So, who's adopted an animal from the shelter? Share your story!

[Modem Butterfly]

We've adopted four dogs from the shelter. Our first was a Chow who had been there for over three months. We adopted him in part because he was near the end of his "adoption period", meaning it was nearly time to make the long walk home. We named him Szechuan. He was a smart dog who liked to play hide and seek. Once, he chased our cat, caught her, licked her from head to toe, turned her over, licked her stomach and then wagged his tail as she ran away from home. He was mowed down by a Freeper who owned a rental property in our neighborhood. I still can't stand to see a loose dog running near the street.

While Szechuan was alive, we adopted a female Chow puppy from our vet. She was also a shelter rescue, but her owners fed her cooked chicken bones which perfed her belly. They didn't want to pay for the surgery necesseary to save her life, so they told our vet to put her down! She was only six months old. We named her Tsing Tao, and she's sitting at my feet right now. She giggles when she gets excited and she loves to sleep between my partner and I. Once, in her puppyhood, she burrowed her way into the box spring of our guest bed. She was so damn pleased with herself that I couldn't be mad.

After Szechuan died, we adopted a sickly little Shar-pei we named Wei Cheng. He was about half his ideal weight and had been used as dog-fighting bait, so we had extensive vet bills. He filled out nicely. He always smiled when he slept, as though he knew he scored. He liked to sleep next to my head and chew on my hair. He died of an aneuryism in his sleep a couple of years ago. He was still smiling.

After Wei died, we adopted another Shar-pei. He had been grazed with a shotgun wound. His name is Hotai and he's a real pain in the ass. He's got terrible separation anxiety, so much so he can't bear to be alone. He's got a lot of energy and is even able to jump over our 6' fence. He likes it rough- the harder you spank him, the more he likes it. He's Mommy's li'l Masochist.

[blue neen]

1. Hendrix.

That's his name.

We adopted a grey tabby kitten last May from the local shelter. He was sleeping in a cage there in his litter box. His two sisters had already been adopted. I took him out to take a look at him, and he stole my heart.

He's affectionate (except to our other cat, who he terrorizes), humorous, smart, and beautiful. Hendrix has made our lives fuller.

[CornField]

2. Two rescues (so far)

Myst... quite possibly a Maine Coon... was tossed out in the middle of winter. When she was found, she was close to death. She was at the shelter for several months before she was healthy enough to be placed up for adoption. We brought her home in December of 1995. She still has a few "issues," but is mostly a nice companion.

Cleopestra was from a litter that was dumped at our vet's office. She's a mess -- spoiled absolutely rotten. :)

[Bronco69]

3. We have adopted 3 in the last 5 years.

The first one, Daisy, was found walking along a country road all by herself. When the man who found her followed her "home" he found that she was sleeping in an old car in a junk yard. He took her to our vet and we adopted her from him. I fell in love with Daisy. She loved to have you pick up her hind legs so she could walk only on her front ones. In fact, when she wanted to play that way she would walk up to you and turn around. :-) We decided Daisy needed a brother so we adopted Duke (his name was Elliott, but I didn't like that name for him so I changed it). Duke was living in a small wooded area and was being fed by school kids until animal control could rescue him. Well, Daisy died a couple of years ago from a heart defect and we were watching the news and they did a story on a dog that had been dipped in boiling water and was burned so bad that she would never grow hair on her back legs. We applied (along with a lot of other people) to adopt her and that's how we got Annie. Annie has become quite a handful, but we love them all. :-)

[Skittles]

27. OMG.......Bronco

amazing stories *sniff*

[sbj405]

4. 2 adopted boys - a Chow and a Shar Pei mix

My Chow was adopted out by a rescue group when his shelter time was up. He'd been an abuse case. I never found out the details, but he's shown no signs of abuse. I was his foster mom. He arrived to me looking a little ragged. He'd had entropian surgery and was neutered, ie a shaved face and other parts. I didn't think I'd be able to adopt him due to my work. I tried and tried to get him adopted. Multiple events, used to take him out walking etc. Everyone said "What a great dog, but . . ." He was big, black, hairy, and male. Eventually, I found a family, the perfect family to adopt him. It was then that I realized, I could make it work and he could be my dog. I guess I'm what they call a failed foster mom.

Having a big, black, hairy, male dog I set out to find the opposite. Gosh darn it, I was getting a smaller, female, short haired, non black dog. I headed to the toughest shelter I could find (DC Animal control, btw). A certain dog caught my eye. He gave me "the look", you know - the puppy eyes. He was in fact - big, black, male (short hair - so I got one out of four criteria).

