Click HERE to go directly to the FBI page to see photos of the two men and for contact numbers if you have information.
Gus
Gus, my 11-month-old English Shepherd, learning eye signals during a training exercise. What surprised me was how he actually opened the door. He opens gates with his nose and/or paws, but not doors with handles!
Next up is teaching him to close doors.
The Rescue of Chili
Tuesday, June 5, 2012, I was involved in one of the most challenging dog rescues I’ve ever been a part of to date. Around 3:00 pm Monday, Chili, a Wirehaired Dachshund, chased a rabbit under a deck attached to an office building and then under that office building, where she got stuck inside a rabbit tunnel. Those in construction know that this dirt she was in is what holds the foundation to the entire building.
I received a text about the situation around 8:30 Tuesday morning — Chili was still stuck and still alive; she could be heard barking. Her owner, Gina, and my amazing friend (and prayer warrior), Marcia Knight, spent the night at the office hoping Chili would make her way out.
Animal Control and the Fire Department had been called on Monday, but at that point did not have a solution as to how Chili could be found/retrieved. Animal Control’s solution was to put an open can of dog food at the entrance to “a rabbit hole” and hope that Chili find her way out.
I am SO GLAD I have friends in animal rescue that know what they are doing and who don’t give up simply because they can’t think of a solution right then. And I am very glad to have friends who pray and believe in the power of faith.
Kim Little, a professional who rescues stranded animals all over the country when disaster strikes, deserves more credit than words can express. He did not hesitate to grab his gear and was out his door within minutes of my call. For most of the morning Kim and I worked alone to locate Chili and create a hole large enough to shine a light into in hopes of actually being able to see her.
Thank God for Roger Knight, an amazing friend from high school and husband of Marcia, and their son Carter 
spent a great deal of time the night before trying to locate little Chili, but had not been able to find her. Roger was such a welcome sight to see when he came back the next morning! He helped Kim to cut the necessary boards we needed to to be able to squeeze our bodies into a position to start digging under the building.
The space between the structure boards visible in the picture is only 16 inches or so wide. We had to lay on our right side and work only with our right hand and arm as we dug and looked for Chili – all the time hoping and praying we selected the right tunnel based upon the sound of her barks. We had.
Roger had to leave for a period of time, but came back in the afternoon. Both Roger and Kim were able to communicate so effectively with one another on how the building’s foundation was built and where and how we needed to dig to reach Chili.
Susie’s and Kim’s expertise on animal rescue was a Godsend. When Kim discovered that the loop on a standard animal catch pole would not form a small enough loop for Chili’s leg, we knew we had to start coming up with creative solutions. Through that creative problem solving we actually built a tool that helped to verify that we had indeed found Chili, were touching her, and it helped to gently expand the hole enough for us to get a better visual. (Thank you to the wonderful and most helpful employee at Lowes that understood the urgency and could think quickly with what type of equipment we would need to build the hook I described.)
Dave Kline with Billings Animal Control returned in the afternoon to see if Chili had come out of the tunnel on her own. When he learned that she had not and when he saw that Kim and I had been able to locate her, had a visual, and that Chili was still alive and barking he did two things that helped us tremendously:
- He suggested we might have better luck “catching” Chili if we used flexible PVC pipe cut to the length we needed; and
- He later brought the Fire Department.
Because we didn’t know if Chili’s legs would break or dislocate when we pulled we decided to tranquilizer her. Chili’s owner had run to her vet earlier and the vet taped a syringe onto a long rod which we then taped onto one of our extension poles. At the point we needed to tranquillize Chili we did not have a clear visual on her, but we knew we were touching her. Thankfully, Kim was able to inject Chili on the first attempt.
Chili is owned by a married couple and during the ½ hour Chili was out (mid afternoon), Chili’s dad arrived which was a blessing because now we had another strong pair of hands and arms to help with the digging. Both my right arm and Kim’s at this point were tiring and getting weak. Jim, Chili’s dad cleared a greater space for our bodies in the hole and cleared many of the rocks we had to look around to keep Chili in sight. This proved to be incredibly helpful because Kim was going to be spending almost all of the rest of the afternoon in the hole.
When Roger returned in the afternoon (just shortly after Jim) he was equipped with tools — one of which had a PVC pipe inside of it and the rope we would need to create our make-shift catch pole. Roger and Kim then worked as a team with the hand-made catch pole as Kim was able to get a secure loop around both of Chili’s back legs…again while he was laying on his right side, with his head squeezed into the smallest of openings under the building’s foundation, using only the fingers on his right hand because his arm had to be extended to its maximum in order for the pole to reach Chili.
The only light we had was a flashlight we would balance on the dirt and rocks inside the hole.
As Kim and I stayed focused on keeping Chili from moving, Roger and Jim worked together as a team to figure out how to try to reach Chili from the other end of the rabbit tunnel. Carter, Roger’s son, also returned to help. By this time we knew Chili was physically stuck and we would not be able to pull her back out of the hole…however, we needed to make sure she didn’t move and collapse dirt on her that could bury her before we could reach her.
With me, Kelly Dennehy, and Gina, Chili’s mom, taking turns holding the rope that was attached to Chili’s legs, Roger, Jim and Carter began digging to locate the right rabbit hole. Kim measured how far in Chili was by using the PVC pipe and a Sharpie. With this Roger was able to make an educated plan as to where to focus the digging. Once Kim and Roger were able to determine if Chili was above or below the black cloth used in creating the foundation, the three guys, Roger, Jim, and Carter, did the incredible – they found the correct and most delicate tunnel.
