Many people in the New Boston/ Goffstown community know Ross Norwood as the owner of Canine Commitment in New Boston. What they don’t know is who she really is. So, who is Ross Norwood?

Ross Norwood likes to call herself  “partially an army brat” because she is the youngest daughter of an U.S soldier. Growing up, Ross moved a lot. Before the age of 13 she lived in New Mexico, California, Brazil, North Carolina and finally landed in Texas for many years. During her childhood, she had dogs who moved around with her everywhere she went. She used to enjoy taking her puppies for rides on her bike by putting them in the little basket up front.  Ross has always had a passion for animals and that was what lead her to run her dog rescue Canine Commitment. However, she never set out to start a dog rescue. In fact, she wanted to be a history professor while growing up.

In college she had a profound interest in writing and History. She studied abroad in England where she met her husband. After college she worked in PR & Marketing and worked at the Texas Beef Company for many years. Which is a little ironic because she is a vegetarian. Later, she got married to her college sweetheart Scott. Her husband had a job in New Hampshire, so she  moved to New England. She’s lived in New Hampshire for 18 years now and she loves living up north because of the different seasons.

Ross has two daughters,  Jamie and Annie. Jamie is 14 and a freshman at Goffstown High school and Annie is 11 and in the fifth grade.  Jamie describes her mom as “a funny, caring mom”, and most people who know her can agree. She also has 4 dogs, 4 goats, and a cat. Her dog Cora was adopted from a rescue called Canine Commitment in Maine. Soon after Cora was adopted, Ross  opened Canine Commitment in New Hampshire and began her long journey in dog rescue.

10 years ago Ross started to get involved in rescue because she felt that it was “very important to help out” and she loves the feeling of knowing that she “has the resources to help out in desperate times”. Most of the dogs that come from the south, and unfortunately, they come from a sad past. Knowing that she has the resources to help give a dog a better life is the most rewarding part of running her dog rescue.  While first starting her rescue, there were many challenges Ross went through. She never had a background in any type of medical field, and had a lot to learn about things such as vaccines. “I really had to learn along the way, it’s a steep learning curve.” she said. But with determination and support, Ross is now running a very successful rescue. Canine Commitment has saved just over 700 animals in the past year and about 5,500 over the course of a few years. Not only has Canine Commitment rescued dogs, but they’ve rescued cats and even one pig.

The dogs are “amazing, resilient, and so accepting and happy” and inspire her the most. Ross loves to spend time with the dogs and always puts 100% of her time into her rescue. She is hard-working and always has her hands full between the rescue and her kids. When she does have free time she enjoys reading and going on vacations , but for now Canine Commitment is her priority. “My mom felt strongly about doing something to make the world a better place, and  that probably rubbed off on me”, Ross is definitely contributing to making the world a better place. She is one of the most kind, benevolent, hard-working person you could ever meet.