Whenever modified driver Brett Kressley wins, a homeless German shepherd wins, too. For every victory he donates to the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue to cover the cost of one adoption.
Kressley’s own German shepherd, Diesel, came from the rescue organization four years ago.
“Diesel is an excellent dog,” Kressley, of Orefield, Pennsylvania, said. “An elderly lady bought him as a puppy. When the woman developed health problems, she could no longer take care of Diesel. My mom was volunteering at the rescue and connected me with them and that is where I found Diesel.”
Diane Buhl founded the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue in New Ringgold, Pennsylvania. Buhl’s mother, Charlotte, taught her daughter how to raise and train dogs for the Leader Dog program for the blind.
Buhl’s love and knowledge of German shepherds led to the founding of Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue. The organization has accepted dogs from at least nine states and gave them clean, modern, spacious kennels and needed care until they found their new families.
“These dogs could be hardship cases — abandoned or dumped by previous owners,” said Kressley. “Others are separated from unknown owners in natural disasters. Sometimes it is a good scenario — a dog doesn’t work out in a household, where changes in the family situation, like a new baby, prevents giving a dog the attention needed. These owners prefer to have the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue properly place the dog with a new family.”
This season Brett Kressley has won seven times. Five of those victories came at Grandview Speedway, including last weekend, and two came at Big Diamond Speedway. Because of those wins, seven German shepherd owners have had their adoption fees waived thanks to Kressley’s donations.
“I’ve found that people who aren’t even a fan of me will celebrate with us when we win because of the donations we have made,” Kressley said. “Everyone loves dogs. The other drivers and the fans are touched by what the Char-Wills German Shepherd Rescue is doing for dogs.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
