This page is a work in progress...if you are a volunteer, please send me your submissions:

sharon.boxermom@gmail.com

Hmmmm...how many years with Florida Boxer Rescue? About 6?  Not really sure - seems like my whole life! My duties include answering the toll-free 888 telephone number 7 days a week, performing home visits prior to adoption, CUR runs and transportation of Boxers to and from vets, etc! I check and post voice messages after hours and also work on fundraisers in my area. 

In addition to FBR, I help out at Hillsborough County Animal Services.

Previously I volunteered at the Humane Society (cleaning cages, washing bowls, exercising dogs, fund raisers) and at Lowery Park Zoo ( I cleaned - with scuba gear on - the manatee area, raked the buffalo pen - they sell the poop so I had to shovel it into wheel barrels (!), cleaned the otter area, and put sunscreen on the pig)!!!

I am a sustaining member of the Junior League of Tampa and have worked on a yearly fundraiser for Hillsborough Community College's Presidential Showcase.  I have worked alongside a local animal activist helping him with his rescue efforts as well.

As far as my "Boxer loving history," my first Boxer was named Honey when I was 2 years old and since then, I've been hooked! I also grew up with a Doberman and in college I dogsat for a friend's Schnauzer for a year, but Boxers have been my breed of choice.

Hello, my name is Janet and I am a foster flunkie! I joined FBR about a year and a half after we adopted Simon in Sept. of 2003 (handsome white boy in picture). I decided I needed to do something more worthwhile

with my life.  I've worked fulltime, raised three children (all grown) and have a husband.  It was time I did something for helpless Boxers. Looking at Simon after I adopted him,  I just couldn't believe someone could do this to a Boxer or any

animal for that matter. Someone just dropped him off at a Petsmart and walked away.  Just left him, no looking back.

I joined FBR as a volunteer in March of 2005 and started out doing CUR runs which I have renamed "Florida Boxer Rescue Limo Service." As time went on I became an area code coordinator in Oct. of 2005.  I still do my CUR runs, but am also a liaison for Best Care Animal Hospital where some of our Boxers are vetted.  I work with some shelters and animal control facilities in my area too.

Fundraising is always fun to do - you meet a lot of people who don't know about the breed or that there was even a rescue organization for Boxer dogs.  I also participate in the educational booths at Petsmart. We educate on vaccines, heartworm prevention, and the importance of spay and neuter. If this was done more often, there wouldn't be so many unwanted animals everywhere you look. We use these educational opportunities to also discuss reputable breeders and the effects of backyard or casual breeding or purchasing an animal from a pet store.

While Veronica handles Southern Pinellas County, I handle Northern Pinellas and Pasco Counties, including call backs, home visits etc... As I stated earlier I am a foster flunkie! Skylar came to us via Quail Hollow Animal Hospital, which is

another animal hospital that vets many of our Boxers. I was just to be a temporary foster home, but three days later, I called the prez and told her the

check and contract were in the mail!! Skylar is my fawn girl in the picture. She was adopted in July of 2005.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

~Janet, Simon, and Skylar

I have been with FBR for almost 4 years.  I became aware of them when I had to put my first Boxer Nina to sleep due to a brain tumor.  She was everything to me and I was lost without her.  I would pull up the FBR website and look at the dogs for adoption for comfort and cry.  One late night I decided to put an application in to volunteer.  I did not think I was ready for another Boxer yet, but wanted to help.  Ashlie came to do my home visit with Jake, a big beautiful Boxer boy.  I fell in love.  I adopted him 2 days later and renamed him Hunter.  I started to do home visits in Sarasota and then came the plea for foster homes.  I drove to Tampa to pick up a scared, heartworm positive, TINY female from Hillsborough Animal Services.  I named her Nala and I proudly say with my very first foster I flunked and adopted her!

My apartment would not allow large dogs anymore and I could not afford to buy a home in Sarasota.   I transferred in my company and moved to Tampa so I could buy a house for Hunter and Nala.  Ironically, I moved next door to Quail Hollow where a lot of our dogs are vetted.

As a volunteer I have done call backs for different area codes, CUR runs, home visits, awareness booths and currently assign the foster dogs their ID numbers.  I  also continue to foster.  I have not flunked anymore but have come close a couple of times.  Fostering is truly rewarding.  I work 6 to 7 day weeks but find time for all my dogs.  My fosters are better with me than in a crate at a vet’s, shelter or boarding facility,  Your heart will never be empty because there is always a Boxer that needs your love and will immediately love you without condition.  You DO save a life when you foster.

