The letter below was sent to Tom Rogers by the Archers, the family who generously opened their hearts and their home to foster 3 rescued puppies. ( To read more about the beginnings of this rescue, visit Help Rescued Kerries 2/09.

The Archer’s letter not only touches on the joys and challenges of fostering a rescued dog, but also is a reminder of the responsibility an ethical breeder must accept before breeding.

We thank the Archers and all those who foster rescued dogs.

Editor
USKBTC Website

March 1, 2009

Dear Tom,

Enclosed you will find receipts showing how the donation was spent in the aid of caring for the 3 rescue Kerry puppies. Thank you so very much for helping us out with these expenses.

January and February 2009 has been an amazing experience with our very first involvement with Rescue Kerries. When we were first asked to assist with a rescue operation in a nearby town, we could hardly say “no.” Since that rescue of the 5 puppies and 3 adults, I come to realize that people have no idea what they are getting themselves into until it’s too late. Raising that many dogs to make a little bit of money is no longer and the $ anymore . . .it’s about the well being of the animals.

Bob and I decided to try fostering 3 of the 5 puppies in the hope that the finding of adoption homes by the rescue club will go quickly. And it did! Within a week the puppies were spoken for. However, the process was going to take a little time. Bob & I were “ok” with that. Our other 2 adult Kerries (Aurora 6 year old female, and Apex 4 year old male) took on the role of mentoring these puppies rather quickly.

It became a challenge at first to watch the interaction of these puppies with human contact and then with our adult Kerries. There was a quick reminder to the things that puppies like to chew, when the socks were picked up nad carried across the room, by my rubber muck shoes mysteriously appearing on the kitchen floor. We were fortunate that the minor things of our own were chewed on and not the kitchen floor. The ol’chew toys were brought out from the bottom of the dog toy box pretty quickly.

A few vet visits, feeding, cleaning crates, bathing occasionally – of which they didn’t mind at all; getting up though the night for potty breaks, and then quickly back to bed. We took pictures of the 5 of them playing together and living together, all with supervision for we all know how a Kerry can be. Absolutely amazing and fun! All and all, it really was a joy to help these puppies become more prepared for real happiness with their new adoptive families. It’s not easy to try and train 3 puppies when Bob and I work daily. But they did pretty well considering. Will we help with another puppy rescue again? More likely we will. But we really hope people will take ownership of having a puppy or a dog and care for them just as we would take care of ourselves.

Life is back to normal for the Archer house. Aurora seems to miss the puppies more than Apex, and apex is satisfied with having to share the attention with only Aurora. This had been a good experience for us all.

I know this could not have worked out as well as it did without your help, your son Brian Rogers, and especially with the help of Tracy and Dave Campanella. Of course, there are many more people to thank behind the scenes of the NOKBTC, USKBTC, etc. Please pass on the “thank you” for us. Throughout this process new friendships have been made across state lines. The Kerry families continue to grow and that’s truly what we’ve become a part of.

Yours truly,
Marcie & Bob Archer