Success Stories

                            " Jonsey"

Let me tell you about Jonsey. He is a very special Chihuahua. What makes him so special,? well he survived a puppy mill for 4 years. That is never an easy feat for ANY dog.

    Puppy mills are not a good place for ANY animal. The dogs tend to live in very small wire cages, in dark, swanky barns, the cages are barely big enough for one dog, but they normally have two dogs in one cage. A male and a female, then if they have pups, the pups get to live with their parents for a few weeks, till they are pulled.
And then the male does his job and the female is pregnant again, the female NEVER gets any breaks, they are bred from the time they are old enough until the time, they no longer produce.

Jonsey was subjected to this treatment as well. These dogs live amoungst themsleves. They live day to day, not knowing what will happen in the next moment. They are treated worse than livestock, they are NEVER handled, they are never spoke kindly to, they are never touched, except to grab at them to give shots, sometimes, or to check for abnormalities. They do not get petted, they do not get treats, they do not getout of those wire cages, they never feel the ground, grass, carpet, nothing but wire.
    No one speaks kindly to them, they do not get very good food.
But yet they are expected to produce.

    Jonsey came to us over 6 months ago.
I had to feed him can food sitting on the floor, and putting the can food in front of him, and avert my eyes, I was not allowed to look at him while he ate.
I was not allowed to touch, at all, he would shiver and shake so much, I thought he would have a heart attack, literally.

I was not allowed to put my hands on him for the first two months.
If I wanted to pet him, I had to climb in his crate, and force myself to pet him, while he would shiver and shake, and look totally terrified. I had to show him, that I would never ever hurt him, that he could trust me. I did this everyday for two months.
Until he finally allowed me to pet him, outside of the crate.

   We put a harness on him, so that we could introduce him to the outside, he would again, shiver and shake, he eyes would get so wide, I got to hate that look, it was a look of PURE fear. A fear that only a human could give him. It was at those times, that I am very glad that I do not live near a mill operation farm, for I know what I would have done to the people who had done this to this little dog.
      After awhile Jonsey got to use to grass, between his toes, and he got to like it, he learned to do his business outside, he learned that grass is sometimes good to eat.
He also learned that carpet is very soft and it does not cut his feet like the wire did. He learned that carpet is great for when you have an itch, the carpet will help you itch it.

He learned to trust me a bit more everyday.
He learned what a treat was, that took a bit for him to figure out
but once he did, he now loves treats.

Stella

Stella is the only dog so far in all the dogs we have had with us, that did not like me at first meeting, this was not a good thing. She was an owner surrender and the owner did not tell us that she was dog aggressive, crate aggressive and NEVER socialized. She did not make a good 1st impression on anyone. She attacked a smaller dog, so she was given a second chance and brought to another foster home, we then found out she was crate aggressive, so much that we almost had her put down, she was given the opportunity to stay around for a bit longer to see if we could find another rescue willing to work with her, OR she would be friendly enough for us to work with her. After a few weeks in a outside kennel, she was given a 3rd chance, and I guess the 3rd time was the charm, she was put in one last foster home, to see if she would be able to be worked with or we would have to make the ultimate decision of putting her down. Stella showed us that while she does not like smaller dogs and will attack, she can be a good girl. And yes, she finally let me be her friend. And after all of this, can you believe we found someone to be her new companion, she has been adopted, and we we will follow her accomplishments, with her new owner.

Sandy

Sandy is a beautiful yellow lab, that was found in the middle of interstate 696 in Warren. She was literally chased off the highway by a truck. She was chased to a Bird Rescue, not far from the highway. The Bird Rescue called us to come help the dog. We never say no to dogs that need our help. We went and picked up the dog, we named her Sandy. We immediately took her to the vet, as we feared the worse. We had her x-rayed, had them take blood tests, and give her a thorough examination. She had puncture marks on her in a couple different places on her body, she had a skin condition, and she needed some weight. We took her to her new foster home, and began her treatments to heal her body and we could only hope that we could heal her soul, as well. Sandy had an allergic re action to fleas, so we had to bathe her in medicated shampoos, and give her medication daily. After a few short weeks, we felt that Sandy had gained enough weight to be spayed, but lo' and behold, Sandy was pregnant. She really did not need this new complication, but we embraced her condition, we treated her like she was Gold, we prepared for the babies that would be coming, we took her to a new foster home that would care for her and her newborn pups, But Sandy had another hurdle to climb, she hemmoraged and she ended up losing the pups and almost lost her own life. We took her to the vet and hoped for the best outcome. Snady survived, but sadly her pups did not. So we had her spayed then brought her home to allow her to heal yet again. Sandy has gone thru alot, and after a few weeks we had to find her the absolute best family to love her forever, and guess what??? We found the best family ever. Sandy walked into their home and she knew this was HER new home, she made herself comfortable, and we knew she approved of our choice. She deserves all the happiness in the world, she has EARNED the right. Sandy we will miss you, but we know you are now Happy!!!!!

Sarah

Sarah was given up because her family got divorced. She was given to a younger family member, who soon lost interest in Sarah, after a period of time, the family contacted us, and asked if we could take her in and find her a new owner. Sarah was a lovely lady, we had her groomed, as she had lots of mats. We took her in got her up to date with the vet, and was told that she was overweight. this sometimes happens when folks over compensate for the pet. Sarah was placed in a foster home, and settled right down, she loved the attention she received, liked her new pals. Sarah was adopted by a family that wanted a companion for their already mature pet. Sarh is now settled in her new home, and she enjoys the attention that she gets on a daily basis, she has two girls to keep her on the go. Just because a dog is older, does not mean that they can not still make a great pet and companion. Sarah has manyyears to give and receive.