News
Amanda Szajda - St. Bernard Rescuer
December 10, 2007, 7:42PM MT
By Tammy Heeber
For the last year, Amanda Szajda has run a St. Bernard Rescue in Connecticut and Rhode Island, dedicated to finding homes for these gentle giants.
For the last year, Amanda Szajda has run a St. Bernard Rescue in Connecticut and Rhode Island, dedicated to finding homes for these gentle giants.
By Elissa Bass, Day Arts Editor
Published on 12/8/2007
Who: Amanda Szajda, 25, of Pawcatuck.
Why you should know her: For the last year, Szajda has run the St. Bernard Rescue of Connecticut and Rhode Island, a nonprofit agency dedicated to finding homes for the gentle giants. In 2007, Szajda placed 50 St. Bernards with new families.
Big love: Szajda, who had St. Bernards as a child growing up in Colchester, runs the operation out of her Pawcatuck duplex, which she shares with her husband, Brian Quagliaroli, her mother, her grandmother, two Great Danes named Ichabod and Shamus, and their own St. Bernard, 8-year-old Chloe. Chloe and Shamus were both rescues. A Saint puppy, named Argus, is en route from California. Also in residence in December are available-for-adoption Saints Zoe, Samantha and Buddy, and a mastiff named Sarge.
As the Saints go marching in: Szajda works as a funeral director at the Mystic Funeral Home, but her heart lies in St. Bernard rescue. And while many of her stories have happy endings, some don't. Large-breed dogs are more difficult to find homes for than smaller breeds, and sometimes, a dog has been through so much trauma that it cannot be safely adopted out, and must be euthanized. One of her own dogs, named Spencer, was such a case. “I rescued him at 6 months (old),” Szajda says, “and we were his sixth home. We spent $5,000 on training and medication. We tried everything we could, but you can't save them all. He had a lot more demons than we could take care of. You do everything you can, but there are no guarantees. ... The memory of Spencer makes me fight harder for every dog.”
Love, honor, cherish ... and rescue: Szajda and Quagliaroli celebrated their year anniversary in September. “He had no idea what he was getting into,” Szajda laughs, but adds that she could not run the organization without the help of her family, and a very understanding boss. “Everybody does their part,” she says. “My grandmother house-trains them and puts together the (feeding) schedule.” Despite their size, Szajda firmly believes that Saints need to be house dogs, and she treats those waiting for adoption as if they were her own. All the dogs have the run of the duplex, and the ample fenced-in backyard.
Saints alive: So many of the dogs arrive with sad stories. “Every day I open my e-mail and there are dire situations and despair,” Szajda says. The three she has right now, Zoe, Samantha and Buddy, are all around 8 years old. She has three others in foster care, Snowball, Jake and Molly. Samantha and Buddy were among eight Saints Szajda took in just before Halloween. They had belonged to a breeder who died suddenly. They were in poor health, having been kept in kennels in a basement, with little or no exercise and no medical care. She has found homes for six of them. Zoe was given up by her family because a new baby was allergic.
It's a commitment: Szajda puts prospective owners through a rigorous vetting process before they are allowed to bring home a dog (adoption fee is $400, which covers about half her average cost to bring a dog into the program). “I want to make sure the dog will be a member of the household,” she explains. “Saints are not a pet, they are a lifestyle. Ultimately, I go with my gut. I've had people get really mad, but if a dog isn't right for you, the dog isn't right for you. They've been though enough, and they don't need to come back to me.” She says with pride that of the 50 she has placed, none have been returned. She took one back, “and I made them give him back. They almost killed him.”
Roll over, Beethoven: The “Beethoven” movies showed all the great qualities of the breed, such as loyalty, lovability and deep brown eyes. But Saint Bernards were originally a guard breed, Szajda says, and if rigorous training and socialization aren't undertaken, then what was an adorable puppy quickly becomes an uncontrollable 150-pound animal. They are also predisposed to many health problems. That said, Szajda loves the breed: “They are so affectionate and loyal, they make muggers pee their pants, and if they are raised right, they will go anywhere and do anything. I love everything about them.”
Lots of tears: Szajda has a story to go with every dog who has come through her rescue. There's Mason, whom she had for 10 months before he found a home. Tessa was blind because her forehead grew over her eyes. Dr. Richard Willner, a veterinarian, performed a “face lift” on the dog, giving her sight and a new life. Gunther arrived from Cape Cod because his terminally ill owner could no longer care for him. The dog cried for two days. Pearl was locked in a bathroom for the first four years of her life and then lived in a shelter for seven months. Szajda found homes for all of them. “I cry when they arrive and I cry when they go,” she says. “But I love when they go. It's the most amazing thing, when someone comes to meet them, (the dogs) know. They know and they are ready. They're all happy endings, and it's what makes it worth it.”
For information:
SaintRescue.org
Call 860-599-2167
Email saintbernardrescue@snet.net
Reprinted with permission from Theday.com
Photo of a Saint Bernard retrieved from: http://www.sxc.hu
Posted by Tammy Heeber, CT Team Leader