They're great. Two opposite personalities, but I can't imagine what would have happened to them if they'd stayed at the shelters.

[hollywood926]

5. My cocker spaniel (Winston) had just passed away and...

I was depressed for quite some time and decided that the only way to snap out of it was to volunteer at a "no-kill" shelter. So I got there and the lady showed me around and there was this little black cocker spaniel who had been brought in earlier that day - dumped off by a family because she didn't go with the new couch or whatever.

She was so depressed. A few hours later, she was in my car with her head out the window and her ears blowing in the wind - and I had a big grin on my face for the first time in weeks.

Here she is. Her name is Lucy and she's a Democrat.

[uppityperson]

6. 2 dogs, 2 cats

First dog, 20 yrs ago, was the best dog ever. Aussie shepherd mix we think, very smart, very sweet, amazingly fast and agile and loving. He was about a yr, that bad age for dogs when they're still puppies but dog sized and people think "he'l never grow up I can't deal with this off to the pound". He had a conscience too, led another puppy up over the fence out of the yard once. The puppy got hit and killed by a car and he hid in the neighbors bushes for hours before slinking home.

3 cats, 2 tuxedo cats, one from a shelter and one a rescue from a person who recued her outside a grocery store from some young men who were going to take her home and get her drunk or high or some such, one calico who wanted to be the only cat in the world but was a really good traveler and liked to snuggle under the covers with me which I really appreciated when my mother died.

Our current doofus dog started out being a female 5 yr old dog (not very bright people at that shelter). He was sitting between 2 kennels of puppies, sighing. He's a 95 pound golden lab/ rottweiler cross, looks like a big golden, acts like a rott wanting to be with you all the time and be where ever you are going before you get there. He ended up being 1 1/2 yr old male, likes to chase deer out of the yard and wishes more of the cats would play with him.

[Greyskye]

7. Maya bug-bane

We adopted Maya from a local pound. Quite emaciated when we picked her up, we quickly discovered that she had 'pound crud' - that nasty respiratory infection that we later found out affects lots of pound animals. Lots of antibiotics and money later, we had the most affectionate and loving cat that my wife and I have ever experienced.

She's actually a tortie mix - half of her front is classic 'tuxedo cat' markings. Everything else is shorthair tortie.

She does has her quirks - she has the kitty equivalent of obsessive compulsive disorder with regards to licking things. Any things: skin, sofas, comforters, socks, blankets, whatever happens to get within range of her raspy tongue. At least she has the absolutely softest fur I've ever experienced due to her self grooming!

She's also in love with our 6 year old son. As soon as his door is opened in the mornings to wake him up, she runs into his room, jumps up on his bed and gives him his morning 'kisses'. Every night for story time, she comes and jumps up on his bed and joins us.

She thinks the guinea pigs are a little strange, but all she does with them when they are out is sniff them and give them the occasional lick.

Every so often, my wife pipes up after cuddling with Maya: "Best. Cat. Ever!" Pretty much sums it up.

[Eurobabe]

8. from the SPCA, my second cat, the prize, the Daemon...

Here he is as a 6wk. old fuzzbutt (after we bathed him and hand-picked all the fleas from his tiny little body, he was so pathetic, just laid in the sink and mewed, but I think he knew we were trying to help him)



And here he is all grown up in his orange glory



He is the coolest cat, ever...

[ulysses]

9. Sonya

"I want to get you a dog for your birthday," Devon said.

And so she did. I was turning twenty-two, in my last year of college. The Gulf War was getting ready to begin. I didn't know what I was going to do, or where I was going to do it, after I graduated.

We went to the pound in Santa Fe. If you haven't been to your local pound lately, you should go just for the education. There were scores of dogs there, mostly adults who had been abandoned by their families. But there were also three new litters, and in one of them there was a puppy, encrusted with crap and food, sick and not moving much. She had these enormous ears. On the way back to campus we named her Sonya, after the character in War & Peace.

The next seven months were spent with her first recovering from worms and malnutrition, then proceeding to develop a taste for my dirty clothes. She learned that cats can be fun while trying to play with Angus, my roommate's cat. She learned that if she could lay down on the blanket where it was taut between Devon and me, that she'd slowly sink down to where it was warm between our bodies. She learned to not nip Devon in the breast early in the morning. She napped in my arms while I stayed up nights writing my senior essay.

I tried to get Devon to keep her when I left Santa Fe after graduation. I'm glad she refused.