But we still had a problem. We needed more space for their bodies and we needed help moving the dirt safely.
Praise God and thanks to Dave Kline right when we needed the Fire Department to arrive, they did!
When the Captain saw the hole we had created to find and see Chili he was able to understand how we could 
safely remove only the dirt and gravel we needed to in order to reach Chili from the other end of the tunnel.
Out came the power saws and fresh digging muscles!
Almost 7 hours after Kim and I first started digging that morning, Kim was still in the hole and for the first time could see a small beam of light hitting Chili from the other end of the rabbit tunnel.
We knew at that point we were close to safely reaching Chili.
In what felt like the most amazing and fast turn of events, because of the strategic digging done by the guys at the other end of the tunnel Kim was able to see the ground lower under Chili’s hind end and in that moment Chili turned herself around and was now facing Kim. We immediately quieted everyone and had Gina lean over Kim in the hole and call out to Chili.
As Chili slowly made her way to Gina’s voice, Kim was finally able to touch her collar with his finger tips. At that point, she just kept making her way to Gina’s voice and Kim was able to safely guide her out of the tunnel!
When she emerged everyone cheered and the tears flowed.
Veterinarian Sonia Whitely was present to aid Chili with whatever was necessary and examine her once she was out of the tunnel. Thankfully, Chili was in pretty good condition considering the circumstances.
In all, Chili was stuck in that dark, underground rabbit tunnel for more than 26 hours.
She kept her will to live strong and she kept letting us know she was alive.
Prayer; faith; focused minds; creative thinking; positive, solution based language; willing workers, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, God’s guidance brought about a very happy ending.
Truly Praise God…and seal off the foundation of your office or home from access to burrowing animals!
Dreaming Big | Changing Lives
Get Yours Here!
The Value of Confidence
I’ve been asked why I chose to partner with Rodan + Fields when:
- Sales are not my thing;
- My passions are in the arts and advocacy; and
- Sales are REALLY not my thing.
The fast and easy answer is this: My own life has changed since I began using the products.
My skin has changed and as a direct result, so has my life!
My whole life I’ve battled skin issues. For the first time, I am experiencing something tremendously positive with my skin. At 49, this is a blessing I never thought I’d see. Friends I have introduced the products to have contacted me with the same heartfelt thanks I shared with my friend who introduced me to the products!
I talk about what is passionate to me. That’s who I am as a person — whether it is my faith, my passion for animals, for the arts, politics, or Little League kids who bring the world together — I share what is deeply passionate in my life and I keep sharing it!
The truth is we all talk about what is meaningful to us. Whether it be the latest movie we saw and loved, a book we read, a restaurant we ate at, fishing on the river, a political viewpoint, shopping local, sporting events involving our kids, a charity fundraiser, our feelings at a certain moment in time, etc,…whatever it may be, we all talk about the things important to us.
In essence, we are ALL selling SOMETHING.
We are all selling something to someone at any given time we communicate. The transactions we are seeking may have an emotional value, a financial value, a spiritual value, an educational value, a persuasive value, etc…but it definitely has a value of some kind attached to it.
For me, I desire for the second half of my life to be focused on changing lives. And Rodan + Fields offers me the greatest opportunity to do that
- Through their business model that empowers individuals to become financially independent AND
- Through their products that create the results so very many people are longing for – beautiful skin!
Now that’s value!
And that I love to sell!
~ Penny
PS…The skin care industry is a $2.5 BILLION business. Currently, R+F products are only available in the USA. When R+F was first sold through major department stores like Nordstrom it was the TOP SELLING skin care line. R+F is now sold exclusively through independent consultants like myself.
AND
It is going international in less than 2 years. Canada – you’re first!
If you would like to learn more about the business and/or the products, visit my websites:
To learn how to get the best skin of your life!
And
To learn how you can make your dreams come true!
You can also meet Dr. Katie Rodan + Dr. Kathy Fields and learn why they started this new Anti-Aging company:
Senator Max Baucus Supports the Slaughter of Horses
December 7, 2011
Ms. Penny Ronning
Dear Penny:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the slaughter of horses. I appreciate hearing from you.
I have always worked hard to ensure the humane treatment of animals, and I will continue to do so in the future. However, it is important that horse slaughter legislation not place any unnecessary burdens on ranchers and other horse owners, or put horses at even greater risk of harm or cruel treatment. That’s why as part of the 2009 Agriculture bill, I commissioned a study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the impacts of the current restriction on federal dollars to inspect horse processing facilities in the United States.
The study, released on June 22, 2011, showed that horse prices and sales in U.S. have declined since the ban came into effect. In addition, the ban has not resulted in a significant drop in the number of slaughters, but rather, has shifted the market to Canada and Mexico. Overall, the welfare of horses has declined as they are being transported greater distances to be slaughtered in places where they are not protected by U.S. humane slaughter laws. In addition, a rise in cases of abuse, abandonment, and neglect have strained state, local, and tribal horse welfare resources. If you would like to read more about the report, it can be accessed on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-228 under report number GAO-11-228.
On November 18, 2011, the President signed into law H.R. 2112, which ended the ban on domestic horse slaughter. I supported ending the ban. You can read more about my support of this bill at http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=754. With the passage of H.R. 2112, we can now fight to restore the jobs shipped to Canada and Mexico as a result of this ban. We can also make sure that injured and sick horses are not abandoned or subject to inhumane treatment.
Thanks again for getting in touch. Please contact me should you have any further questions or concerns on this or any other matter of importance to you. You can also visit my website at http://baucus.senate.gov for more information on current issues that affect Montanans.
Sincerely,
