Roxy

Skylar

In Loving Memory of
Michelle Millar,
Dedicated GSRSV Foster Caretaker and Every Dog's Best Friend

The dog world has lost one of its best friends.

On Wednesday, April 29, 2015, Michelle Millar passed away unexpectedly in her home in El Dorado Hills. Michelle's passing is not just a tragic loss to her friends and family (sons Spencer & Parker, husband Alan), but a huge loss to any dog who ever met her (or never met her)--including the two dogs she leaves behind--Roxy and Skylar.

I met Michelle when she came to meet and adopt the 9-yo female GSD/Malamute mix Roxy on September 10, 2011. When her 13-yo Belgian Tervuren mix passed away, Michelle decided to foster a dog for GSRSV. The first dog she fostered was "Aero", in Feb 2012. Like me, Michelle was fond of GSD mixes, even though she admired the purebreds. She ended up fostering eight dogs for GSRSV (pictured above), including "Woo Woo"-- one of my own dogs--when Woo was recovering from knee surgery.

To Michelle, her dogs were every bit a part of her family, and they enjoyed many creature comforts. She constantly went on long walks or hikes in the hills with her dogs, and dog park visits were routine. She and her sons grew close with every dog that she fostered for GSRSV, but selflessly, they refused to keep any of them for they knew that would mean an end to their fostering and their ability to save yet another shelter dog's life. The toughest dog for Michelle to let go of had to be Kona, who she fostered for almost a year. I told Michelle to go ahead and adopt Kona and perhaps she could foster again when Roxy passed away. However, she insisted on keeping Kona available for adoption, and sure enough an awesome family from La Honda came along and adopted Kona in early April.

I will miss MIchelle not only as a mutual dog-lover, but as a good friend. Michelle was a vibrant person, a lover of life, a free-spirit. She lived for good times and her life was full of them. She saw the same unbridled spirit in dogs that was within her, and no doubt that's what attracted her to them. Dogs loved Michelle in turn.

I will miss you Michelle, and I sincerely thank you for providing so many dogs good temporary homes--and loving them all the while. You're free now, no longer held down by the constraints of this material, screwed-up world of ours.

You'll be welcomed by many wagging tails across the Rainbow Bridge.

Brian Foran
April 29, 2014

P.S. If you want to see how deeply Michelle touched the lives of many, many people, and how much she loved her dogs, visit her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/michelle.l.millar.9