Meet the Royal Court
Our Board of Directors . . .
Bambi Hartman -
Director & Event Coordinator
Hi there, I am Bambi Hartman. Not only am I the Director of Regal Dane Rescue, I am also the Event Coordinator.
I got my first Dane, Bella, in March of 2009 after seeing a beautiful Harlequin Dane in the Will Smith movie ‘Seven Pounds’. I knew I had to have one. Bella was an amazing girl and a learning experience, since I dove in head first, not knowing anything about the breed. Because of her, I got involved in Great Dane Rescue.
I have been part of rescue for going on 10 years, and I love it. Knowing that I can make a difference in the life of a Dane is very rewarding. I lost Bella to renal failure on Christmas Day 2018, but she will live on in my everyday work with the rescue.
A Fun Fact about me, I love quilting. I have made numerous quilts and my first quilt block that I entered in a contest, won. It was made into a quilt along with the other blocks that were entered. As part of the contest rules, I had to donate the quilt to a charity. That’s when I looked into finding a Great Dane Rescue to donate the quilt to. So I guess we can say that my Rescue Life started with Bella and a Quilt. Two of my greatest Loves.
Director & Document & Website
Kelly Hannah -
Hi I'm Kelly. I am the website and document designer for Regal Dane Rescue.
I have always had dogs in my life and about 3 years ago, I had to say goodbye to my oldest living dog (Scrappy), who lived to 18! Scrappy wasn't a Dane, but when she left a huge empty hole in my life, I wanted to open my home to dogs in need. I was curious about Great Danes.
I have fostered a couple of Danes while being part of the rescue. One of them, got really sick and was diagnosed with diabetes. She became a Forever Foster and I adopted her. She was with me only for a little while longer, as the diabetes took her too soon.
Administrator
I have since adopted Woody, a harlequin, who I fostered for a short time and then knew I wouldn't let anyone else have him! I also foster Marie, who is shown in my picture. Marie is deaf and has a slight spinal deformity. She couldn't walk when she first came to us, so we had her fitted for a wheelchair. She ran around in that thing like it wasn't even there! She can now walk on her own without any help, and run around the yard like any other fully functional dane. I volunteer my time to build and update our website, our newsletter, the Regal Dane Dish, and all of the rescue's documents. I attend events, pick up donated food and transport dogs.
It is very rewarding to me to see Danes rescued from very bad situations, and having them come around and not be so afraid, seeing them flourish with training and the love they show after being shown love themselves.
A Fun Fact about me, I am a puzzle monger! I love puzzles, whether they be my job (which is similar to a programmer), or WordBrain, Sudoku or Kakuro! Number puzzles just tickle me!!
Our Committee Members . . .
Stephanie Wirthman -
Assistant
Since I started with Regal Dane in 2019, I’ve fostered, helped with fundraisers and events, and learned so much about the breed!
I’ve also learned that there’s wayyy more to rescue than I originally thought! It takes a special person to rescue, and we have an amazing team full of people who volunteer their hearts and time to this cause. It’s refreshing to be around people who don’t see them as “just dogs” and truly care about what’s in their best interest.
I’ve recently started my own Professional Organizing company, so I haven’t been as available as I was previously. But I try to continue to advocate for the breed and help out wherever I can!
I’ve fostered a total of seven Danes/Honorary Danes during my time with Regal Dane Rescue. Five of which are now living their best lives in their Paw-fect homes (two decided their home was here with us 😊)! I truly believe that it’s better to cry knowing your foster is going to live their best life with another family, than to cry because no one stepped up to try and save them! Fostering is HARD, but our hearts break a little so theirs never has to again. 💕🐾