Published: June 23, 2009 05:13 pm      

Poodle adoption brings blast from the past

AVON — When Thad Everling adopted a standard poodle named Hoosier, he didn’t realize it was already a member of the family.

Everling and his daughter, Lorna Stevens, have been fans of poodles for years. When Stevens was younger, she showed a standard poodle named Tricia in 4-H. At that time, Everling had his own poodle named Jordan.

The family had been Plainfield residents for years and took the animals to be trained through the Hendricks County 4-H program.

“We were on 27 television shows over a seven-year period,” Everling said. “We would take them to nursing homes and teach kids about how to care for their dogs.”

Over the years, the animals appeared on such shows as “Duffy’s World,” “The Jim Gerrard Show,” “The Cowboy Bob Show,” and several others.

“I can remember being on with Debbie Knox and Ray Rice,” Everling said. “But most of the time we worked with Channel 40.”

He said they were featured in area newspapers including the Hendricks County Flyer and the non-defunct Indianapolis News during the 1980s.

Everling and his wife June adopted Hoosier through Indianapolis Poodle Rescue.

“My wife and I had three interviews with them before adopting Hoosier,” he said. “It was almost like adopting a child.”

He said the process made him feel good about the organization and what it’s trying to accomplish.

“When we got Hoosier, he had been badly abused,” Everling said. “We worked hard to get him back in shape. He is very good with kids.”

Hoosier is now 10 years old and has been with the Everling family for the past five years. The family lives on the west side of Indianapolis.

Everling said his daughter commented that Hoosier reminded her so much of her dog, Tricia.

“It was not ‘til then that I really looked at the papers and found out they both were decedents of the same line,” he said.

Everling and Hoosier are good friends and enjoy spending time together and with Everling’s grandson, Alex Stevens, who is Lorna’s son.

“I just think it’s neat that they are both descendants,” Everling said. “Hoosier enjoys going for rides in my convertible.”

Alex said he thinks it’s “neat” that his mom used to go on television and talk about her pets.

“I love animals too,” he said. “I have a dog named Sweet Pea. He’s a boxer and lab mix. And a beagle named Susie.”

Everling said he just hopes to encourage other people to adopt animals.

“You can adopt about every breed of dog,” he said. “There are lots of good dogs out there looking for somebody.”

For more information about Indianapolis Poodle Rescue, call 541-9202, e-mail to Indianapolispoodlerescue@gmail.com, or visit the website at www.indianapolispoodlerescue.org.



brenda.holmes@flyergroup.com