We had been searching in vain for quite a while for a
video or documentary producer to film Rudy’s story when Harry Lite,
the producer of Pet News Network which is aired on Asheville Cable
Channel 10, fell under Rudy’s spell! It happened during a taping
session for his show featuring Rudy, his kids, and MAGDRL foster
Danes. Harry decided right then and there that he wanted to start
filming Rudy’s story and was very eager to set a date to film on
site at the school!
The following from Laura about the first taping session:
“The filming for the Pet News Network program focused
primarily on Rudy as he normally spends his days - in a public
charter school founded to serve children with extreme behavioral
problems and trauma. From interviews with children who spend their
days with Rudy, to the director of the school, what is now on tape
is how this big old boy goes into a school setting and spreads love
and tranquility. Clearly welcomed by the school staff, Rudy
established a pet service program at this school after first
establishing the animal-assisted therapy program at Grandfather Home
for Children. Interview after interview, Harry taped children and
adults talking about what a difference this dog has made with
children whose lives have been filled with great sadness & trauma,
who learn to read better by reading to this dog who seems to listen
and encourage them, whose school environment has been changed by the
model of strength + gentleness that Rudy presents.
As I watched what "lit up" Harry’s face, one of those
"face-lighters" was watching the dogs greet each other with obvious
affection. Not knowing where it will fit into the final cut of the
program, Harry filmed Rudy & Gabi greeting one another after "a day
at work" and Gabi & Milo playing like young Danes do in the backyard
of a cottage.”
Over the last several months Harry has gone on to film
most of the children’s activities and has plans to turn much of his
film footage into a documentary about Rudy, his kids, their animal
advocacy work, and the impact of the pet services opportunities.
Fourth of July
Parade 2005
Marching for MAGDRL and H.E.L.P.!
Marching for MAGDRL and H.E.L.P.! Rudy’s Kids were
invited to participate in the Banner Elk Fourth of July parade.
Everyone had so much fun showing off their new bright blue tie-dye
MAGDRL Rescue Trooper t-shirts and their newly designed event
banner. Rudy’s Kids are so proud of their animal advocacy group and
work very hard to get prepared for public appearances. Besides the
new banner that could be seen from a block away, the children took
plenty of flyers and worked the crowds with their Donation Dog
coats. They worked so hard and had so much fun………they forgot to take
any photos of the day!
July 2005 - 2005 Broadway Barks and Hero award
MAGDRL was invited back for the 3rd year to
participate in the Broadway Barks event held each summer in NYC. A
committed group of Broadway producers and stars, led by co-founders
Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters, work hard each year to raise
as much money as they can to benefit the rescue and shelter groups
that attend the event. Broadway Barks also awards a hero certificate
at the event to a dog that has been of service to their community.
We submitted Rudy’s story and pictures to one of the
producers of the event hoping they would see Rudy for the hero he is
to all who are touched by him and declare Rudy to be a Broadway
Barks hero! Well, just a couple of weeks before the event it looked
like Rudy wouldn’t win the award……so the children decided to honor
Rudy in their own way………….
Kid’s HERO
celebration for Rudy:
The
following from Laura about taping the celebration:
“Harry taped the girls puzzling over a huge sheet cake
for Rudy as they came to an agreement on how to decorate - everyone
added their own piece of the decorating beginning with a new child -
adopted Russian girl who is very, very gifted in art and also very
terrified. She did a freehand icing picture of Rudy in the center of
the cake and taught the other girls how to do paw prints. The
"border" was actually big and little Milkbones. At one point I
looked at Harry and he had the most elated beaming look on his face
as he taped this.”
“We moved all the children (in their Rescue Trooper
shirts) to a stone garden area, set up the cake, and began with one
girl announcing Rudy as their Hero of the Year and why. Then the
children passed the microphone through all 40+ of them, some of them
adding to what she had said - some of them just passing the
microphone. It was really amazing to hear their comments. Tania was
beyond incredible - she ended with a big soft smile, looking at
Rudy, and said "I love you, Rudy!" One of the girls presented Harry
with his shirt as an honorary Rescue Trooper and, though he said he
was much more comfortable on the other side of the camera, Harry
seemed really pleased! AND we got it on film!”
