Founded by life-long animal lover, Kristin Benjamin, Muttley Crew is “an all-breed rescue serving Wisconsin and northern Illinois giving animals a second chance at life.” As an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that relies solely on private donations, Muttley Crew is constantly looking to expand its network of foster families to temporarily care for animals looking for a forever home.
Having seen dogs literally pick their respective foster families, Benjamin encourages people to foster animals in need if not for her organization, then for another one. Muttley Crew enables its volunteers to handpick the animals they will foster. It’s hard to deny Benjamin’s call to be a foster mom or dad when she asks, “Why wouldn’t you want to help the creatures on this earth that don’t know hate, greed or selfishness? Spending 20 minutes with Lola will you teach you a thing or two about forgiveness, acceptance, moving on and living in the moment.”
Lola is a dog Muttley Crew recently rescued to from MADACC, or the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission, a facility that may have euthanized her if she had stayed there much longer. Lola has been staying with Benjamin and her husband, Jason, and will continue to do so until Muttley Crew finds her a forever home. Lola is not the first dog Benjamin has fostered…and will not be last. Benjamin is serious when she says certain dogs pick their foster families as she has seen at least one dog, Spike, pick her own husband as his personal foster parent. In fact, Spike jumped onto Jason’s lap when Benjamin and her husband arrived at a rescue to pick up another dog they had planned to foster a few years ago!
When describing the purpose of Muttley Crew, Benjamin recently wrote, “I never set out to be a big dog rescue – I only set out to help dogs locally that clearly needed help, and to be the kindest rescue, and to be the voice of these dogs with no voice…It has always been, and will always be, about which dog needs my rescue to be their voice…I make it my rescue’s mission to purposely not handpick the crème de la crème, and instead we let the dogs find us – and they always do…As long as there are dogs that reach out to me, and touch my soul, well that’s as long as I’ll be doing this for. And I’ll just keep learning from them each step of the way.”
It is Muttley Crew’s steadfast adherence to its purpose that has enabled dogs like Michonne to survive despite the odds being stacked against them. Fortunately for Michonne, Sara Drew recently noticed her on the corner of Fond du lac Avenue and Locust while on her way home from work and immediately concluded that something was terribly wrong. Turning her car around, Sara could see how perilously thin Michonne was as she drew closer and closer to the one-year-old, female, Pit Bull mix. Scared for the dog’s life, Sara picked Michonne up and headed to the Wisconsin Humane Society.
After being turned away by the Wisconsin Humane Society as she held Michonne in her arms, Sara drove straight to MADACC. Holding Michonne in her arms once again, Sara was told by a MADACC representative that the beleaguered, dangerously malnourished dog was used to breed dogs…and then left to die.
After she agreed to leave Michonne with MADACC, Sara learned an unfortunate truth; MADACC euthanizes approximately 76% of the dogs brought to the facility that have Pit Bull in them. Fortunately, Muttley Crew stepped in to save Michonne from what Sara feared would be the sweet, quiet dog’s inevitable fate. And being enamored with what she describes as “one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met,” Sara is helping to raise funds to support Muttley Crew’s efforts!
If you would like to donate money to help pay for the veterinary care that Michonne will need to restore her health, click here. Any excess money that is raised will be used to help Muttley Crew continue with its life-saving work.
If you would like to learn more about the volunteer, foster, and donation opportunities Muttley Crew has for people interested in helping animals in need, please visit the group’s website at MuttleyCrew.org.
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