In a world where we are seeing so much violence done to dogs every day, one little girl is making her mark in a positive way -
bookmarks, to be exact.
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7-year-old Tegen Rhind of Regina, Saskatchewan, was saddened to learn about a local dog who had been
shot with an arrow and was in need of help with his medical bills. Tegan and her family have two rescue dogs of their own and are staunch supporters of rescuing and the #adoptdontshop movement. When we spoke with mother and daughter, they told us they have been active fosters in the past and hope to be again when they have more time and space.
Tegen, 7-years-old, with her dogs Archer (left) and Akeela (right)Tegen has recently been learning to sew from her mother Brie, and she got the idea that they should sell the bookmarks they are making to raise money and contribute to Arrow's medical fund at
CC RezQs Regina.
The stray was found on someone's back steps with an arrow through her back that just missed her spinal cord by a fraction of an inch, and was rescued by CC RezQs Regina to receive medical care. The Shepherd-Husky mix is now healing in a foster home and the rescue informed us that she is already very loved, but will be made available for adoption once she is fully recovered. (That is, if her foster family doesn't adopt her first!)
Arrow when she was found (left), and after the bolt was removed (right)Brie told her daughter about the story because it is a cause close to their hearts, and she told
The Regina Leader-Post:
I've never believed in not sharing things with [Tegen] for the fact that they might be too gruesome or whatnot, because that's her society and she needs to know the world in which she's growing up."
Tegen hasn't always been such an avid reader. She was struggling with her reading last year, so the family created a system that had Tegen reading a total of 170 books. By the end, she was reading chapter books every night and had found a love of reading.
We asked what her favorite book is at the moment, and unsurprisingly she is enjoying the
Magic Puppy series, but she even reads her mom's college sociology textbooks!
She is mad at the person responsible for harming Arrow because it "was not nice," and she wants to help "lots of dogs." Tegen told
BarkPost that she would like to be a dog trainer someday and we think she sounds like she would make a fantastic one with all that heart.
While Brie does most of the sewing, she says Tegen has a great eye for detail and does most of the pattern and color matching on the bookmarks. She even decided to create some with a less floral appearance because "some boys probably don't want flowers on their bookmarks."
They have created as many as 38 in a full day, and after the overwhelming response have met their goal of $1000 for Arrow! Brie told us that she never expected such a response - they just wanted to help a dog in need.
A sample of the beautiful, hand-crafted bookmarksThe ladies are catching up on their current order of 68 bookmarks, but plan to make a few extra to sell at the
March Madness Craft and Trade Sale on March 20th in Regina. CC RezQs Regina will also have a booth set up to educate more about adoption, fostering, and volunteering to help these dogs, so if you are near the area stop by.
Stephanie Senger of the rescue told us that they feel very optimistic about the future of strays having kids like Tegen getting involved at such a young age. Tegen and Brie have sold their bookmarks, priced at $15 apiece, all over Canada, down to LA, and even across the pond as far as Scotland! They have also received donations as well, so we thank all of the kind-hearted people out there contributing to this cause.
Sadly, Tegen and Brie will be taking a break from making bookmarks so that Tegen can focus on her school work, but they look forward to picking up again during summer break. Brie is a very proud mama, stating:
I think a lot of kids nowadays are very short-sighted in seeing the world... To see her seeing an issue in society and trying to help as much as she can, by doing what she can, makes me extremely proud of her."
We couldn't agree more, Brie! Tegen is very inspiring to us all that you can get involved at any age and make a difference in these dogs' lives.
CC RezQs surprised Tegen at school with a special visit from Arrow
Be on the lookout for more bookmark sales to come by following Bookmarks for Rescue Dogs on
Facebook. In the meantime, you can get involved by adopting, donating, and/or volunteering at your own local shelters. If you would like to donate to CC RezQs Regina to help Arrow and many other dogs like her, you can do so on their website
here and be sure to follow them on
Facebook as well!
Featured Image via Brie Rhind/Bookmarks For Rescue DogsSources: Regina Leader-Post 