THEN just days before the event……….We found out that
our Broadway Barks story submission for Rudy had somehow been
misplaced and Bernadette Peters herself asked that we resubmit it!!
Long story short………Our Rudy won a Broadway Barks hero award!! So,
we’re off to the Big Apple for the event!!.......
The following about the event from Laurie Zoock, the
Public Relations Director of MAGDRL:
“It was a beautiful day at Broadway Barks! Each year
the event becomes a little longer with more animal group, and more
Broadway celebrities! Several thousand spectators walk thru this
small alley way (Schubert Alley beside the Schubert Theatre) where
about 20 rescue and shelter groups had tables and booths set up.
After the auction for merchandise, Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler
Moore made the official introduction and each animal group was
announced by a Broadway celebrity and the dogs and their foster
parents are made the "STARS!"
Cathy D and Mary Fran C were onstage with
Harvey Fierstein and his wife, who spoke for our foster Danes,
Aramis and Monty. Our Danes were very popular and many people
stopped to see them! They also helped raise money with their
Donation Dog coats and lots of literature was passed out.
I accepted the award for
Rudy on behalf of Laura Hickey and MAGDRL. It was presented by the
cast of the Monty Python-based show, SPAMALOT. The presenters were:
David Hyde Pierce, Michael McGrath, Christopher Sieber and Steve
Rosen. I had a poster of Rudy (courtesy of Broadway Barks staff) to
show onstage after the 4 actors read his story. Kathy Stafford will
present the poster and the framed certificate to Laura Hickey.
BIG thanks to our volunteers whose pictures of the event will be
posted soon: Cathy D., Mary Fran, Judi, Lisa, Sue, Kathy from NC who
flew out just for this event, and new volunteer Ann from Hoboken.
Cathy and Mary really worked the crowd with the Danes! And Judi,
Lisa, Sue and Ann helped out at the table. Kathy S got some
great pics, worked the tables, and press area giving out hundreds of
copies of Rudy's story. Also thanks to Alicyn Leigh, Pet Columnist
for the Long Island Press, and her friend Brian who came out to
cover the event and plug Rudy!
MAGDRL received another check from Broadway Barks
fundraising efforts and we were given plenty of cool stuff for
pets….(they give each participating group a HUGE goody bag)!”
The following from Kathy S about the day:
“WOW.....what a day! We had a great spot
just opposite Schubert theatre at the entrance to the alley. The
crowd tended to get bottle-necked at times because everyone just HAD
to stop and visit with the Danes! Monty and Aramis were incredible
MAGDRL ambassadors right to the very end which was an hour or so
after the event ended! Tired as they were, when they saw yet another
hand extended to pet them, they turned on that Dane charm!
There was actually a family from Mooresville, NC there
who spent quite a while petting and talking about adding a Dane to
their family. They were absolutely stricken with Monty!
I gave away tons of the Rudy's Story handouts, and most
people were delighted to have his whole story to read. After Rudy
received the award and folks saw the poster of him on stage, a great
many people came up to me and asked for a copy! I also made a round
of all the sponsor's tables with the Rudy’s Story handout. I talked
with the owner of New York Dog magazine and he was very interested
in Rudy and MAGDRL in general.
Just a great MAGDRL day all around! The Broadway Barks
staff and the celebrities couldn't have been any nicer to us which
helped a very hectic, hot day go a lot smoother. The producer of
Broadway Barks, Scott Stevens, spent rather a long time with us
after the event talking about how much he LOVES working for
animals....... and even made up some of the shelter goodie bags
himself!”
“Whew! We had quite a day today at the Woolly Worm
Festival.
