Matt Schoolcraft, Finance Coordinator

Diana Pawelczyk, Administrative Coordinator

I am the mom to a special needs bully with a congenital heart defect, a defect that no surgery could repair. Being the animal lover that I am, I got involved with the Indiana Bulldog Rescue because I wanted to do something to help other bullies, since I could not help my own. Somehow, I felt like was what I needed to do. I needed to give back so I could make a difference in other bullies lives. I wanted to give a bully the one thing they never had and that was HOPE!

This is why I started volunteering with the rescue, so I could help other bullies who might have never had a second chance, the HOPE in finding their forever home. Rescuing dogs is one of the most important things I can do to help. It’s given me more joy, laughter, and love that I could ever imagine. It’s really difficult at times, but the reward of seeing the love and happiness on the faces of the new owners and knowing you saved a life is worth it in the end.

Sandie Rea, Marketing, Website and Newsletter Coordinator

Pam Webber, Volunteer Coordinator

Jaime Gasaway, Volunteer Coordinator

Emily Smith, Event Coordinator

My husband, Brad, and I started volunteering with the IBR in April of 2011. At the time, we knew we loved dogs and had two of our own, but we had no previous experience with bulldog care. A few weeks after our home visit, we got a call from Nikki to go pick up our first foster, Cora. We drove all the way to Ft. Wayne to pick her up. We were so nervous! We had heard some of the horror stories of medical and behavioral issues and had no idea what to expect. When we met her, we fell in love and have been in love with the bulldog breed ever since! We were happy, yet heartbroken when she finally found her forever home, but we also knew we wanted to continue fostering. We wanted to keep helping the bullies! We have fostered several bullies since then. We even “foster failed” with a couple of them along the way! We picked up our first, April, in August of 2011. She was a sweet, older girl at 8 ½ years old and scared to death of her new surroundings. After a while she started to trust us and show us her real personality and we knew we could never let her go. Shortly after-wards, one of our previous fosters, Chunk, came back to us from an adoptive family because things didn’t work out. He was a beautiful bullie boy who took a long time to trust humans and had some behavioral issues. When he came back to us, we knew we couldn’t let him go either. We always say that Chunk chose us, because even though we adopted him out once he made sure to find his way back. Reality is though; that after having him the second time I knew I couldn’t let him leave us again. We ended up adopting both April and Chunk on the same day in September 2011. In the fall of 2011 we were asked by Melissa, Nikki and Deb to take over as Event Coordinators for the IBR. We gladly accepted and took over the role of planning and running the IBR events. We found that this was a great way to help raise money for the bullies and also help the IBR fosters find forever homes! We love every minute of it! Joining the IBR was one of the most rewarding things that I’ve ever done. Not only did I add two furry members to my family through the IBR, but I’ve met many wonderful people who have become like family to me as well. Although it’s always hard to say goodbye, I love getting new fosters and helping them find their forever families. The IBR has made me officially addicted to the bulldog breed – I wouldn’t trade the bullie snores, slobber and love for anything in the world!

Brad Smith, Event Coordinator

Myranda Armey, Fundraising Coordinator