September 2023

This series is dedicated to helping our community get to know the dedicated and selfless human beings that keep Magnificent Mutts Rescue running.

Meet Angela Powers!

Angela is a Magnificent Mutts superhero! If you have adopted from us, she may have processed your application or helped you find a match, or even fostered your future fur baby!

1) How long have you been with Magnificent Mutts?

• Almost 9 years. I started on the Meows side of the rescue visiting with the cats at Petco and cleaning their cubes at the Hillside location. Most times I would be there when the Mutts side was holding adoption events and got to know the Mutts side of things, and well there was no turning back after that ha!
  
  

2) As a volunteer, what do you do for MM? 

• Application Coordinator and Processor 
• Counsel applicants on potential matches
• Create and Update profiles on our website
• Admin/Moderator on the Alumni Page, Instagram, and Facebook Page
• Primary foster for all neonatal kittens and puppies (aka bottle babies), puppy/kitten medical cases who require around the clock supportive care (sub q fluids, syringe/force feeding, etc), and feral/under socialized kittens and pups. 
• Mutts Historian
• Misc. Administrative tasks
  
  

3) What is your favorite or most memorable MM experience or story?

• We were contacted by our vets about a person who had purchased a “designer puppy” from a pet store in the western suburbs.  3 days after bringing her home she became extremely ill.  Even though these people spent an INSANE amount of money for this Mutt – because lets be honest that is what she was – they could now not afford to provide medical care for her when she tested positive for parvo.  Our vets asked if we would take her in and pay for her care and Linda didn’t hesitate.  She was named Moo Moo by one of the vets because she looked like a lil cow!
  
  She spent 3 weeks in ICU, and almost died 3x.  She was discharged and transferred to my house where she ended up staying, receiving 5 more weeks of supportive care.  When released from the vet she had lost over half of her body weight and weighed 2lbs.  She could not drink, or eat on her own. She could not stand. Her body had shut down and her muscles were useless.  Her hair was falling out all over her body from being severely anemic.  She had low protein and potassium counts. She was a shell of what a 10 week old puppy should be. Moo Moo received around the clock fluids and force feedings, along with three different medications/vitamins. Every day I manipulated her legs to try and get her muscles back to firing again as they were starting to atrophy from lack of use. 
  
  Thank goodness she was a fighter. By the 6wk mark at my home she gained weight finally reaching 5 lbs, was fully eating and drinking on her own, and then she got an amazing ‘report card’ at the vets and was finally ready for adoption!  Her personality was showing and I couldn’t wait for her to find a family of her own.  Moo Moo was adopted quickly by a couple and their dog and has been living the good life ever since.  She was one of my personal best success stories of the medical cases I’ve cared for, and one I will not forget anytime soon.  
  
  

4) What is your favorite dog breed or dog type?

• I don’t have a favorite breed.  It’s more about the individual dog.  There are breeds I never thought I’d own like a chihuahua or Pomeranian, but I currently have a Pom because he was an amazing dog who was a great fit for our family.  While breed should play an important role in deciding if a dog is the right match for your family or your lifestyle, sometimes people tend to overlook great dogs because they swear off certain breeds.  
  
  

5) What are your hobbies or what do you like to do for fun?

• Read, spend time with my dogs, watch movies with my husband, and go to concerts.  
  
  

6) What advice would you give adopters?

• Don’t just disregard a dog because you are so steadfast on a breed.  Sometimes the best dog and the best match for you may be the least one you expect.  And more than anything trust the people at the organization you are applying with.  If we say they are not a match for a reason and suggest someone else to you please understand that it is because we know the dogs under our care best, and what their needs are.  We do not take putting restrictions or requirements on dogs lightly, but do so so that the dog will succeed in its new home.  Our goal is always to have both you and the dog succeed, and their placement be their forever home.  We are happy to suggest alternatives and work with you to find the right fit even if it takes several weeks or months. 
• And also – go to training!!  It doesn’t matter if you have had dogs for 30 years or 3 years – training helps the most seasoned adopters bond with their new dog.  Just like people, dogs are all different.  What worked with you and your one dog may not work with the current one so a refresher is great!  Every relationship is different and every family will be better off!  
  
  

7) What is something about Magnificent Mutts that you want people to know? 

• That we are an all volunteer organization so, we all do this work in between full time jobs and family obligations.  Depending on the day, or time of the year, some of us can devote up to 8hrs (or more) daily doing our roles within the organization.  While we may have specific “jobs” within the rescue the good thing with our team is that any one of us is willing to jump in and help the other complete their tasks.  We all rely on each other a great deal and while it can be quite chaotic sometimes we know the others are there if we need them. 
  
  

8) Tell us your favorite…

song/artist:

• Hard to pick one of each…. but right now Ed Sheeran’s newest album “Subtract” is in heavy rotation in our house.  With “Curtains” being the go to track as we’ve had a really rough 2023 to date personally.
  

tv show:

• Murder or Cooking shows. 
  

movie:

• I’m a huge Jane Austen fan so I love most of the adaptations of her novels especially Mansfield Park, and the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice 
  

food: 

• soup! I know it’s different, but it’s my favorite! 
  

sports team:

• Don’t bother trying to get ahold of me or speak to me during a Purdue Men’s Basketball game!  No, I did not go to Purdue (everyone asks) but my husband did so I was converted about 20 years ago.  Sometimes my obsessiveness for the team even surpasses his. Last season we had tickets to the Big Ten Tournament (March 2023). I was recovering from a major spine surgery that left my right leg not functionable, and caused balance issues.  The morning of the last game of the tournament (Purdue vs. Penn State) I lost my balance, fell, and landed on my left wrist.  When I hit it sounded like someone popped a sheet of bubble wrap.  I told my husband it hurt really bad, but that we should still go to the game.  He wanted to go get it checked out, I said no!  Took some meds, wrapped it and headed off to the game.  3hrs later as the final shot went in and Purdue won the tournament I turned to him and said – we need to go to urgent care on the way home – I’m pretty sure it’s broken!  He was not happy. And sure enough I had broken it, and not just in one place – but two!!