Sonya moved with me from New Mexico to Oklahoma to Georgia, never complaining even when she had to squeeze in under the printer in the front seat footspace of the Probe. She kept me sane throughout the fall and winter (91-92), but she was quirky enough to make me wonder if I'd find a woman who wouldn't mind sharing the futon with her - and then I did find just that woman. Sonya and Cheryl quickly came to a fond understanding (after a few tugs-of-war over prime chicken breasts), and Sonya accepted the new female into the house on a permanent basis in June, 1993.

Sonya was a terror, a hysterically funny, animated, 55-pound goofball. She was utterly attached to us - if we boarded her when we went to Oklahoma during the holidays, she wouldn't eat until we returned. She tried to eat Cheryl's cat a few times before we were married, but as Mr. Kitty grew into his claws Sonya came to tolerate, even enjoy, his presence. I think Mr. K still wonders where the big brown dog went, and mourns her.

***

A tumor that had grown unnoticed on Sonya's spleen burst early on the morning of June 14, 2000. I took her to the vet when I saw that she was throwing up, but didn't realize that she was dying, and by the time Cheryl and I had returned two hours later from work, there wasn't much to be done - she'd bled out into her abdomen and thrown a blood clot to her brain, which was causing seizures. I've been thankful that we were able to be with her and to give the ok to end her suffering. We buried her that afternoon under a cherry tree in the back yard. She was 9 and a half.

http://www.newtonsbaby.com/john/sonya.html

[Wcross]

10. I adopted three before they were sent to a shelter.

My neighbors house burned down and they had to move to an apartment. They left four dogs at the burned down house. The landlord approached me and asked if I would take three of the dogs, he was going to take home one. These dogs had been born and raised here. I said sure.

A couple of weeks later the girls started getting fat, sure enough they had puppys. Angel had two and her daughter PeeDee had one. I decided to keep those dogs also. So I went from 0 dogs to six in a matter of months. I love them dearly and consider them my friends rather than my pets.

[RedSpartan]

11. Spencer the orange tabby cat.

Found him at an adopt-a-pet day at PetCo. He had been one of 139 cats (yes I said 139) in an elderly lady's home that were discovered when the cops, called due to the smell, broke the door down. There were also two dogs. The lady had obsessive compulsive disorder, and meant well, but kept taking strays and couldn't keep up. Surprisingly, all but a few of the animals were in good shape, and were able to be cleaned up and adopted. He's sooooo loving. Best part, since he grew up in a house with nothing but litter boxes, cat furniture, and other animals, from day one he's stayed off the couch, only done his cat business in his litter box, and loves to snuggle with our chocolate lab, Hudson. I even went in the basement one time and he was eating his food with a mouse sitting next to him nibbling on a piece of cat food. He just loves everyone and everything. (btw, I caught the mouse in a live trap and let him go in the woods)

[MidwestMomma]

12. Sadie-our 2 year old Beagle

She found me at the local animal shelter last year. Her name was Anna then, but my daughter changed it to Sadie.

She's my doggie soulmate. She's like to snack and take naps...just like me.

She was picked up as a stray. I'm glad she got away from whomever had her because when I first adopted her, her legs and belly were stained yellow and the shelter person told me it was urine stain which meant somebody kept her in a kennel ALL THE TIME!!!!

Poor baby.

So I didn't have the heart to use the kennel for training. But she was pretty much housetrained so everythings worked out well.

The funny story about Sadie is when I went to the shelter, the girl working there told me I've got the greatest dog for you. She's very mellow and sweet.

Well she is VERY sweet, but come to find out, she was only mellow because she was sick with kennel cough and 2 kinds of worms and underfed. As soon as she was healthy and well-fed, the fun began.

I don't know anything about her past, but I do know that she is the sweetest tempered dog I've ever met. She loves everybody in the world. Especially my poor kitty Scamper. She about loves her to death some times. :)

So that's my story. Thanks everyone for sharing yours. I love happy pet endings.

[jmm]

13. Not a shelter story but

I once had a Rottweiler named Alien. My mom's then boyfriend Skip was walking by the Charles river when he saw a man with a box of puppies. He asked if he was taking them out because it was a nice day or if he was trying to sell them. Neither. He had taken them there to drown them because his dog had given birth and he couldn't take care of them. He offered them all to Skip but he knew he couldn't find homes for them all so he took two. One for his son and the other for my brother and me. Despite the reputations Rottweiler have he was excellent with us even though we were 6 and 7 when we got him. We only had him for a few years. It's a long story but we ended up giving him to a friend who owned a lot of land so at least he got a yard to play in as opposed to living in different cities with us. As soon as I get a place with a yard I'm going to a shelter and getting another dog.

