Eva Long

Wanted to send you a few pictures of Jetta & let you know she is doing great. She has completed the household & is an absolute joy. She is always doing something that makes you smile.She has a buddy & they get playdates(didn't know if that was going to be possible at first). I absolutely love her & feel she was meant to be mine.

Happy

We adopted "Happy" who we named Tesla. Words cannot adequately convey how this little dog has enriched both of our lives. She is playful, loving, intelligent and beautiful. To date not one person has walked by her without raving about "what a pretty dog she is", and She starts her advanced training next week. I just wanted to provide this positive feed back to you as well as thank you for all your efforts. They have definitely had a substantial impact on our lives.

Lety

Here are some pictures of Lety, we renamed her Stella. We adopted her at the end of November and she is the most perfect dog, we all love her! Thank you so much for everything.

Mrs Majestic

This Story was written Sept 11 2006

Yesterday evening we were driving around the colonias of T.J. looking for homeless dogs to help – with food or flea medicine and whatnot – we spotted a Dalmatian looking for food in the previously bustling city streets. She was scrounging through the aftermath of a swap meet. I went up to her; it was obvious that she was nursing because of her enlarged breasts. Also, it was obvious that she wasn’t – at least has not always been – homeless because of the collar that was loose on her neck due to her emaciation. She sniffed the dry food and dog biscuits that I amply piled on the floor and passed it over for what seemly smelled better to the famished canine. She rummaged through a pile of trash and removed a sealed bag of broken eggs. Proud with her accomplishment she strode, tail wagging, through the streets. It was such an interesting sight to behold. Nature’s hand was clearly at work, the hungry mother knew what she needed to do, get some nourishment and return to her puppies. I clamored back into the car as Susie followed the mother though the traffic as if we were tailing a fugitive. Turn after turn we managed to catch fleeting glimpses of her and her prize as she nonchalantly strode home. Eventually she reached her destination, an iron gated façade left ajar by an apparent hasty exit – perhaps by the fleeting mother on her excursion. She sat on the dirty sidewalk trying to pierce the bag of eggs. Apparently the taste that she experienced was not as she expected and she abandoned the jelly like sack. I once again tried to entice her with the dry dog food and she eagerly devoured the pile this time. Meanwhile, while the mother was eating, Susie was looking for the owners. She yelled to get the attention of the owners of the dog. Unsuccessful, she ventured past the gate and peered inside seeking any sign of habitation. She discovered there was some sore of party ensuing in the rear, behind the house, of the larger-than-average parcel of land. She was unable to get the attention of the party-goers. We were somewhat disheartened at the fact that these people have at least some money as they can buy spirits and afford to entertain but not provide proper nourishment to a mother dog that her ribs were very visible. After discussing the current state of affairs briefly with Susie I saw a shimmer of movement in the back of the path leading around the house. I told Susie and she called out to the individual. It was a small girl clothed in a soiled pink shirt and blue jeans. After learning that the Dalmatian was hers she asked the whereabouts of the puppies. We found them stashed under a lean-to fashioned out of a screen door; no blanket or shelter whatsoever. “These puppies are going to die like this” Susie said matter-of-factly. The squalor seen every day in the hills of T.J. acclimatizes one to conditions such as this. Almost everyone that I know in the U.S. would cry and not be clearheaded in such a situation; Susie gets into action. She told the girl to get her parents. After the father came out Susie talked to him and told him various things that were necessary for the health of canine family. She knows better not to scold the people as that will get her nowhere. She tries to educate them and appeal to what they can understand. For instance, telling the many owners of dogs without water available for their dogs, or providing only a small amount daily “Well don’t you get thirsty? You wouldn’t want to have only a glass of water once a day.” She placed the puppies on a blanket, elevating them from the slightly damp dirt floor that they were on.

After talking at length to the man, telling him that she will bring a large bag of food tomorrow for the mother and leaving 2 boxes of biscuits for the interim, he agreed to keep the puppies until they are weaned. This is another large problem in Mexico. Litter after litter of puppies are distributed to friends and family – or worse yet thrown on the street. These puppies, as I’m sure you know, contribute the overpopulation problem. Susie convinces these people to save the puppies and give them to her so she can find a proper home (and get them spayed/neutered of course); hopefully lessening the mushrooming problem. Of course, just taking the puppies is just putting a band-aid on an amputation; unless the mother is spayed nothing will really be solved. When the time is right for the dog she will facilitate the spaying of her as well.

