Director of Operations

Deb Humphreys

About 10 years ago  I adopted my 1st bulldog "Kaddison". He was 5 years old and was from an all breed rescue in Ohio.I had a labrador, who had died, and I wanted a dog who was the opposite of a lab. Kaddison was on petfinder, so I put my application in, and out of 100 apps I was chosen.The reason I was picked was because Kaddison needed eye drops and my lab took daily med for seizures, so she thought I would be diligent.I had no idea what taking care of a bulldog consisted of; he was just cute. While waiting to make the drive to pick him up, I searched the web for info on bulldogs. It was eye opening and I was stunned to learn I could be adopting a medical mess, but yet, it didn't stop me!  In theory, I shouldn't have been picked.We had a pool that was fenced ( thank goodness), lived on a river, no fenced in yard, no bulldog experinece, she never called my vet, not even a home check was done.I went to pick him up and as soon as the front door opened, he ran to my car and jumped in. He was my shadow since that 1st day. Kaddison was the typical English Bulldog, he snored,was stubborn, and his way was the only way! He  was very devoted to me and vice versa. He has since passed away and I still miss him dearly to this day. Everyone has "the one" and he was my mine!

I love being involved with rescue, as it gives displaced dogs hope to live a wonderful happy life. Every animal deserves that!I feel IBR is a very caring, organized, well informed group. We started out very small, 3 people who did it all.Fast forward to today, we have lots of foster homes, fundraisers, huge well attended events, an awesome website, FB, vets who applaud IBR and the list goes on.I never dreamed we would be this big, let alone so fast. As most everyone involved in any rescue, we wish we weren't needed,but since we are, I am very proud to be involved with IBR and everything it stands for.

My husband and I live in Northern IN. with our 2 English Bulldogs, 1 Frenchie & a parrot.

Director of Finance

Melissa Hardesty

My love for bulldogs started over 20 years ago when I got my first bullie C.C. My life and home haven't been the same since. Three years later, I added another bullie. Over time family and friends knew that I loved the breed, and that I had a passion for their well being and care. Over a period of time, and by word of mouth, people would call me with concerns and ask for advise on caring for their own bulldogs. On two of these occasions, the owners asked if I would take their bulldogs and care for them. Of course, I was unable to say no, and this was my first unofficial start of rescuing bullies. When total strangers started asking me to take their dogs, I knew then there was a need for a bulldog rescue. 

In January of 2009 we lost one of the bullies we had rescued. It was never a question, I knew then that I didn't want to purchase, but wanted to adopted a bullie. This was the beginning of my experience with Indiana Bulldog Rescue. In April 2009, I found that a bulldog rescue did exist in Indiana, and I applied to adopt Mr. Magoo. Patiently waiting, a week later I received a phone call from his IBR foster mom, Deb Humphreys . I spoke to Deb several times over the course of a week, and had a home visit screening. A few hours later, Deb called and said I was approved to adopt Magoo. The next day I took a long road trip to bring my baby home! 
After adopting Magoo, I continued to speak with Deb on a regular basis and we developed a fond friendship with one another. It didn't take long and Deb had recruited me to foster for IBR, and then came my first foster. My first experience was one of happiness and fulfilment. The same day my first foster got adopted, I picked up my second foster, Danica. My first thought when I picked Danica up was - what have I gotten myself into? She was 10yrs old, had been used all of her life for breeding, was aggressive towards other dogs, blind, and didn't get around well due to severe arthritis. After having Danica for a few weeks,  IBR decided that, due to her conditions, she would be a permanent foster and I agreed to keep her. Danica lived another 1 1/2yrs. Losing Danica was one of the hardest things that I have experienced, but knowing I was able to give Danica the love, care and attention that she had never experienced before provided peace.

 
While fostering Danica, Deb asked me to consider taking on another volunteer task. Deb was informed by the founder and director of IBR that she needed to step down due to personal reasons, and if Deb was willing to take over the operation of running  IBR . Of course my answer was easy, and I told Deb she had to take over the rescue. However, Deb had a plan and I was part of the journey. She said, I can't do this alon,e and I need help with the finances - would you consider taking this on? At the time IBR was still a fairly small rescue and I agreed to help, and said to myself how hard can this be? 

It was December 2009 when Deb and I took over the operations of running IBR . At that time I had no idea what was in store for us or what the future of IBR  would look like. The one thing I was sure about, was we had a mission to rehabilitate and find deserving bulldogs great homes. I also knew for this to happen, we needed more volunteers to make this possible. From that point my philosophy became - If you build it, they will come! And come, they did! 

Today,  IBR's  existence, growth and success is beyond my wildest dreams! None of this would be possible without the tremendous amount of dedication, time, and effort of the other directors, coordinators and volunteers. Everyday I'm humbled and grateful to be part of an organization, such as IBR . The feeling that comes with rehabilitating and finding great homes for these bullies is priceless! 

Director of Adoption & Foster Programs

Nikki Schoolcraft

I've had many jobs, but none of them made me as happy, and fulfilled as volunteering with the Indiana Bulldog Rescue. There is no way I can put a price on the feeling I get from rehabilitating and finding a great home for a bulldog. My involvement with IBR began when I came across a story about a bully named Champ and his mom Neely. I was so touched by their story that it inspired me to get involved in our local rescue. I filled out an application to volunteer for the Indiana Bulldog Rescue and waited not so patiently for a couple weeks. I finally got the call and was very excited. After going through the rescue process, I started out as a foster mom and had my first bully in no time. Her name was Dixie and l fell in love with her. After a few months I met Hitch while his foster mom stopped by our house and I instantly fell in love; We adopted him about a month later. Hitch's story is just remarkable and shows how important rescues are. I'm so proud to be a part of his amazing recovery. Hitch inspired me to do more in the IBR and I became an active board member as the Director of Adoption and Foster Programs. I also became an official Foster Failure when I met Layla. I knew the minute I met her that she was home and she was adopted Sept.1, 2010. No matter if I'm here in Indiana forever, or move to another state, I will always be an advocate of rescue and animal rights. One day I hope to start my own doggy day care or doggy boutique.