[Nikia]

14. We adopted our American Eskimo from the shelter

His previous owners left him there on his eighth birthday. The reason they gave was that they had recently had a new baby and that the dog was bad with children. My husband drug me to the Humane Society three weeks later. He said that he had been bored and thought that he'd spend time with some dogs there. He had fallen in love with a little dog. My comment was that the dog looked pretty scrawny, probably because his parents had an overweight dog of the same breed. We later learned from vet records that our dog was a little underweight when we adopted him and had lost significant weight since his last appointment when he was owned by the other people. My husband convinced me that we should adopt him and we picked him up the next day after we had our references called to make sure we were suitable dog parents.
Our dog was so excited that we were taking him home. We first went to PetSmart and brought him in. When we brought him home, he had to explore every corner of our house. He quickly bonded with my husband. He is very attatched to us and always wants to be wherever we are. We do wonder about his previous life as he seems afraid of brroms and mops and cringes away if we yell at him. We have had him around small children and although he might not be the most kid friendly dog, he doesn't try to attack them or anything.
Our dog is now 11 and still rather active. Most people think that he is much younger because he still loves to play.

[complain jane]

15. My great big overweight diabetic Jenny who bites me

came from a shelter and I've never regretted it for a moment. We're best buds, and you can avoid the bite if you simply pay attention to her moods (dark eyes, tail moving). She's a big fat cranky pants just like her momma. :hi:

[Merope215]

16. My first dog

was a birthday present from my parents when I turned 4. They got her from a woman who adopted animals who had reached the end of the line at the shelter, and she had the biggest brown eyes. Her name was Molly, and she was black and white and probably some sort of spaniel/retriever mix. She was a great dog, more like a person in a dog suit; she just liked to follow us around and beg for Cheez-Its. She had a stroke when she was 11 or so, and after that her head was always tilted to the side a little, so it gave her a quizzical look. She always had a heart murmur and after she turned 14 it became congestive heart failure. She was pretty miserable the last few months, and my parents put her to sleep two weeks after I left for college. I'll probably never forgive them for not wanting to be in the room with her when she died, but she had a good life.

We adopted another dog from the county shelter this summer. His name is Homer, and he's everything we didn't want in a dog: big, male, rambunctious, loud, with short hair. Lord only knows what kind of dog he is. There's definitely some sight hound, some greyhound, some pointer, the vet says some pit bull, probably 30 breeds or so. He's insane - we think he's bipolar; he's perfectly well-behaved 95% of the time, but sometimes he just goes nuts, runs around the house trying to mouth people, and he loves to chew on our socks. He's a big baby though, and when it's stormy he'll jump in bed with you. He's probably about 2, and a big change from our first dog, but we love him anyway. He's a mess.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

17. I have one dog and four cats that came from the pound.

The dog (Shadow) is a chow mix and the sweetest old girl. She just 13 years old now and was 8 weeks when we brought her home. She's a veteran of growing up with my daughter who used to like to dress her up in frilly doll hats and push her in the doll carriage.

The twins, Mobley and Crispin, were Siamese's that we found a year ago last October. We went in on a replacement mission finding ourselves with room in the household after the March 19 passing of Ziggy, our 17 year old cat. Having decided it was time to fill the void we called the local pound first hoping to find a Siamese kitten (Zig was Siamese). They had a female who's litter was up for adoption starting that day! Once we arrived they took the kittens out for us to look at. There were four. They were pouring on all the kitten charm they possessed. Choosing was difficult, but we finally narrowed it down to two. When I mention this to the lady who was assisting us she replies, "Take them both, it's buy one get one free on the kittens right now." My daughter grabbed the two up and that was that.

As fate would have it Mobley had FIV. It manifested it's self the following March and we lost him in April. This left us once again with a void that needed filling in our hearts and the household.

After waiting until the following August to make sure the virus was gone from the house, back to the pound we go. Where they have a darling pair of brothers for us look at, one all white and the other cream and gray. I want the white one my daughter wants the cream and gray one. The lady assisting us says, "Take them both, it's buy one get one free on the kittens right now." While I was struggling with a moment of Deja Vu my daughter quickly grabbed up both the kittens and put them in the carrier. We named them Whitey Ford and Bandit.

Either they have an on going sale on kittens or I've been had twice. Either way I'm delighted with the outcome. Our pound pets have all turned out to be loving additions to our family. :)

[Samurai_Writer]

18. My cocker spaniel, Magic!

Last year (early January), I went to the Humane Society to 'potentially' look for a dog. I had been putting off getting a dog for years, with the idea of "Oh, I'll get a dog after I get a house". Well, looks like that's NEVER going to happen, so I decided to go ahead and get a small dog who would do well in an apartment.

