Scott Schneider

I first got to know Jen when she accepted a job as Senior Counsel at Waddell & Reed. I was the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer and both Jen and I worked with the Funds’ Board of Directors on a regular basis. Jen soon learned I had a soft spot in my heart for dogs and that I had just lost my 14-year-old yellow lab. Soon after she began work at W&R, Jen began construction of the Little Red Barn and her vision began taking shape. It was during the construction of the Little Red Barn that Jen and another volunteer, Steph, rescued a little brown boxer named Daisy. Daisy needed to be spade and she needed a huge tumor removed from her stomach. I wasn’t sure I was ready to get another dog yet, but I guess Jen knew. It turns out Daisy and I were meant to be. Daisy needed me and I needed her.

Daisy crossed the rainbow bridge just a few days past our four-year gotcha-versary. I still think about her every day. I would take her to the park every day, lifting her into the back of the Jeep since she couldn’t jump very well. By the time I was seated behind the wheel Daisy would be there to greet me with a lick of her tongue across my cheek before I started the car. I adopted a second dog, Scooby, while I still had Daisy. Daisy hid in the closet for the first couple of days but she finally accepted Scooby and Scooby ended up fiercely protective of Daisy. I’m sure he is still protecting her across the rainbow bridge as he ended up passing of cancer about 6 months before I lost Daisy.

I have three new dogs now, all adopted as a result of my affiliation with A&F. Crush, the matriarch, and Brown Bear and Cowgirl, the rambunctious teenagers. I don’t know what the future holds but I’m sure there will always be a Swifter near by to pick up dog hair because I will always have a dog in my home and by my side.