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.

George

George came to us from a local Puppy Mill. HE was only 5 years old, but he acted and looked like alot older. George was born and raised in a cage, he was never allowed to come out and walk in the yard, he was not allowed to smell the flowers or spend time with humans, instead he had to breed for his keep. His cage must have been small, for George's spine was hunched. He had a hump on his back, poor guy walked like he was an elderly dog. He had the floppy earred grin of a happy dog, which we are very sure that he was. Boy the first time he was allowed to get out and walk on the grass was priceless. It took George a little longer than the rest of the mill dogs to figure out how to run, he wanted to but everytime he tried he would fall on his face, it was a great day when he FINALLY figured out how to run, he loved to run, he would stumble a bit, but always got back up and ran like the wind. What a great gift to be able to give to a dog, the ability to be free. George was with us for a little while for her had lots to learn if he wanted to find happiness with a great family and live inside a home. George now lives in a home with other shih tzus, where he has finally found happiness, he has a family to love him, no more cages to live in and he has a large yard where he can run till he drops........

Callie

Callie came to us from Windsor, Canada. We were her last chance to find happiness. Her former owners could not imagine why Callie was not happy in their home, they had her spayed, gave her all her shots, they even put up a big kennel in the yard for her to play and live in, but she was not happy to be by herself, she wanted a family, she wanted to live inside, she wanted Love. so she would climb the fence to find it for herself, and they surrendered her to the local shelter. Callie had stopped eating at the humane society and they feared that they would have to put her down. They asked the rescues for help, her colors drew us to her, and she came to the states. Callie proved to be a handful, she went thru a few of our foster homes, no one was able to train her, she was very loving but very high strung. Callie had separation anxiety, and we needed to work thru this issue if she were to ever find a new home. that took over a month to get over. Then she was adopted, but she was brought back a week later, as she had reverted back to the anxiety again. Callie needed a special family that would be willing to take her to Obedience training, that would be willing to put some time and effort into her training. Someone who would love her for herself. It took awhile but we finally found that special family to adopt her. It has been almost a year now and Callie is a treasured part of her home and family. We are glad to have helped her find a place where she can call home.

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.

Zeke

Zeke is a Parson's Terrier, or what used to be called a wire haired Jack Russell Terrier. He is 4 years old. He was left in a northern shelter, and he was overlooked, maybe because he had a deformed leg, or maybe just because he was a Jack Russell, we may never know. But we took him from his cement prison, and brought him home, to our rescue, he had a bad case of Kennel Cough, and we were treating him for this. He was not allowed to go to any events and he became jealous, and ran out the door, one day after I had left for an event, he was gone for 3 days, he would not allow anyone to catch him, until he fell asleep and someone snatched him right up and called us to say they found him. Zeke proved to be a very hard case, since he had to stay in foster care longer than most of our rescued dogs, he decided that he would stay and never leave. He tried to take over the household, and when out at events, he would ignore everyone except me, and not allow me to take care of any other dog but him. Zeke was moved to another foster home as he got way too attached, it broke our hearts, but Zeke needed to find a family, and he made it harder for us, as he did not like young children, and he wanted to stay within the rescue. Zeke had been with us for 7 months, the longest we ever had a dog stay within our rescue... But Zeke finally found a home with a couple, that loves him for what he is and they have spoiled him rotten just the way he likes it, he now has the family that he deserved, and we will ALWAYS miss our ZEKE, he was truly a special needs little doggy. But he is happy and we get monthly updates on his progres and new pictures all the time, so we feel like we are still a part of his life.

Bismark

Bismark was dumped in a shelter in Kentucky. He was overlooked by many folks, including Rescues, because he was the unfortunate result of a breeder that did not do their homework. Bismark, was slowing going Blind due to a genetic defect. He was doomed until Kentucky Lab Rescue took pity on him. They tried to get other Lab rescues willing to take him on. But no one wanted Bismark. Then they contacted us, and because we have bighearts, we just could not turn him away. He was transported to Michigan, and into our loving arms. He was a rescue favorite, he had a heart of Gold, he loved everyone and everyone loved him. It took us a few months, but eventually his new family found him and came to us to claim him. Now Bismark, our Blind Lab, has a home with two other dogs, and out inthe country. He is one of our greatest accomplishments.