About Me

 

A Message from Barb, Founder of the Michigan Standard Poodle Rescue

 

The Michigan Standard Poodle Rescue began almost by accident, a series of events that I now attribute to the “poodle gods.” MSPR is a living memorial to the original rescued Standard Poodle, my beloved Bentley.

 

The first time I saw Bentley, he was cowering in the rear of a cage at the local animal control shelter.  That quivering, matted mess was a 3 ½ -year-old intact male standard poodle who had spent his life outdoors, then was abandoned at the “pound.”  I was certainly not in the market for another dog, but he seemed desperate and tugged at my heart.  Hoping someone else would be taken in by those big brown eyes, I left my number and requested animal control call if he had not been adopted by the weekend. I figured the least I could do for this beautiful creature was find him a great home.

 

Of course, they did call, so I plucked him out of his misery, got him groomed and vetted and neutered.  I really did try to re-home him, but soon discovered a lack of Standard Poodle rescues and an abundance of unsuitable characters willing to take him off my hands. I searched high and low for a Standard Poodle rescue in Michigan; it did not exist. Meanwhile, I fell in love with Bentley and the big brute became part of my family.

 

Not long after adopting Bentley, my old Maltese died and I was blessed to find poor Molly, a two-year-old Standard Poodle/Border Collie mix, tied outside to a barn.  Molly had never had veterinary care and she was a filthy mess. She was listed for free on Craigslist. Bentley saw Molly and fell in love. They became inseparable.

 

By the time I got Molly, I was smitten with the breed.  In 2014, the poodle gods moved me to found the Michigan Standard Poodle Rescue.  It began as my own pet project, but in the past five years, it has been sustained by countless volunteers who foster, transport, adopt, donate and support (also, see link to Operation Rescue).  This amazing organization has already found wonderful homes for hundreds of poodles.

 

My passion comes from an undeniable attraction to the sweet, sensitive nature of these beautiful creatures that are Standard Poodles, and I am committed to putting their interests, first. I do not want to see them fall into the wrong hands.  I do not want them neglected or afraid, tied to barns, or sentenced to puppy mills. The Michigan Standard Poodle Rescue is my passion, for the love of Bentley, and all who follow.