Swan

Kirafiki [my other dog] and I have been together since 1999. My life has been designed around him. He goes with me everywhere and is with me almost 24 hours a day. Everyone who knows me knows that if I show up, he will be with me. He is now about 14 and a half years old. Sometime last year he started to get terrible anxiety. I have decided that it is due to his advancing age, and the changes his body is going through but having a difficult time understanding them. Without fail, every weekend between 10 AM and 4 PM he would go into full panic mode and pace my place, scratching at doors, and chewing and whining for six hours straight. It was just awful to watch, and no matter what I did to adjust the behavior, nothing helped. As a last ditch effort I had a prescription for Prozac written for him and he started taking it. I sort of felt like it was helping, but after 5 weeks he was still having regular panic attacks. One of the photos I attached is Kirafiki and Zoey sleeping by the front door. You can see the damage Kirafiki did to the door jam. Even though he was anxious at home, when out and about he is the most docile, easy-going dog ever. He sits outside the gym while I work out, and any time another dog walks by, he would barely acknowledge them. Occasionally he would lift his head to say hi, but mostly he just would hang out. One day, Zoey came by with her foster mom, Larissa. I didn't know at the time she was just being fostered, but when she came by my normally docile Kirafiki jumped up, started wagging his tail, smiling and prancing around. At first I thought he was just jealous, because the small dogs can go into the gym, while the big, hairy dogs usually stay outside. Zoey went into the office, and spent Larissa's workout with the gym owner's dogs in the office. When Larissa was done working out, she went back to get Zoey. Zoey was just a bundle of energy and love. Still not realizing she was being fostered, I asked Larissa to bring her over to me while I kept spinning just to say hello. Larissa then mentioned that she was fostering Zoey, and if I knew anyone who might be interested to let her know. I told her I would keep my eyes and ears open. You see, in the last 12+ years, Kirafiki and I have tried to rescue a few dogs, but they never got along. Kirafiki was a street dog before I got him, so he has always has some food-aggression issues. While I kept them apart at mealtime, he made it very clear that they weren't the dogs for us. So I found them very good homes and said goodbye. As Larissa and Zoey were leaving the gym, Kirafiki noticed and got up again. He started smiling, prancing and wagging his tail again. My entire spin class kept commenting on how smitten he looked and that they had never seen him react to another dog that way. Zoey, who is still weary of much larger dogs she doesn't know, got a little frightened so Larissa took her out the side door instead of the front to avoid scaring Zoey. Kirafiki saw this, but realized that they would still have to walk by him to get to their car, and he went as far as he could on his leash to wait for them to come around the corner. When they did, he started with the prancing, wagging and smiling again. He followed behind them as far as he could on his leash, and then came into the gym as far as he could. He looked me directly in the eyes in the mirror, looked down the street at them, back at me, back at them and then back at me. The others in the spin class affirmed what I thought.... I NEEDED to run after Zoey. Larissa brought her back, and she took refuge between my legs since she was still a little unsure about the big, enthusiastic dog smiling at her. He wrapped his body around my legs to protect her. I decided she needed to come home and spend the weekend with us, to see how things went. She came home on a Friday night. We spent the night, got up in the morning and went to the gym. I wanted our schedule to stay as normal as possible so that she would know what life here was like. Things were going well. We finished at the gym, and came home. Then 10 AM rolled around. True to form, there came the moment that Kirafiki went into panic mode. He would always get up, walk over to me, pant into my face, whine and then start the pacing. This time though, Zoey was sleeping soundly. I put my hand on him and said "look at the baby... she isn't scared." He looked at her, and sat down. Within minutes he was relaxed again. We went MONTHS without any more panic attacks. They have returned but not at the frequency or intensity that they were happening before. I have added a Thundershirt to the anxiety regimen, and that also helps out. Kirafiki plays with her. He lets her get away with ANYTHING. He will take treats nicely right next to her. He lets her peek into his bowl and snack on some of his food while he finishes his meal. She sleeps on him, curls up in his fur, and cleans his ears. He is in love. My life is now designed around the two of them... anywhere I go, my people know to expect the two of them to be with me. Zoey saved us. Both of us. She is the best thing to happen to me in 2011. She is pure joy and love wrapped into a tiny little doggy body. Thank you so much for saving her, and I thank the universe for bringing her to Kirafiki. I hope to make it to one of your adoption events soon so you can see them together in person. We love Zoey. Thank you so much for what you do. I cannot tell you how sorry I am that it took so long to get this to you. Please accept my apology. Wishing you and yours, and all the dogs you are doing such great work for, a fabulous holiday season!