So I'm there, looking at the older dogs. See this black cocker spaniel who is just so cute and friendly. But on the card on the cage it says 'heartworm positive'. Poor baby. The worker at the humane society explains they usually just put the heartworm positive dogs down immediately, but this dog was so wonderful they couldn't do it. Offered me a $150 voucher for heartwork treatment if I adopted him. What could I do? I adopted him, he got his heartworm treatment (total of about $500), and is doing great!

Magic is the best dog I've ever had (3rd one in my life). He came completely housebroken, is pretty good on a leash, and is the sweetest dog ever. Gets along with the cats (although they aren't that thrilled with him!), and has brought more happiness to my life than I ever expected. I don't know what I would do without him! He just turned 5, and is sleeping beside me as I type this.

I can't urge people enough to adopt an animal from a shelter. They make wonderful pets and give so much to the people who rescued them.

Peace,
Bella

[jdots]

19. " Duncan " the lethargy hound

My wife picked him out of death row at the pound,he couldn't bark because he had barked so long and hard.naturally he learned how to bark again.I have never loved a dog before him,there is nothing like a mutt.

[lavenderdiva]

20. many, many years ago, I adopted 2 cocker spaniels from a dear friend

who could no longer keep them. They were full-blood brother and sister, Oliver and Sadie. I had them for approx. 10 wonderful years, until they both passed away within a year of one another. At that point, I learned of Cocker Spaniel Rescue of East Texas (http://www.cockerkids.org)
and found Libby. She had been running up the shoulder of I-45North here in Houston. Its a wonder she wasn't hit, but a police car stopped, she ran to him, he picked her up and took her to the SPCA. They called Cocker Rescue, who fostered her until I got her approx. 6 yrs ago. She is a character: loves to sing (opera, especially the soprano parts and the theme songs to both Apprentice and Survivor, go figure!), loves her toys (hides them in my closet where she thinks they will be safe), loves cuddles and sleeps in between my husband and me! One year after I got Libby, I saw Emma at Cocker Rescue and she joined my little family. She had been severely abused: all her ribs broken and legs as well. She was turned into a shelter that called Cocker Rescue to come get her. It took me two years of reassuring her to get her to let me kiss her! Another year to let me rub her tummy. Now she is a cuddlepot. A couple of years after I got my little girls, as I call them, I met my husband. He wasn't real keen on my girls at first, but we were a package deal. Now, Emma will only sleep by him, and he calls her his baby. She is definitely Daddy's girl and he spoils her rotten. They are both the sweetest dogs ever, and I am so glad I have them in my life. I don't have any 'real' children, but Libby & Emma fill that void for me. I would definitely recommend rescue dogs; I fully believe they know they are rescued and are so appreciative and loving. They may have had bad backgrounds, but with enough love, they will respond. Here are my gals:
Libby

Emma

[miss_kitty]

21. well no shelter dog. but I did take a doggy off the street

But your pesky chow story reminded me of Buffy, our chow, who as a puppy thought she was really clever one day by unrolling the entire roll of toilet paper, without leaving the bathroom. She was quite pleased with her pink cloud.

Stella is a dog I never planned to have and now I can barely think of life without her. Another DUer, freeperlessinseattle, found her up the street, couldn't keep her in her apartment, I took her and no one was looking for her. I have to leave her at home on Thursday to go to school, and she is positively wiggly when I come home. I hear she uses the 'loud bark' when I'm gone. Naughty girl.

[deadparrot]

22. We did.

During the Christmas of second grade, my parents wrote me a letter giving me permission to get a cat (I'd wanted one forever). So, two days later we went to the humane society to pick one out. While standing in a long line, a man approached us with a little kitty in hand and asked if, by chance, we were looking to adopt a cat. Obviously we were, so he let us hold her, and I fell in love. She was so sweet, and scared (she was trembling). Basically, the man's family had just gotten a dog, the animals didn't get along, so Princess had to go. We didn't even have to go into the shelter--we just exchanged information outside, he gave us a litter box, some toys, etc., and we got a cat. Ten years later, Princess is still with us, still very playful and active, and spoiled rotten. :)

[Strawman]

23. 2 dogs and 1 cat from shelters/rescues

Our first cat, Archie came from a pet store before I really knew better. He's a great cat though. Very smart outgoing black and white short haired tuxedo cat. Loves visitors. Even likes going to the vet. He is my little gentleman. A few months later my wife got him a buddy, a grey tabby named Larry from a local animal shelter. Larry was pretty small and pretty sick when we got him. He had ear mites and we had to give him some kind of pink medicine with an eye dropper. Now he rules the entire house.