We had 14-16 children at a time from Grandfather Home -
all decked out in bright tie-die Rescue Trooper shirts - along with
about a dozen staff and our 4 Danes - Rudy (our Broadway Barks
Hero), 8-month old Bailey (an orphaned pup rescued by MAGDRL and now
adopted by Ginger Gardiner) and my two pups, 20-month old Gabi and 4
month old Grace. Basically, the children ran the show and did a
superb job in creating interest and managing the dogs. Working very
hard almost the whole day, we have 4 very tired and snoring Danes
tonight.
To our delight, we also had Diana and John S, Tony
S, and Nikki J - all MAGDRL volunteers - so we had the
tremendous benefit of the PR ability of these volunteers.
Our set-up included MAGDRL displays, Donation Dog
coats, LOTS of printed material which went like hot cakes - and a
Rescue Trooper area where the children sold drinks and had a pup in
a Donation Dog coat to raise money to provide Christmas for Katrina
kids who will certainly need a boost and a new friend this
Christmas. The children were the thankful recipients of almost 1000
donated drinks so the drink sales are pure profit with no cost.
So, at the end of day 1, we had approximately $325 in
MAGDRL donations - very close to what we took in last year - and
also nearly $1000 from drink sales and Katrina Kids donations!
As I am sure you can guess, we are ecstatic about our
results today for MAGDRL and the Katrina kids project, VERY ready to
go to bed, and looking forward to a great day tomorrow, sharing
about MAGDRL and selling drinks for our Katrina kids.” Laura Hickey
Woolly Worm Festival – Day 2
“Day Two of the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, NC,
was a busy day though not nearly the magnitude of Day One. We had
our same crew of children and dogs plus Kathy S and Scott
J. Compared to the crowds who thronged the dogs on Saturday,
Sunday was a bit quieter with fewer people in the festival and our
visitors coming in spurts rather than a steady flow. Quite honestly,
it was a bit of a relief as we were all tired as we began the day,
as were the dogs.
A very rough estimate of donations for MAGDRL today is
$225, roughly giving the kids a total of $550 for the two days. It
will take a couple of days to tally up all the donations that will
go toward the children’s Christmas fund for Katrina’s kids.
This festival is a good opportunity to share the MAGDRL
mission and to spend time with folks who could be serious adopters.”
Laura Hickey
“WOW! What a great day and so much hard work on behalf
of MAGDRL and Katrina's kids!! My hat goes off to all the
Grandfather Home kids and staff members who made it through 2 days
of this huge festival!
We were invited up to the stage again and had a chance
to promote Rudy's story and rescue. Mr. Woolly Worm, and the emcee
for the event both put donations in Rudy's Broadway Barks hero
Donation Dog coat!
GFH kid's worked the crowds like seasoned pros all day
again; with dogs in Donation Dog coats, working the Donation Team
Vests, took turns in the Scooby costume, selling drinks for
Katrina's kids donations, handing out hundreds of copies of Rudy's
story, MAGDRL flyers, NC newsletters, MAGDRL newsletters, and the
Dane World story on Rudy.
We got quite a number of serious inquiries about
adoption and volunteering, and had the chance to talk with a great
many folks about rescue. The dogs; Rudy, Gabi, baby Grace, and
Bailey (MAGDRL pup fostered by the kids who was adopted by Ginger of
GFH) were great ambassadors for the breed. We don't know how the
festival attendees knew ahead of time, but many people that visited
the booth walked up saying, "There's Rudy!!"
I absolutely lost count of how many hundreds of times
yesterday I heard the kids telling people as they gave out flyers;
"learn about Great Dane rescue", "please help our rescue Danes",
"Get your ice cold drinks HERE and help us give Christmas to
Katrina's kids", "read Rudy's story, he's our hero", "we need help
for our rescue dogs, please donate".......etc. The kids are just
simply amazing to watch when they are working hard so hard for the
causes they have championed.” K. S.
Exciting news: The total donations received for the children’s
Katrina’s Christmas fund was an astounding $1,100!!
