[shell07]

Hey, first I want to say Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

I'll start at the youngest-Junior (Yorkie) is my only "purchased" dog-I got him last year for Mother's day- A handful, but what dog isn't? Love him to pieces!

Max (border collie) was found down the road at a neighbors rental home (renters moved out and left him behind). He was not even a year when we got him-showed up at our house with another dog and never left-the neighbor was going to come get him to take him off our hands but was going to shoot him because he had a bum leg, and could not "herd" to his potential..I told him a thing or two and he hasn't left our home since.

Piper (our rotty) came from a friend who's rotty had an "oops" litter, that she had been trying to give the pups away and was not successful in getting homes for all of them so we caved and took a pup. Her mom was full rotty, and her dad was mostly rotty w/ a bit of wolf.

I know this is not the last of our "rescuing" but we are "on a break" for a while

[Lorina]

Beavis was found stray in New York City and taken to the ASPCA. His left eye was popped out of the socket and too badly damaged to save. The shelter had his eye surgically removed, but he was found to be "barrier aggressive" (not fond of kennels or cages), and they weren't sure if he was adoptable. Dotty, the head of Pekingese Rescue Network Inc, had good friends within the ASPCA who allerted her to Beav's plight. He spent a little time in another volunteer's foster home, then a few weeks fostered with Dotty, before I saw his listing on Petfinder. All in all, it was about two months time between being found as an injured stray, and finding his forever home.

And now he's living proof that it can still be fun and games after someone loses an eye. <--- very appropriate smilie, all things considered.

[Lonewolfblue]

My Betty was left in the cage at the Spokane Humane Society at night, so no info was known about her. Since getting her, we've been working on a few issues, and things are really coming together. But there are times where everything seems to backfire, but then she gets back on track.

She's been in training as well, doing some Obedience mixed in with her Rally-O training. Her recall isn't perfected yet, a long ways from it when other dogs are in view, but perfect with no distractions. She knows several commands as well, both verbal and hand commands.

Recently she's begun some herding training with sheep. It is going very well, and gets along with all the dogs there. This is where she seems to really enjoy and excel the best, so this might be the route we go, of we decide to stop her Rally due to issues. But anyways, all is going good.

[OreosMom1]

I first got Oreo after my husband and I moved to our first Air Force base about 3.5 years ago. We went to the local shelter and picked her out on the spot. The day we got her the people that worked there said that she was due to be put down that day, but she convinced them to hold off for one more day because she was such a wonderful dog. I honestly have never seen another dog with the type of personality Oreo has. If you sneeze she comes running to you "check on you" it seems. When I take her to the vet she jumps in my lap (she's about 45lbs) and hides her head under my arm. She never barks and is the most loveable dog.

Rocky was found the same way. We went back to that shelter a few years later and got him just in time. At the time he was just a puppy and god was he horrible!! But I loved him to death. He chewed everything in the house, and one day I came home to find that he had gotten ahold of one of my feather pillows and there were feathers EVERYWHERE!! I took pictures because I thought it was funny. Rocky weighs 50lbs and thinks he's a lap dog. If something scares him he jumps in my lap and hides his face under my chin. He also LOVES toys. He always has a toy in his mouth. When my mother comes to visit she hides toys for him in her suitcase and he digs through it until he finds them.

[LuckyLabMom]

These stories are great - it's so nice to hear about these dogs finding good forever homes!

I was 'ready' for a dog after many years of wanting one. My co-worker's wife is a groomer who also does some rescue/re-homing of dogs. She's not an official non-profit rescue program yet but hopes to be within the next year or so. She and her hubby have found forever homes for about 200 dogs over the last 10 yrs (and they have a clause that if you can't keep the dog you have to bring it back to them).

I told her about my desire for a dog and we chatted for awhile about what I was looking for. A couple weeks later I got an email saying there was a 2 yr old lab that she wanted me to meet. I thought 'no way' - not the first dog I meet, and not a lab! But I went to her place and met the dog and fell in love instantly. His previous owner was there too, she brought him in to surrender him but wanted to meet the potential new owner. It was a little awkward and not the way they usually do it but the woman seemed to like me. And he was introduced to the groomer's oldest, grumpiest female dog and all he wanted to do was sniff her and lick her, despite her growling, heh - so I knew he'd be okay with other dogs.

She was a single mom with a developmentally disabled son (about 7 or 8 yrS old) and it was all too much for her to handle - especially living in low-income apts. I guess the apt complex asked her to get rid of the dog because there was too much noise/barking. But honestly, this dog barely barks so I think between the child and the dog it was too much and they couldn't obviously ask her to get rid of the child...The son apparently stabbed the dog in the eye recently too requiring surgery to save it, his behavior wasn't very predictable.

