Blue Man Dog is celebrating a birthday! Mia founded the non-profit on 23 August 2017. Let's all give a cheer for BMD as it enters its eighth year of rescuing, rehabilitating, training, fostering, and adopting dogs of all shapes and sizes, ages, temperaments, and backgrounds.

If you are on our email list, read our newsletters, and follow us on social media, you've already been introduced to Mia Gyzander. Mia has a lifetime of involvement with animals, and her special interest is in dogs because "they are amazing."

Since its founding, BMD has provided "wrap around services." From shelter consultations, classes and resources, to facilitating fostering and adopting; from teaching basic training and handling for first-time dog owners, to refreshers for the more experienced; from caring for dogs recovering from major and minor medical issues, to working with dogs with severe behavior issues so they become adoptable companion dogs - Mia and BMD do it all.

BMD is small but mighty! It has helped that over the years it has maintained an all-volunteer team. Mia relies on a group of three for communications: social media, videos of adoptable dogs, newsletters, the email list, thank you emails to donors, and outreach to potential foster/adoptive families. Additionally, there's a committed circle of foster families, plus several volunteers who work with dogs in BMD care weekly. This is the "village" that assists Mia.

Mia - and Hillary from A Purposeful Rescue - started Foster For Life (FFL), an in-shelter program at North Central shelter. Part of the FFL team continues to run it, two years on. Now, FosterSouthLA is the focus of some of Mia's expertise and energy. The most overcrowded and impacted City shelter is the beneficiary of a program - run by BMD, A Purposeful Rescue, and shelter volunteers - to get great dogs into homes. We featured FosterSouthLA in our June newsletter.

Over seven years, hundreds of dogs have had a second chance through fostering and adopting. We're always thrilled to hear from our adopters about the great life their adopted dog is living; whether it's in an apartment or a house, as an "only dog" or with dog siblings, or on a 3-acre property with horses and a dog sibling (looking at you, Kayce!). Every adoption story is a success story.

Our capacity is limited, but it's always our goal to rescue as many dogs as possible, expand our number of foster families, educate the public about responsibility for animals, and help people and dogs live a great life together.

Happy Birthday, Blue Man Dog!