Cheers for Volunteers

You order & Holly hops to it!

By Randy Hayes
Copyright © 2012 Kerry Blue Terrier Foundation

Have you ever wondered what happens when you order “something Kerry” from the Foundation? Well, in a word, Holly happens.

Holly Monahan occupies a very special place in our Cheers Hall of Fame. Not only has she been involved in accepting rescued KBTs, Holly is the one who manages all the items sold by the KBT Foundation. She keeps the inventory, gets the orders, ships out the materials and keeps that part of the organization running in good order.

Holly cuddles with her two rescues: on the left,
Miss Annie (rescued in 2005), and on the right
Guinness (rescued in 2004).

The Monahan family was blessed with their first KBT, Sullivan, 16 years ago when he was just two years old. She says that Sullivan was an awesome dog that she still misses to this day. Like many KBT’s, he really “didn’t understand that he was a dog,” she said.

Holly got involved in rescue efforts when she moved to PA from MN seven years ago. They lost Sullivan within a few months of the move as he had been ill. Holly had been a follower of the KBT Foundation and realized they had a rescue program and knew she needed another Kerry as “life was too empty without another Kerry.”

Holly filled out the adoption questions and within a few weeks “we were lucky enough to get Guinness.” Holly writes, “Through the adoptions of our two rescues I met people within our KBT community and helped out as I could. I have in the past done evaluations of potential homes for adoptions, helped transport a few dogs to new homes and screened adoption requests.”

Like many of us, Holly fi rst found the foundation when looking for KBT information on the Internet. About six years ago she saw a notice from Foundation Director John Van den Bergh that he was looking for someone to help with mailing the items for the KBT Foundation. She applied and the rest is history!

Here’s how the order process works: Holly receives the orders on-line. She prints out each order and keeps them in a fi le. Within a few days of receiving the orders, she packages the items and takes them to the post offi ce to mail.

She also has a small area in her basement that is dedicated to storing the Christmas cards/note cards/magnets/collar & leads/ coins/calendars and all the envelopes for mailing! Holly says that her favorite items are the note cards and the collar & leads.

“I like the note cards because they can be used for just about any occasion when sending a note to someone and the collar/ leads are unique. “

Currently, Holly has two Kerries: Guinness is a seven-year-old who came to the Monahan’s at four months from the KBT Foundation rescue. Guinness is big for a Kerry, weighing about 45 lbs. He is very mellow, thinks he should be a lap dog and tolerates their female Kerry.

Annie came from the KBT Foundation rescue a year later. She was four months old, afraid of men, wouldn’t eat but took to Guinness right away and he helped her overcome many of her fears. Now, Annie pretty much thinks she runs this house. She is 31 lbs of pure KBT.

Holly did have another rescue. Maggie was rescued from a foreclosed home in Toledo, OH and was very neglected and in bad shape when she arrived. She was 13 1/2 and lived to be 15 before she passed. She had many ailments and was a demanding old girl. “But we loved her and she was treated like a Queen in her retirement here with us,” Holly said.

Holly enjoys doing her part to help raise money for other KBT Foundation rescues. Actually, Holly is helping in a great many ways and we salute her efforts.