that night.
Marv and Marge Miller	In memory of Peg.
Will you be Brett's             next  sponsor?	Cheer him on as he races for ESRA's Springers!

Sophie and her squirell

Sophie's Story.........

Well, who can resist looking at puppies? He went up to the small farm and saw the two adult dogs and three puppies in the small run. The owner came out and started talking to Brett about the puppies.

Brett said, “Cute puppies. How much are they?” The owner replied, “$75.00.”

Brett thought, “What a great price.” Then he asked, “Why are you selling them?”

The owner looked down at his boots and reluctantly answered, “This is a mistake litter. My kids left the male and female in the same room while I was gone.” A few weeks later, we had this litter.”

Brett looked them over closely, trying to choose which one he should pick up and hold. He knew he couldn't adopt a puppy because he and his wife are out of town a lot for business. But, since he was here, he might as well enjoy cuddling with a puppy. Then Brett noticed one of the puppies had something watery flowing from her left eye. He asked, “What is wrong with this puppy's eye?” Then he picked up the puppy which was the runt of the litter. He looked closer at the puppy's eye and asked again, “What happened to her eye?”

The man replied, “I think that her mother stepped on her accidentally.”

Brett asked another question. “What are you doing to heal her eye?”

Again, the man looked at his boots and reluctantly answered, “Oh, I just wipe it off every now and then.”

Brett was annoyed. “Haven't you taken her to your vet?”

The man stiffened up and answered, “No, she doesn't need to see a vet. It will clear up in time.”

Brett looked at the tiny puppy and he did not believe the man. He knew he could not walk away and leave this small puppy with little hope of ever being adopted by a wonderful home so right then and there Brett said, “I'll take her.”

He paid the man $75.00 for the puppy, carefully placed her on his jacket on the car seat, and drove home to show his wife.

Both Brett and his wife fell in love immediately with this frail little puppy. They fed her, gave her some water, and made a small, warm bed for her near their bed so she would know that she was not alone.

The next morning they took the puppy to their vet's office. Brett asked, “What do you think is wrong with her eye?”

The vet answered as best as he could, “I think the eye has an infection. Here are two antibiotics for her. Please bring her back in two weeks for a recheck. Brett paid the bill and brought the puppy home again.

The next morning Brett and his wife discussed the puppy and made the hard decision to find a rescue organization for her who could take care of her and find her a wonderful home. They had to go to work so they drove the puppy to his wife's sister's house. She took the puppy in and Googled English Springer Rescue for Minnesota.

Barb, Kathy, & Kay with Sophie

She shortly found the number and called. The coordinator made an appointment to visit the puppy that evening. Brett, his wife Lynn, and her sister Carolyn were there at the house when the coordinator arrived. Brett was cuddling the little puppy, and his nephew Andrew was crying because the little puppy had to leave.

First, the coordinator held the puppy and then started to ask questions about her history. She asked, “Why did you adopt her if you knew you could not keep her?”

 

Brett' wife explained, “Brett could not allow that puppy to stay with that man any longer. Brett wanted to make sure that she was properly vetted and cared for.”

The coordinator replied, “Oh, I understand. That was a very nice thing that you did. Thank you so much. We can take good care of her and find her a wonderful home.” Then she remarked, as everyone was watching the puppy walk around the living room, “Why does she walk so funny with her front right leg.” Everyone agreed that the puppy was undernourished and walked slightly off kilter. “Well, “the coordinator stated, “we'll figure that out too.”

So Brett scooped up the puppy and donated her bed and dog dishes so Sophie could feel comfortable at least with those few things. He put her in the car and the coordinator drove off. Everyone had a tear in their eye but knew, at the same time, they were doing the right thing for the dog they had named Sophie.

 

Sophie went to her foster home where the husband, wife, and son fell instantly in love with her. Sophie had another Springer and a Golden Lab to live and play with. Life was starting to look good to Sophie even though she was only looking out of one eye.

Sophie saw another vet the next day and it was diagnosed as an ulcerated infection. The vet diagnosed that the too angular front right leg was a deformity. It appeared as if Sophie was pushed into a corner of the kennel and was not allowed to move. Therefore, her leg was not allowed to stretch and grow normally.

More antibiotics were given to the foster mom for Sophie and Sophie went home to heal. Sophie learned a lot in those first few days at her foster home. She learned how to play with the big dogs, how to WooWooWoo for her dinner, and how to find the warmest spot in the house to take a nap. Things were looking good for Sophie.

Then Sophie's picture and description were posted on the rescue's website. Within a day, a family had expressed interest in adopting Sophie. They asked, “What are we supposed to do next?” “When can we visit her?” The coordinator asked them to submit an adoption application from the website and made an appointment for a home visit. The next day, the family inquired as to when they could complete the home visit. They just couldn't wait any longer. “Ok,” said the coordinator. How is Saturday at 10:00 AM ?” They quickly replied, “Yes, and can we visit Sophie soon?” The coordinator replied, “Yes, just call the foster home and make an appointment to visit Sophie.”

The home visit went well and the vet reference checked out good. The family met the coordinator at the foster home where the adoption papers were signed and Sophie started her new life with her new family.

Pictures and updates were sent regularly to the coordinator and the foster family from Sophie's new family. They were so in love with Sophie that they wanted to share their enthusiasm and excitement with friends and family. They also wanted to make sure that she had the best care for her eye so Sophie was taken to their vet that they had used for many years with their previous Springer who had passed away recently.

Sophie was in pain and the vet recommended that he remove the eye. It was too damaged to keep so the new adoptive family did the right thing and made an appointment for the surgery. It was a scary day when they brought Sophie to their vet's office for this surgery. They felt confident, though, that their vet was the best for this type of care.

Sophie came home the next day with a patch over the area where her eye used to be.

“What did you find, when you removed her eye?” Sophie's new mom asked.

The vet replied, “After I removed Sophie's eye, I dissected it to find out why it was ulcerated.” The new family waited in anticipation for the rest of his answer. He continued, “There was no retina. She was born blind in that eye. This is hereditary and could have been prevented. There are tests that can detect if that hereditary gene is being carried by a dog. Any responsible breeder would not breed a dog with PRA.”

Well, Sophie's new family took her home, helped her recuperate, and slowly put weight on her. She started running with her new dad, and she sits in the sun in the morning while her mom reads on the back patio.

Sophie was lucky that Brett found her. Brett and his wife were lucky too. It feels good when you know you did the right thing.