The Italian Greyhound was not a very popular breed until the last few years. Rescue of needy IGs fell primarily to our national breed club’s IGCA Rescue, funded today by the IG Rescue Foundation (IGRF). Organized rescue had never been open to "breeder's" dogs; the IGs in the puppymills had always been an invisible underclass without advocates or support.
As IG puppies became pet store favorites, the number of dogs needed for commercial breeding increased proportionately. Sadly, so did the number being killed each year when they quit producing. In September 2000, those of us who had been struggling to help them privately decided to combine our efforts and the Italian Greyhound Safehouse Alliance (IGSA) was born.
In April 2005, several volunteers from Midwest IG Rescue joined this cause. Our partnership more than doubled the number of mill survivors that IGSA had been able to rehabilitate and place previously. Our increased capacity, and growing public support, prompted IGSA to apply for IRS 501(C)(3) tax exempt status in 2006.
IGSA's day to day operations are managed by its working Board of Directors, the operative word being "working". This is not an honorary title by any means! To meet them and learn more about their roles in IGSA, click on the tabs below.
Mary Ellen Berger is located in Georgia. She has owned IGs for fifteen years and has been a dog trainer since 1991. She taught Obedience from 1994 until 2002, and has been a Dog Agility Instructor for the Canine Capers Agility Club of Greater Atlanta since April 2000.
Mary Ellen has been a member of the Italian Greyhound Club of America (IGCA) since March 2002. She is currently the IGCA Treasurer, an office she has held since February 2004. She was the IGCA/IGRF Rescue Rep for Georgia from August 2000 until December 2004. She also works tirelessly as an IGCA/IGRF fundraising volunteer as she has for the past six years.
Mary Ellen has been with IGSA since its inception. She has probably worn out several mini-vans transporting IGs to safe houses, often assisted by her able navigator/sidekick/daughter, Nora. She operates one of our rehab homes and acts as IGSA’s liaison with the IGCA/IGRF. (Visit www.kingvin.org to see Mary Ellen’s available IGCA/IGRF dogs.)
Mary Ellen can be contacted at MEB@igsafehouse.org.
Loni Corner lives in Northern California. She has been devoted to dogs all her life, and still volunteers with local shelters and internet rescue groups. She fell for IGs nine years ago when she took in a pair of homeless older boys so that they would not have to be separated; one of them had PRA.
Loni adopted her first mill survivor from Addie’s Safehouse in 1999. In August 2001, she and her husband flew to Tennessee to add two more adopted IGs to their family. They returned to California with one girl stashed safely under each of their seats on the airplane. One was an IGSA mill mom and the other a rescue adopted from IGCA/IGRF.
Loni has been with IGSA from its inception. She is a past Treasurer and has been the Corresponding Secretary since 2004. She helps with fundraising, oversees the Paypal account, and routes adoption inquiries to other rescue groups when IGSA does not have a suitable dog or the applicant lives outside of our placement areas.
Loni can be contacted at LMC@igsafehouse.org.
Shannon McClure is in West Tennessee. She bought her first IG puppy from a local hobby breeder in 1992 and finished him, then three more, in AKC Conformation showing. In 1997, a shell-shocked brood bitch culled from a backyard breeding operation joined their family. This experience led her to volunteer with a Missouri rescue, thereby gaining access to IGs in the mills.
In 1998, Shannon acquired ten year-old Vore’s Bluver from the cull pen after an auction.
Bluver became "Adeline", and Adeline became the motivating force behind Addie's Safehouse, a private IG rescue for discarded mill dogs.
Shannon is also a published dog writer and was co-founder of the IG Times breed magazine; she was the managing editor and a contributing writer through the summer of 2005. In 2006, she received the Maxwell Award from the Dog Writer's Association of America for Touched By A Spaniel, an article which also received the ASPCA's national Humane Issues Award in 2006.
Shannon is a charter member of the Mid-Atlantic IG Club, and has been with IGSA since it began. She currently serves as Treasurer and, occasionally, as a special needs rehab home. She works on fund-raising, notably on the annual Biggie Iggie Auction which is the primary fundraiser for both IGSA and IGCA/IGRF. She also writes the content and does the text and image editing for the website.
Shannon can be contacted at LSM@igsafehouse.org.
Julie Payne lives in south central Missouri. An avid dog lover, she has owned IGs for fourteen years and has been rescuing them just as long. She became the IGCA Rescue Rep for Missouri in December 1998, and assumed the additional role of IGCA/IGRF Regional Advisor in August 2005.
Julie has been a moving force behind IGSA from day one. Living in the middle of the puppy mill capital of the world, she was opening her home and heart to discarded mill survivors before most of us had ever heard of their plight. She is an IGSA rehab home and works as a fund-raising volunteer. Watch for her beautiful couture dog coats in the next BIA! (Visit www.moig.petfinder.com to see Julie’s available IGCA/IGRF dogs.)
Julie can be contacted at JP@igsafehouse.org.
It is ironic that Carol Sumbry appears last in this alphabetical list. By all rights she should appear at the top! She is located in Southern Wisconsin and has lived with sighthounds for over half of her life. She has been fostering and placing retired racing Greyhounds for eighteen years, and is currently a volunteer for Greyhounds Only, Inc. and a foster home for WRAP (Whippet Rescue and Placement).
Carol is an IGCA member and has been an IGCA volunteer for ten years. She is presently the IGCA/IGRF Rescue Rep for Wisconsin. She is also a ten year member of Midwest IG Rescue which serves Wisconsin, Illinois, and the greater Chicago area.
Carol has a natural way with dogs. She has been an Obedience Instructor at For Pet's Sake for the past six years. Her own IGs and Whippet (all rescues) enjoy therapy work, agility, and lure coursing. In fact, she is hardly ever seen in public without at least one dog in tow, whether she is headed to work, canine massage class, the Petlicious Dog Biscuit Bakery or her mom's house!
Carol has always had a soft spot for old mill moms but it was a discarded stud dog from a Missouri mill who truly stole her heart and prompted her to become involved with IGSA. Thanks to "Teddy", she is an active rehab home and manages IGSA’s intake, placement and transport activities. She also does event planning and fundraising in Wisconsin and the Chicago area. (Visit www.midwestigrescue.com to see Carol's available IGCA/IGRF dogs.)
Carol can be contacted at CLS@igsafehouse.org.