We got our first dog, Abby, a black lab/shepherd mix puppy after we moved out of an apartment into our house. Abby and her litter mates were abandonded somewhere in the thumb area of MI and they all had parvo. Only Abby and one other puppy from her litter survived. The ladies at the rescue we got Abby from saved her and her brother from a kill shelter. She's a great dog. Very healthy happy and friendly with a sweet disposition.

My wife couldn't stop looking on Pet Finder after that, so about 8 months later we started going to PetSmart on Saturdays with Abby when the shelters would have adoption days there .to find her a playmate Abby ended up picking out Daisy, who is a yellow lab greyhound mix. The people at the rescue guessed that Daisy was about a year old when we adopted her. Daisy was found abandoned and chained up in a yard somewhere in the thumb area as well. She is a very sweet girl who needs and gets lots of attention. She is my wife's shadow and loves to go outside and bark at absolutely nothing when she is not trying to eat cat poo. Last week they got a special day at Camp Bow Wow and we got to watch them play on a webcam while we were at work. They love that place.

Now we're at our limit with 4 pets. No more going to Pet Finder. You want to adopt them all but you can't. I have a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for the people who run and voulnteer in animal rescues. We used to visit alot of rescue sites when we were looking for Daisy and Abby and some of the stories you see on their websites just break your heart.

[Modem Butterfly]

24. Wow! These are great stories!

There are so many big-hearted DUers. Yay us!

[Skittles]

25. I got Clancy from the Plano, Texas pound in 1998 when he was six weeks old

his Svengali eyes told me......YOU......WILL......ADOPT......ME......

[kick-ass-bob]

26. First cat from the county SPCA.

13 years ago this summer. He was the quiet one in the corner, not the one crawling up my leg (ouch!)

2-3 years ago, our second cat was a neighborhood feral that my son tamed with spoonfuls of tuna fish. Now runs AWAY from the door when it opens...

[flvegan]

28. How about a story of one that NEEDS adopting?

We've adopted OUT a couple hundred from our rescue in the last couple years. Nice to see everyone sharing their good stories.

Little J is a pit bull. He was found quivering under a bush in the woods, all cut to hell, waiting to die. He had been used as bait for dog fighting, and didn't appear to have done very well. Emaciated and scared to death, a couple good folks took him to the emergency clinic to have him put out of his misery. My partner worked there at the time, and was having no part of this. My rescue officially took custody and responsibility before he was to be euthanized.

Well, this boy was a mess. He required a good deal of care (still has the scars to show it). Moreso than his physical damage, was his mental damage. Afraid of his own shadow. Loud noises? Oh, boy. It was two weeks before he'd let me close enough to touch him. He'd just sort of find his own spot and cower, appearing to be awaiting his next abuse. Very slowly, over the next few weeks, he'd allow me to sit near him, then pet him, then hug him.

Now, several months later, he's a big mush. Nothing is better than time on the couch (on my lap, more like) with daddy. He loves other dogs, but still plays rough (still a big puppy). He's apprehensive around strangers...at first. Then, be ready, cuz he's gonna sit on you and lick your whole face.

I have a picture of him in front of me right now on my desk at work to remind me why I keep this job that I just don't like...gotta pay those bills. Lots of "Little Js" out there...

[livetohike]

29. Adopted two dogs in the last two years

All of our other pets came from neighbors' litters.

After our 16 year old lab/shepherd mix Ranger died on Valentine's Day 2003, I couldn't live without a dog and began looking on-line at pics from various pounds/shelters.

I found a beautiful puppy up in a pound in South Central Los Angeles and we drove 90 miles one way to rescue her. We got there just as the shelter doors opened. Luckily she was there in a run with three other puppies. I bounced a tennis ball in front of her and she caught it right away. Cindy is a Catahoula Leopard dog who looked like a pinto bean when we brought her home at 8 weeks old. She weighs 86 lbs now!




We had to wait a month to bring home our second puppy. Cindy had kennel cough and we had to be sure she was cured. I found Murphy on line too. He was at a local county shelter and I fell in love with him the minute I saw him. Even though his paperwork said "He bites".
He is an Australian Cattle Dog mix and the most affectionate dog I have ever had. He was also 8 weeks old when we brought him home.

