There was some concern whether she would get along with other dogs but that was quickly extinguished when she met my bother’s shepherd Tyia. Then two years ago we got a puppy. Blessing tried to make Phoenix nurse the first night. It was sweet, since then she has raised her has her pup and has taught her how to behave most of the time. However when walking the two of them Phoenix can bring out the naughty side of Blessing, but they both shape up when corrected. Blessing has a big fenced in yard to play in. As well as a wonderful neighbor who snicks her and Phoenix treats now and again.

Thank you for giving Blessing a chance to be our dog.

The Rightmiers

We recently received the following note and photo from their family:

“We adopted Angel from you years ago, and Blitz, a white and silver shepherd. Thought you might like to know we are all doing well in our new home in Alaska!

The dogs are doing wonderful! They traveled well and are really enjoying our huge yard that we cyclone fenced all the way around. They love to swim in the many lakes and rivers, especially Angel. Blitz has learned to like toys, swimming and playing with Angel. They are “two peas in a pod” so to speak. I can’t tell you how much we love the both of them.

Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know we are doing well and the dogs are the love of our lives!”

Way to go, Matthew and Kayla! We’re so very proud of you!

Matthew wrote:

“I want to share this page from Dog Fancy magazine (February 2009 page nine) with you!

Kayla from rescue shelter to national magazine … she’s on a roll!

Kayla is a wonderful companion: so sweet and gentle. She has great house manners and sleeps in the living room either in her soft, deep comfortable nesting bed or on the couch (she likes her head on the armrest or on a pillow).

We walk at least five miles each day and we both feel good because of it.

A lot of people comment “What a beautiful dog” she is. I thank God for her every day. Thank you so much for granting me the privilege of adopting Kayla.”

Matthew

This weekend we took her on her first official run with the horses while we rode!  She did VERY well.  Absolutely loved to be out in the woods and minded her manners pretty good with a few “reminders”.

I have attached a few pics of her “taking a break” in the fall leaves.  She was absolutely exhausted when we got back to the farm and drank about a gallon of water and collapsed on the lawn.  She was so happy.

Monica

I don’t know if I ever told you this, but the night before we came to meet Riley (then known as “Fox”) I had decided to cancel the meet. We’d been searching for just the right dog for a few months and we’d recently had a very bad experience with a large German Shepherd at another rescue. I was really afraid we would make the long drive and have yet another disappointing experience. What would be the point in driving three hours only to face yet another heartbreak? What if this, too, was the wrong dog for us? Surely we didn’t need to drive that far just to find that out, there were other dogs closer to home we could meet and adopt. My heart just wasn’t in it any more, memories of the previous experience were still fresh in my mind and I was at the point I felt that maybe we just shouldn’t do this at all.

My husband is an over-the-road trucker and when he called me on his way back that night, I told him I didn’t want to make the trip anymore and that I was going to call you in the morning and tell you to adopt him to one of the other people on the waiting list for him. Something told him we needed to meet this dog. He really felt we needed to do this, he wasn’t giving up and talked me into following through. When morning came, my heart still wasn’t in it but we made the trip anyway. I held the picture of Fox that I’d copied off the Internet (above left) in my hands all the way up there. I kept looking in his eyes and the sadness in them was just so overwhelming it brought tears to my eyes, but I just could not allow myself to get my hopes up.

We arrived and chatted a bit and then it was time to meet Fox. We watched out the window as you brought him around the front of the house and my eyes widened and the tears began to flow. I looked at my husband and he was teary-eyed, too. Fox was the absolute most gorgeous German Shepherd we’d seen in our quest to find our new furkid!

You brought him in the house, he made a circle around the room, sniffing everything in his path as we sat and watched in awe. Then he stopped and sniffed my husband, not paying him a whole lot of attention and crossed the room to me. He sniffed, laid his head in my lap and looked up at me. The look in his eyes said “Can I come home with you, please?” I looked up at my husband, crying my fool head off and he said “I think you just found your dog!” When you said we could adopt him, I thought I would burst! We filled out the paperwork and talked with you some more and then we took our boy home. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

We found out very quickly he had been taught some awesome manners. He knew the basic commands, was housebroken and crate trained. He never once tried to climb of the seats in the car, always staying in the cargo area of my SUV like a perfect gentleman and he made himself at home very quickly.

We re-named him Riley and he and his “sister” are the joy of my life! When we tell people he’s a rescue originally found as a stray, their comments always include something like “How could anyone have let this boy get away?” People stop us on our walks all the time and tell us how gorgeous our two furkids are. We literally can’t go anywhere without someone complimenting them. We are so very proud of both of them. When Riley was about a year old and before Nissa came to live with us, a man offered me $2,500.00 for him and I told him “He’s not for sale at any price!”

Here is a picture of them at Gramma and Grampa’s taken after they went swimming (they’re still slightly damp). I remember what Grampa said the first time he met Riley (we didn’t have Nissa yet). His words were “So, you finally got yourself a real dog!” Gramma absolutely adores them both!

Thank you for our Riley, Judi! Both he and Nissa are so very special to us! Together, they’re about a 150 pounds of love in fur coats.

Deb

PS: They both just love the Lure Course and Riley’s favorite toy is a squeaky tennis ball!

As we tended to Roxy’s condition, we crossed our fingers, hoped, prayed and watched. Days turned into weeks and slowly but surely we began to see improvement. Roxy is one spunky little gal!

Thanks to some extensive veterinary care and the love and dedicaiton of some of our volunteers, our little Roxy did make it!

Today Roxy lives with her adoptive family who was kind enough to send us a photo of her with her big brother and sister.

Happy endings like these tell us that our efforts are worthwhile and that we do make a difference!

It’s been a while since I updated you on Ruger. He is doing great and still such a sweetheart of a dog. He has really become a mama’s boy. I can’t go anywhere without him right behind me. He loves to play outside and go for hikes in the woods by our house.

He has a new job, he protects my bird feeders from the raccoons and possums. He is doing a great job! He loves his sister Roxy and they play chase outside everyday.

Ray and I have decided we need a king size bed. We have a queen size now and there is just not enough room because Ruger refuses to sleep in a dog bed and is in our bed everynight. Sideways of course. He is totally spoiled, but I just can’t help it. He is too sweet not to spoil.

He likes to give me gifts, toys and bones mostly. A few weeks ago we were outside and he brought me a posssum, a very alive possum! He chased me around the yard trying to give it to me, he just couldn’t understand why I didn’t want it.

Here are some recent pictures, thanks again for giving us such a special boy.

Debbie and Ray

What girl doesn’t appreciate a “big brother” to hang out with? Looks to us like Sarge is stepping up to the plate to take on the job and he’s more than happy and very proud to do so.

We think it definitely looks like he found his new place in the sun (wink!).

She was nursed back to health and spayed, then adopted to this wonderful family. She loves boat rides and just about everything else!

“My friend Ryan took the photo in our backyard one day, and posted it on Flickr with the rest of his photos. A rep from Purina came across it and asked Ryan if they could use it for their website…which of course, he did. It was up there for over a month.”

Lora