I got the impression that there was a shady (abusive?) ex in the picture too, and Chester had some cowering/fear and food issues so I don't really know the whole story. I do know she got him as a puppy out of an ad in the paper so I'm guessing it was a BYB.

Chester stayed at the rescue for a week or so, they got him neutered and updated his shots etc, and then he was ready to move in with me!

Chester is doing great, and I am doing great too, LOL. He is so sweet and loving and eager to please. I couldn't have asked for a more ideal dog - and he is happy and mellow, he's lost his excess weight. I am just so happy and totally in love with this doggie!

[Goggie]

Steel, my golden, was my first dog and purchased from a reputable breeder. I was adamant on the perfect breeder, the perfect dog and did my homework.

Ubi, my boxer mix, is my first rescue. I got him from petfinder. The shelter was asking for someone to foster him from a kill shelter before he was put down. I fell in love with his beautiful mug and wrote emails saying I wanted this boy for a forever home. I got him, sight unseen, on a sunday. He growled at Steel, the two nipped at each other but after that they got on famously.

I think that Ubique was victim to an inexperienced handler. He's trained to sit, but other than that he's almost wild. He's destructive if left alone too long and he isn't housebroken properly. He's terrified of loud noises and brooms. Loves cars, sleeping in bed and walks. He's my work in process, but this happy go lucky boy has wormed his way into my heart. I love him so much and I'm glad that I found him.

[bluedawg]

When I got Blue I wasnt looking for a dog and had never owned my own dog. He was a 5 week old pup posted in the freebies of a local offroad forum, the "foster" was only going to hold him for a week before taking him to the pound. I picked him up at the end of that week, I couldnt let a 6 week old pup go to the pound. They where calling him Bo, I thought he looked sad in the picture posted on the forum so I named him Blue.

I had been keeping the phycho ex roommates dog for a while and decided I liked having 2 dogs, so...

My neighbors found Verde at the local grocery store parking lot. They spent 2 weeks trying to find her owners. At the end of the 2 weeks instead of letting them take her to the pound I took her in. I called her Girl for the first week or so and another dog forum came up with a list of names so I read it off to her and named her the first name she responded to. Verde is spanish for green, hence Perro Verde.

[Darkmoon]

Carter was in 4 homes before he came here at the age of 3. No one at the shelter decided that it was importaint to tell me the dogs real age, how many houses he had been in, ot anything else about his background. Poor guy...

Nubs was an owner release when his owner had to go over seas to Iraq for 2 years. They did a pretty good job raising him, and I'm jsut keeping up the good work.

[Molly&Jack]

We picked Jack up off the side of the road about a year ago. He was frightened and judging by some things we noticed the first few weeks, we think he came from an abusive family. Two months ago, we adopted Molly and she's been growing ever since. Here's a video I took of them today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGLL7k1q3KM

[4dogs3cats]

Originally Posted by Macky

We are adopting a kitty from a no kill shelter. Rodman's been there for 11 years. We are going to "break him out" in a few days after he is over his 10 day antibiotic treatment for some dental work he had the other day.

First of all- that is awesome!

Bailey- was a friend of my SO's in San Diego. Had her and a JRT, and kept bailey in a crate over 12 hrs a day (she was in the navy) Erik brought her home to me when he came home from the Navy.

Moose- So's mom said his brother could get his own dog for his b-day 3 years ago. (His b-day is today actually, and I think we got Moose on the 18th...) So we went to petsmart and adopted Moose, he was there along with his littermates from the humane society. So we brought him home!

Kody- was the first dog I went out and sought on my own. I got him from the paper (and have learned my lesson since,) He is great and aside from a few issues he has, (Which I am almost certain he wouldn't had he come from a good breeder,) I could nopt be happier with the love he gives me.

Chance- Chance is my miracle pup. He is the sole reason I will NEVER get a dog from a BYB. We went to see him and he was pathetic. He was covered in mud, you could see his ribs, he had 6 tics in his ear canal, he had parvo. I, of course, found most of this out the day after I brought him home. The guy I got him from said, "That puppy didnt come with no guarantee, quit caling here!" It is my dream to open my own rescue, and it will be called "Second Chance Animal Rescue."

[918hatch]

This thread is great!!!

We got Sammy when she was about a year old or so in front of a Dollar General store near our house. She had slits on all 4 of her wrists and they thing she escaped from being a bate dog for fighting dogs. She is a great and we love her very much!

[JenTN]

I have wanted a dog for about 8 years, but hubby is not a "dog person". HE actually said back in January that HE wanted a dog. Well, that got the ball rolling!

