She Found the Dog That Tugged at Her Heart UPDATE

Meet Molly. (What a total cutie.)

She was adopted by Jennifer Valentine, a volunteer for Lost and Found Dog Rescue in New Castle, which we profiled in the April issue of Delaware Pets. The thing I love about the shelter/rescue stories is the way adopters talk about their new companions. There is such joy in their voices and in the photos of them - like they were meant to be together. But Jennifer went way beyond adoption to tackle volunteering.

Jennifer writes, "People that know me well know that I am a 'dog lover,' but it wasn't enough for me to just be a dog lover anymore. I needed to do something to help all of those homeless dogs. I am so thankful to have found this rescue."

Jennifer adopted Molly on Dec. 8 from Lost and Found. She says from the moment she saw the dog's photo on the rescue's Web site "she tugged at my heart."

"I met her four days later at my first Mutt Mingle and I was like a child on Christmas morning," she writes. "I couldn't wait to meet her and all of the volunteers. For me it wasn't about seeing if it would be a good match for my other three dogs. ... I already knew in my heart and I was right. She fit in from day one!!"

If you'd like to help more people find the dog that will tug at their hearts, Lost and Found is having a fund-raising Basket Bingo from 2-5 p.m. Sunday at Minquas Fire Company, 21 N. James St. Newport. Cost is $20 in advance; $25 at the door. Go to the Web site for more info.

And Lost and Found's founder Marleen Oetzel says the rescue's needs are particularly great right now. One of its recuperating dogs attacked Marleen's dog Chico. "Thankfully, he survived, but it was really touch and go." Chico spent five days in a vet hospital and the bill totaled more than $5,000.

Whatever you can do to help, I'm sure Marleen and Jennifer and everyone else at Lost and Found would appreciate.

UPDATE: Marleen has a current fundraising plea on the Lost and Found Web site. She has the before photo of six "broken dogs" -- dogs that would have died without Lost and Found's help -- and their after photos. She writes: "We wanted to show when people pull together -- miracles do still happen." The after photos are amazing. Marleen wants to raise $8,000, and the current total is $1,147. Please help -- with whatever you can spare.