Our Story
The idea for this podcast was born in the early days of the pandemic, 2020. With Colorado’s Stay at Home order, they had the idea to retrieve some 10 year old notes that they had taken, in the hopes of writing a children’s book someday about their first Collie Missy. (They are still working on that as well, so stay tuned.) After retrieving the notes, and being the avid podcast listeners they are, they wondered if there was a podcast of rescue stories. Finding none, they enrolled in an online podcasting school. They came up with the name from a book Diane had recently been reading, but changed the title slightly. Thus, Who Rescued Whom?, Canine Rescue Tales, was born. For several months, and with the help and support of many friends and family, they launch these stories that they hope you’ll love.
“Dog’s have a way of finding the people who need them, and filling an emptiness we didn’t even know we had.”
Thom Jones, American Writer
Meet Diane & John Thomas
John and Diane have been together 13 years. They owned and operated a Bed and Breakfast in Nebraska for five years, where they found Missy, a two-year old rough sable Collie. Upon first glance, after balking at the idea (because of her full coat), Missy became a daddy’s girl, and she was rescued; she lived with them until the approximate age of 13. They have since rescued Stormy, Jake, Cody, (all seniors at the time of rescue) and now, Rex. They now reside in Colorado where Rex, a tri-colored six-year old Collie keeps them busy and happy. Although partial to the Collie breed, all dogs have a place in their hearts.
Diane Thomas
Diane is a retired educator, musician (singer), and of course, dog lover. Diane has had many jobs in her 58 years. Singing, which took on many landscapes, serving tables, among others, always second, third, and even sometimes fourth, to elementary school teaching. Her teaching career spanned 27 years in the state of Nebraska, then she and John moved to Colorado. The impetus to move west upon retirement was due to her aging parents and their need for assistance as dementia of different types began to take them both over. As a lifelong volunteer in different senior-care areas, she knew it was where she needed to be. So, with John’s full support, off they went. Six years in, they love their little piece of Colorado.
John Thomas
John is a retired military officer and presently works as an aerial applicator and aerial firefighter although he is taking the year off to receive chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. John has two adult children, one lives in Illinois and the other in Kentucky. John grew up with family dogs but it wasn’t until rescuing Missy that he began to really think about the special relationship between dogs and man, particularly “rescued” dogs and man. From their seemingly endless gratitude, to their non-verbal and almost mystical ability to communicate with their human companions, John believes rescued dogs are uniquely special.
Our Rescues
Missy
2006 - 2017 - Rescued in Nebraska at the age of two. She guarded our Nebraska Bed & Breakfast, and moved west with us in 2014. Our Missy Sue!
Stormy
2015 - 2015 - A senior rescued from Rocky Mountain Collie-Sheltie Rescue in Pueblo, Colorado. We knew she was ill and didn’t have much time, but we loved her each and every one of her last 25 days!
Jake
2016-2017 - Another senior rescued from Rocky Mountain Collie-Sheltie Rescue. Jake was the silliest of all our dogs so far, and brought us so much joy! He’d been found dirty, hungry, and lost so we adopted and loved him through the last year and a half of his life.
Cody
2018-2019 - Our third senior rescued from Rocky Mountain Collie-Sheltie Rescue. Cody fell into our hearts so very quickly. He was a gentleman if there ever was one, and for the last year and a half of his life, he brought us nothing but happiness!
Rex
2020 - Present - Rex was adopted in April of 2020. He is another rescue from Rocky Mountain Collie-Sheltie Rescue. He is nearly seven years old and this past year with him has been awesome! He keeps us walking, laughing, and on our toes!
Zoey
2021 - Present - We adopted Zoey in March 2021, again, from Rocky Mountain Collie-Sheltie Rescue. Zoey is the sweetest three year old tri-color rough collie! She is happy, goofy, cuddly, and has become a great addition to our family.