[marzipanni]

30. We found our adopted canine partner on-line, too!

Sally Freckles are her names, balls and frisbees are her games. She looks a lot like your Murphy, except blue instead of red.
Two and a half years ago our dear Billie girl, a Malamute/Australian Shepherd,Blue Heeler mix, died of old age (heart problems) with me hugging her next to the campfire beside Lake Tahoe on our annual camping trip. For about two months we were sorely without dog, a sad state to be in!
On the internet, I looked up SPCA local adoptions and saw a photo of who was then known by her current middle name,"Freckles"; her face reminded me of Billie, and I called and left messages to say I was very interested in adopting her. We three humans went to Petco and met her and adopted her, and we've been making each other's lives better ever since.
I think she would only be happier if she had something to herd. Wecouldn't be happier with our funny girl.
(p.s. Your Cindy looked like a pinto bean when she was a puppy...that's cute! If she had speckles maybe she looked more like a shell bean (cranberry bean) I know 'cause my dad and I used to love those speckled beans from the produce stand in Massachusetts every fall)

[livetohike]

35. LOL cranberry bean

:-)

Can you post a pic of Sally Freckles?

I was describing Cindy to my sister and the best thing I could come up with was that she looked like a pinto bean on long legs.

[yewberry]

31. We stole Grace.

She was a rottie mix, staked outside, starved and beaten. Yes, we stole her.

It took a long time for her to recover from her upbringing, but she turned into a very well-adjusted pooch. We were so lucky to have her--she taught us so much. She was my "forever dog." She died when she was 11 (pretty old for such a big dog!) on the operating table; she had hemorrhagic sarcoma and there really wasn't much we could do. I miss her every day.

Now we have liitle Moby--also a rottie mix, but we think he's crossed with corgi. Very funny little guy, and huggy. He was found running wild in S. Carolina and we found him in a shelter in central MA. He'd been rejected by several people because he's so small. (He looks like a rot, but he's only 40 pounds!) He chews his nails, which makes me laugh every time. Lucky for me, my husband's a dog trainer by trade!

[barb162]

33. good for you. God bless you!

[barb162]

32. I rescue the neighborhood stray cats and have 4 now. All wonderful

Of course, I always provide photos and descriptions to animal control and local rescue groups and put found cat ads in the local papers and on the internet web sites.

[rbnyc]

34. I LOVE your hello cthullu sig graphic! (nt)

[Modem Butterfly]

38. Thanks!

Check out this webpage:

http://hello-cthulhu.com/?date=2003-11-30

[CO Liberal]

36. All Our Pets Came From Shelters

Della, our cat came from the ASPCA shelter in Las Vegas, when we were living in Henderson, NV. Peanut and Pearl, our dogs, came from the City Animal Shelter in Pueblo.

[Padraig18]

37. I adopted Grover from the shelter.

This fella is the sweetest, most loving dog I've ever owned, and I've owned many. I won't go on about how smart he is, because he's not terribly bright, and I won't tell you about all the tricks he can do, because he can't do any. In point of fact, he only has one redeeming quality--- he worships the ground that I walk on, and I've no doubt that he'd give his own life to save mine.

They don't have to be 'Lassie' to be a fine dog.

[radfringe]

39. adopted a greyhound last year

his name is Sunny - pics can be seen here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x2876
he's a real sweetie, gentle and loves butt scratches

meanwhile we also foster greyhounds until forever homes can be found.
last october we fostered a real sweet little girl named mint

this past wednesday we took in a 2 year old male -- Ibu, you may have seen my sleepless post about him... lol... he's doing much better

two years ago a cat showed up at work -- thought he was part of the feral colony living in our shipping yard (and yes I feed them all and try to find homes for the ones I can 'tame' down) -- ennywho -- it was obvious once I picked him up that he was someone's pet (neutered and declawed) -- ran an ad in the paper -- no responses

so I mentioned him to my partner, who immediately went into the "no more pets" rant... sigh... so I made a sign "will purr for food" - hung it around his neck and took a pic of him.

left the pic on the kitchen table -- first thing she saw when she came home from work -- and with much resignation she told me to bring him home -- but he would be on probation...

well - two years later -- he's snuggled down between our pillows, purring up a storm... I think probation is over. His name is Gato - loves catnip and laser lights

the rest of our house consists of an 8 year old airdale named Dax, and three other cats -- Kudra (19yrs), Dutchess (16yrs) and Poohkah (4 yrs)

[LibertyLover]

40. Adopted dogs

Let's see - my first adoption was a wonderful German Shepherd puppy. His shelter name was Bosco, but I renamed him Shah. He was supposedly 9 months old when I got him and had been abused. For several years he snapped at men who came near him. The vet saw him and said that he figured Shah wouldn't get too much bigger. 50 pounds and many inches in all directions later, the vet just had to laugh. Shah weighed 100 lbs and was still thin. I loved that dog. He was smart and wonderful. Alas his early abuse wore on him and he died aged 8.