I was seriously considering a purebred from a reputable breeder, and had found one close by that was planning a (lab) litter in fall. I REALLY had ants in my pants about a dog so I started stalking Petfinder to "see what was listed". There were lots of "oh how cute!" puppies, but nothing that really struck my fancy enough to go look.

Then I logged on one day, did my daily (okay, sometimes hourly, lol) "labrador retriever" petfinder search and up popped the picture of THE cutest puppy, it was the next county over in a shelter, 12 weeks old. I showed her to my DH and asked if he would come look at her with me on Tuesday (this was over the weekend). He said "Why do you need me, you know you want her, look at that face" SO I called and set up an appointment, learning that she had been adopted, but her brother was still available.

I took my sister with me, being one of the least "dog person" people I know, to keep me from getting the wrong puppy for us. More than cuteness, I wanted a dog with a good temperment. We loaded up my two kids, and off we went.

Upon arriving, I found that Bo was the last of the litter of typical lab-looking puppies who were lucky enough to be fostered along with their mommy. Their foster mom brought him to the shelter when I made the appointment, and I met her and 2 of his siblings there.

The minute I saw him I was in looove. He looked nothing like his sister, or any other of his littermates, IMO he was cuter. I said immediately that he looked like he had Great Dane in him, which was ironic because I was torn btwn wanting a lab and a Dane.

My sister looked at him and said "Jennifer, you cannot leave that adorable puppy here, let's take him home". HAHA puppy eyes had swayed even the tough one

I asked to see him and my 6 year old daughter sat on the floor as they opened the crate. He calmy climbed in her lap and let her pet him. I knew he was the one. Basically, he was an "oops" litter but luckily they found a foster mom for him and his family.

I knew with him being a big (he was much bigger than his littermates) black labx with white on him, his chances of adoption weren't as great as other puppies, and this was a kill shleter, so I feel as if we saved a wonderful life that day, one that has brought nothing but joy to our lives.

Now, who could resist this face (these pics taken the day I brought him home)?

[JessC929]

I got my dog from a pet store and I am worried that he might have been from a puppy mill. The pet store I went to looked kind of shady. How can I find out the history of my dog? He is a Silky Poo, are most of these designer dogs from puppy mills? I have heard the terrible stories about these places and it breaks my heart thinking that my dog could have gone through that pain and torture.

[muki89]

A few months after my beloved JRT Charlie was killed by a car, I decided to look for another dog.

Charlie we found wandering around our shop so we took her in. She was only 4 months old, no microchip and no vaccinations. She died at just a little over a year old.

Then we got Candy (Original name Montana, foster carer changed her name) I found her on Winterpaws, a Northern Breed rescue site. I don't know why her old owner gave her up but I'm glad they did. She's one of the best dogs I'll ever had the priveledge of knowing. She came registered, vet checked but not desexed (we desexed her a few months later). Lovely personality, loves to travel (Once she hops into the car, it's hard to get her out) loves to talk, great manners. Just a wonderful dog. Adopting her was the best thing I've ever done.

Saku we got a year after Candy, as a companion for her. Nothing too special about his story. Reputable breeder yadda yadda. Still a great dog.

And while on the subject on rescued pets, I also adopted my cat, Tomo, from my vet as a kitten. She and a few of her siblings were abandoned in a cardboard box in front of the local Salvation Army. Came desexed, toilet trained with a great personality and extremely affectionate. Love my little kitty (Who is now not so little) She's keeping my feet warm this winter when I sleep

[Pegasus]

We have 2 beagles.


Snoopy, our rescue is about 4 now. We were looking for a Beagle for about 6 months in Chicago...we actually just went to the shelter to just look at dogs, walk them, ect.

Then we decided after much research to get a beagle.

We went to the shelter 2-3 times a week, I teared up everytime just seeing those poor dogs, but we where there for a beagle

We walked many, mostly very young or very old

We actually saw Snoopy (former name, Chevy) and he wouldnt look at us, head down, so so skinny and sad...we walked right by him, it was raining and he didnt even look at us....I remember him in the crate thinking "what a sad dog"

2 days later, FI went back and walked Snoopy, didnt even know it was the same dog!! If it wasnt for the name FI would not have known him...He called me and said "he is the one"...he was calm, but shy...not hyper like the others

After much arguement with our Appt complex, we got Snoopy...this was my FI's first dog

He is the BEST dog ever...seriously, he is awesome!! I have never made a better decision in my life than to get Snoopy!! You never know the love of a dog until you get a rescue..and I totally believe that...

[Cooper's Mama]

I wish I knew Cooper's history. I found him on petfinder and the only thing the shelter told me was that he had been living at a foster home. We got him at 8 weeks old, so I don't know where he was born or how long he was at the foster home.