The stories and pictures on these pages illustrate so clearly the power of unconditional love in healing broken hearts and spirits. Rudy’s Kids have been transformed into champions of animal advocacy, and as you read about their journey, you will come to realize that they “walk in miracles” following in the footsteps of an elderly gentleman named Rudy!

     As Rudy’s Kids broadened their life experiences to include the Pet Services program at Grandfather Academy, their passion for helping animals in need was ignited. It began as a desire to give back to the animals that were helping them, and then expanded to encompass their growing interest in working in the community.

     We will be updating these pages as the children build on their experiences and hope you will check in periodically to see what’s happening!

MAGDRL FOSTERS

     The first of Rudy’s Kids animal advocacy efforts developed as a result of Rudy being adopted from MAGDRL, the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League. Laura Hickey, Rudy’s Mom, consulted with the Coordinators of the NC Chapter of the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League (MAGDRL) about the possibility of partnering with them to provide a foster home for another Dane. As a result, they chose Milo, a rescued Great Dane who was fostered and trained by a group of the children.

     As the Pet Services program has grown, several other dogs have been brought into the school to work with the children. You can visit with all the dogs that participate in the program on the Rudy’s Canine Crew Page.

     Rudy’s Kids put a lot of love and hard work into their efforts to help the dogs who were making such a profound difference in their lives. As MAGDRL foster parents they were required to provide food toys, beds, and treats for the Danes in their care. They found some very creative ways to generate the money needed for those supplies. A group of boys became “master jam makers” and sold their goods at local flea markets and community events. Some of the girls went to work making various kinds of crafts to market locally. Rudy’s Kids were very successful in their fundraising endeavors and continued to search for ways to expand their “Rescue Trooper” role in the school and the community.

October 2004 - WOOLLY WORM FESTIVAL

     Yes, you heard right…..Rudy’s Kids’ first public outing to benefit the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League and share their experiences with Rudy was at the Woolly Worm Festival, an event that draws 20-30,000 visitors each year called the Woolly Worm Festival!

     Since 1978, the residents of Banner Elk, a small town nestled between North Carolina's two largest ski resorts, have celebrated the coming of the snow season with the annual Woolly Worm Festival. During the third week in October each year, Woolly Worm races determine which Woolly Worm will have the honor of predicting the severity of the coming winter.

     The Woolly Bear caterpillar has 13 brown and black segments which correspond to the 13 weeks of winter. The lighter brown a segment is, the milder that week of winter will be. The darker black a segment is, the colder and snowier the corresponding week will be. Since Woolly Bear caterpillars are present in such large numbers during autumn while they are searching for a winter home to hibernate, they have become legendary predictors of the coming winter’s severity.

     Following is an account from Laura Hickey about the Woolly Worm Festival:
Wooly Worm Festival - Day 1:

     “Wow . . . what a day! We started the day with 43 degrees and heavy clouds . . . and from the time the first Dane was visible, we had a steady stream of people coming to visit them and to ask about MAGDRL. For the first hour (actually our set-up time), our visitors were other vendors . . . and there were so many of them it was actually hard to finish setting up!

     When the Festival opened at 10 am, it was rather cold, soon began to drizzle, and then actually rained . . . which I thought was an improvement over the snow flurries expected! But as soon as the rain stopped, the people came out in throngs and we were basically swamped for the rest of the day! We handled hoards of people and children, petting dogs and talking about Danes/rescue/adoption. Just amazing!

     The Donation Dog coats really are almost magical . . . even when I had Rudy without a donation coat on, people would pass me money to pass to the dog with the Donation coat. Never having worked with the coats before, I was shocked (and certainly pleased) by the $5s, $10s, $20s people tucked into the pockets!

     We had quite a crew of MAGDRL Danes and visiting Danes with their owners: Maya, Milo, Gabi, Jedi, of course our boy Rudy and a couple from a Florida Great Dane rescue organization who brought their two fosters to spend some time with us.

     It was a great day . . . a long day . . . we were on site from 9 am to 4:30 pm. The director of the Chamber of Commerce was very pleased and stated several times that the Danes were quite a hit! It did feel a little chaotic with the crowds being so large, but the children just loved it and represented MAGDRL and the Danes very well with their usual ease and enthusiasm.”

Woolly Worm Festival - Day 2:

     “Another great day! It was warmer today and we had a repeat performance of experiences from yesterday. From the time the first Dane was visible at about 9:30 am, we had a steady stream of people coming to see the Danes and to ask about MAGDRL even though the festival did not open until 10 am.

     We had a great crew again today and we were more organized working with the crowds of people. Maya who has now become one of Milo's favorite Dane friends, Jedi who is such a great dog and so gentle with tiny little children and the adults with them, Rudy, my boy Gabi, and India, a MAGDRL foster. India is a beautiful black female and so sweet! We had quite an array again of Rudy’s Kids, support staff for the kids, friends, and MAGDRL volunteers working hard to answer the million or so questions about the Danes and rescue.

     Rudy’s Kids worked the crowd like veterans today, passing out information and talking to visitors about Danes, rescue, adoption, and MAGDRL. They gave out hundreds of MAGDRL business cards, and every single flyer we had! Again, hoards of people and children, petting dogs and talking about the dogs.

     BIG NEWS! We were invited to be interviewed on the stage today! What a thrill . . . especially when we had been told this would not happen, and that the dogs could not enter the main festival area. Becky M., Ginger G., Beth G. and I took Rudy and Jedi on stage before a fair-sized crowd. Becky did a great job in sharing the MAGDRL mission. Ginger and I talked about the impact Rudy has on the children he serves as he goes to school with them every day. The festival emcee encouraged the crowd to meet the dogs as we left the stage and people were very responsive! So much so, that it took a very long time to travel the 100 yards or so back to our tent! It took so long that poor Jedi got pooped out and just laid down a couple of times while Beth talked with folks about Jedi and MAGDRL.

The Donation Dog coats worked their magic for us in a big way again today! The total of donations we will be able to pass on to MAGDRL is quite impressive! A lot of Danes will be helped as a result of our efforts! These were two wonderfully exciting days of educating people about MAGDRL and our Danes. And an incredible opportunity also for Rudy’s Kids, whose lives parallel the lives of our rescued Danes, to be able to stand proudly with one of our Danes and ask people to help!”


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