Shortly before Shah died, my husband and I adopted a former racing greyhound named Sam. Sam is amazing. He's 8 now and playing more like a puppy than the day we brought him home. He's a large red brindle and just wonderful. Shah taught him how to walk up stairs and how to guard the house. So, I have one of the world's few guard greyhounds. In turn, Sam has taught our other grey, another former racer, a little female named Hex, how to guard the house, which she does with great delight, usually at 2 am.

A couple of months after Sam came into our lives, my husband was reading one of the lists both he and I belong to and saw a posting about a whippet. He pleaded with me to get it, saying that it was small and we could manage a greyhound, a German Shepherd and a whippet in a townhouse. So I agreed, drove down to North Carolina and brought home Ptah. Ptah was, the rescue group thought, about 9 months old. He had been found 4 months before tied to the door of a shelter. One of the people there recognized him as a sighthound and asked the local grey adoption person to take him. She did and liked him very much, but she also had Italian Greys and Ptah kept trying to play with them and she was afraid they would get hurt. So with great reluctance she put him up for adoption. Ptah has seperation anxiety issues and gets clomicalm every day. It has helped a great deal. Ptah sleeps in our bed, plastered up against whichever one of us he thinks is warmer.

Shortly after Shah died, my husband saw a Siberian Husky at a meet and greet at our local Petsmart. He feel in love. I wanted another GS, but had resolved to only adopt my dogs. The GSDs I met were ok, but I was grieving for Shah and didn't click. So I told my husband he could have the husky. Siberians are supposed to be friendly but aloof. Bragi didn't read the book. He loves to cuddle on the couch and is wonderful with our toddler. She can do things to that dog that he doesn't allow my husband or I to do.

Soon after Bragi joined us, 5 years ago, my mom died and I inherited the house. We moved in and the dogs loved the backyard. Two years ago we decided to adopt another greyhound and so Hex came into our lives. She is the first bitch I've ever had and I love her. She sometimes sleeps with us, but generally prefers the couch in the living room.

Finally, not more than 2 months after we brought Hex home, my husband and his daughter went over to the mall to do some shopping. I had some friends in for lunch. I got a call from him - honey your birthday's coming up - right. Me - yeah 4 months from now, what's on your mind? Him - there's a whippet puppy here in the mall puppy mill. He's been here for a while and they are going to get rid of him soon. Me - oh my gods, bring him home quickly.

So in he comes with a precious 8 week old whippet puppy whom we named Djet. It turns out he had been at the store approximately 2 days before we got him. But my husband says it was a rescue. Djet sleeps with us too, usually under my pillow. I like a firm pillow, but it's sometimes ridiculous when I wake up and find that I'm sleeping on a whippet. We only have a queen sized bed and sometimes life can get interesting with 5 dogs who like to at least spend quality time with us on it as well as a toddler who likes to crawl in bed with mommy, daddy and her "gahs", her word for dogs (she is from China and the first time she met the whippet brothers as we call them she shouted out GAH! A Chinese collegue of mine said it was very close to the Chinese word for dog. It's stuck and it's only now after 15 months that she will sometimes use dog.)

Life is a bitch and then she reaches over and gives you her paw.

[Modem Butterfly]

41. Life is a bitch and then she reaches over and gives you her paw.

I love that.

I'm not allowed to go into the mall pet store anymore. I mean literally. I can't resist the urge to tell all the shoppers that they can get beautiful full-bred animals at the Cobb County Animal Shelter, and they only cost $25 and the price of getting them fixed. I tell them about the beautiful Samoyed that we almost adopted who was fixed, perfectly trained, AND housebroken. I tell them about the English Bulldog that was there last summer who was surrendered when his owner got called up to go to Iraq. I tell them about the two full-bred Chows and the Shar-pei we got there. Everyone loves a bargain, so I've talked a few folks out of giving their $$ to a puppy mill and hopefully adopting from the animal shelter, or at least THINKING about adopting from the shelter. Anyway, the last time we were at the mall, I went in to the pet store and the manager threatened to have mall security remove me. So now I'm the crazy dog pound lady of Cumberland mall. Oh well.

[LibertyLover]

42. Thank you

Modom - Keep up the good work and thank you for helping to save the lives of dogs. It's so sad that we consider dogs' lives fungible.