My hope is that people learn to love and respect animals as they do us.  No human loves you without condition or forgives you as easily as a dog does.  My Nina taught me things that no human could have ever taught me.  She is the reason I volunteer and all the dogs after her are the reason I always find more time, money and space.

My name is Gwendolyn and I have been volunteering with Florida Boxer Rescue since 2003. I started off cleaning the kennels in Deland, then CUR runs, and moved into home visits, application processing, returning (407) telephone calls and emails, as well as (407) Owner Surrenders and working with Orange & Osceola County Animal Services. 

I had first heard of Florida Boxer Rescue when I was looking for a Boxer; I was amazed there was such a need. I then, along with my boyfriend, adopted Pogo in August of 2000 from Anita in Titusville. She really amazed me with all that she did for all these dogs. After my first Boxer, Kd, died (shared custody with ex-husband), we decided Pogo needed a permanent friend. It was June 2003 when we adopted Princess; she was about 6 years old at the time. After that is when I got into volunteering. Princess lost her life to liver cancer July 2007.

I went to Deland to clean the kennels one day and saw Nori. I have never seen anything like her, all the fur! I went up to Deland on many Sundays while she was there and spent a lot of time with her. Anita knew before I did that Nori would be my dog. Sure enough, October 14, 2005, I took her home. She has been a challenge, to say the least. However, it has been very rewarding training her. She knew nothing when I got her so we started with the beginner class, then intermediate and advanced. Nori then passed her Canine Good Citizenship test earlier this year. In November, she received her certification to be a Therapy Dog. 

I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t volunteer for Florida Boxer Rescue. It can be time consuming and frustrating, but it is still very rewarding. When I place a Boxer in a forever home, it is worth it!

My love of Boxers began when I was a kid.  Shadow was our first boy, a family pet.  He was with us for seven years, but unfortunately died of cancer my freshman year of college in 2000.  It was in 2004 that I was at a dog park in Tallahassee (without a dog mind you), just to enjoy it, when I saw two Boxer puppies with a nice looking couple.  I immediately went over gushing about how I had had Boxers my whole life, and how much I loved them, and they told me that one was for sale.  Well, the rest is history.  I brought her home that day, and named her Maggie.  Having a puppy in college definitely wasn't easy, but we managed.  Shortly after that, I graduated and moved to Tampa.  Finding a job was hard, so I decided to volunteer to get me out of the house and doing something.  That's when I applied to be a volunteer with FBR.  Sandra (not Sandy) came to my then VERY small apartment in South Tampa and cleared us to be volunteers.  My boyfriend Bryan and I then started fostering immediately.  We got through 5 before we became "flunkies" on the 6th one, Kyler.  Due to very rare medical conditions, and a little aggression issue, I decided that Kyler would stay with me forever, so he could be properly looked after.  Although we are not currently fostering, we do try to get involved as much as we can, and hope to foster again one day. 

Working with this group and the dogs, has been one of the most rewarding times in my life; although, of course there is always a little sadness mixed in.  I am truly in love with "my little angels" as I call them, and can hardly imagine my life without them.  No matter what life throws at me, there is NEVER a time when I don't get a smile on my face when I see wiggly stubby butts, and get lots of Boxer kisses.

I’m a newbie with FBR and Boxers in general, really! In June 2007 my lab mix, Foster, passed; I still had my little Miniature Pinscher, Petey,  but I missed having a BIG dog in the house.  I wasn’t ready to get another dog but I decided I’d like to be a foster home—I thought next time there’s a big storm, like Katrina, and 100’s of dogs lose their homes, I’ll open mine up to them.  I was telling a friend about this, who has a Boxer, and he said “you should check out Florida Boxer Rescue’s website,"  which I did and now here I am!

By July, I had my first foster, Betty, who was successfully adopted out to a wonderful furever home.  After only two weeks it was really hard to let her go, but I knew she was going to a great home and that now I could bring in another Boxer in need.

 In August, we took in Kellogg—a handsome, white Boxer who immediately wiggled his way into my heart.  He’s smart, and looks at me like he knows exactly what I’m talking about.  I’m happy to say that I have the pleasure of being his forever foster home—almost a year now--and am loving every minute of it!

I have also started assisting the Adoption Committee and doing home visits, which is tons of fun---getting to meet lots of people who want to help our Boxers.  In addition to meeting prospective adopters, I meet many of the Boxers that come into FBR, either from CUR’s or Owner Surrenders, or visiting them while they are boarded at Lake Seminole Animal Hospital.  I have learned sooo much about the Boxer breed in the last year—and the more I get to know them, the more I’m falling in love!! Aside from being adorable, they’re also funny and have amazing  personalities.  I can’t imagine ever being without one. 

 I was surprised to learn of all the different events FBR hosts and participates in, such as adopt-a-thons, PR tables and fundraisers--I try and pitch in at these whenever I can to help others learn about this great breed, and the importance of spaying/neutering and heartworm prevention.

Volunteering for FBR has been a fun, wonderful, rewarding experience and I look forward to all the opportunities to come—working with other volunteers who are showing me the ropes and helping Boxers find good, responsible, loving homes!

Hello, my name is Lesli.  My husband Harry and I reside in Lehigh Acres.  I am basically new to FBR.  I joined our group in the Fall of 2007.  Boxers have been my passion for over 20+ years now and that passion is still going strong !  I served the position of County Humane Officer in Tuscarawas County, Ohio for 6 years.  My job was to investigate and prosecute all cases of animal abuse and neglect.  However, since moving to Florida, I have become a stay at home Boxer Mom and foster for Florida Boxer Rescue. 

I do have a SPECIAL place in my heart for White Deaf Boxers.  We lost our much loved and sadly missed Tyson (a White Deaf Boy) in Feb. 2007.  Tyson lived to the age of 12.  We were told by our Veterinarian that he would not live to the age of 5.  We recently adopted our new White Deaf Boy, "Briscoe," from Coastal Boxer Rescue.  He is quite a hand full, but is learning sign language quickly. 

Our fur babies consist of 4 Boxers and 1 Lab mix.  I bottle fed two of my fur babies, Marley the Lab mix and Dozer the Boxer.  Marley was only several hours old when he was given to me by a vet clinic. He was from a MISTAKE litter and was to be put down.  He only weighed 8 ounces he is now a "whopping" 100 pounds.  Dozer is the result of an irresponsible breeder.  Her Boxer gave birth to 7 pups and than had problems with the birthing process.  Needless to say, mother Boxer died, leaving 7 Boxer pups to be bottle fed. The breeder had no money to pay for a c-section to save the mother and the 4 pups she was still trying to birth.  End of story, having the passion I do for Boxers, I personally paid for all the Esbilac milk for the 7 remaining pups, paid for the tails and dewclaws to be done and distemper shots given.  Dozer is now a much loved member of our fur kids.  My sister adopted his brother Duke. 

I have also volunteered 20+ years of my life both in Florida and Ohio doing Wildlife Rehabilitation.  My specialty is raccoons. Over the past 20+ years I have bottle fed over 1000 coonie babies and released them back into the wild, where they belong.  I became a licensed Wildlife Rehabber in the State of Ohio (Rescue, Rehab. and Release Wildlife Center) and raised not only raccoons, but fawn, coyote, red fox, squirrels, flying squirrels, opossums, groundhogs, etc. 

I could write a book, I am so blessed to have helped so many creatures in this world.  Guess I was put on this earth for a purpose and that purpose was for animals, both domestic and wild.  I can PROUDLY say that I am a Boxer-Head and always will be !!!! 

Hello Everyone, I'm Amanda. I am proud to be owned by Ory Boy and Bella Bean. I got Ory as a 3 month old puppy when I was in college. He was my first boxer and my first dog. Having a puppy in college was quite a challenge, but I was determined to keep my boy. I am so thankful I did because he brings a smile and more often than not, a giggle every day. Ory is a check colored boxer, which most people have never seen before. But, I assure you, he's all boxer. From the boxer lean, to the kidney beaning to the boxer burns in the back yard. He's got them all down.

When Ory was three years old we decided he needed a playmate so we adopted Bella Bean. She was used for breeding and came to me malnourished and unsocialised. Four years later, Miss Bella is socialized, loves her toys and is a great alert dog for the wind. You can't help but love boxers, and I'm forever in love with them. I've been a volunteer with Florida Boxer Rescue for three short years, but it has made my life worth living. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that a boxer was saved. I couldn't ask for anything better than knowing that.

I've been an area coordinator, grant writer, foster mama and event organizer for this great group. I look forward to many more years with this organization; especially to the boxer slurps!