Shirley

Shirley's Happy Ending | In Memory of Mitzi

A two‘fer happy ending – Mitzi (aka Missy) and Myrna (aka Shirley). In July, I adopted Shirley. She wanted a different name so we settled on Myrna (For those of us whose parents loved old movies, that would be Myrna Loy, Google her). Myrna is 7 years old and was a puppy mill breeding dog.  The best I can tell, she never had a name, a toy, medical attention, had never seen grass, wasn’t house trained and didn’t even know how to run, basically a 7 year old puppy. Because of her lack of medical attention when CSAC saved her, she had a bad jaw infection and has lost all her teeth.  But thanks to CSAC’s attention, she is healthy and I have a happy, joyous little girl.

The two’fer - about 5 years ago with CSAC’s help, I adopted Mitzi (aka Missy), a 10 year old at the time whose owner had passed away.  Although Mitzi never had Myrna’s troubles, she is now elderly, partially deaf and partially blind.  They are a perfect pair and inseparable. There is no greater joy than coming home from a hard day’s work to be met at the door by two wigglebutts who could not be happier to see you.  It is absolutely the best part of every day.

PS – After I wrote this and before I sent it in, Mitzi was diagnosed with cancer, Wednesday November 25, 2015 was her last day. Do you and your pet a favor, when you get home tonight get down on the floor with them and play.  5 or 10 minutes is all it will take, I guarantee it will be the best part of both of your days.

- The Collison Family

Max's Happy Ending

Greetings CSAC!

On March 27th, we were blessed to adopt a three month old cocker spaniel puppy through the CSAC from a Maryland shelter. In the shelter he was known as Max. Now he is our sweet little Boomer!

From the moment we met him, he has given us love, kisses and  a wagging tail.....the tail was certainly something we had to get used to....our previous cockers had docked tails so seeing this long extension from his behind has certainly distinguished him!

Boomer loves to play and seems to love all other doggies. We frequent the off leash dog park, and he can't get enough of meeting new furry friends. He loves to run and wrestle with all sizes and shapes!

He spends a lot of time with his best buddy and neighbor, Skylar, a two year old Golden Retriever. They have developed quite a bond over the months. One of their favorite things has become the backyard pool.  When open, they swim together. When closed they run and bounce on the cover. It is so precious to see them frolic together.

The only thing we have not yet been able to conquer with Boomer is his fear of new people. He gets very excited, barks and ducks away from strangers. We are trying our best to work him through this so that everyone can experience the lovable dog that he is.

It had become a tradition that we (me, husband, dog) dress up in costume for Halloween and visit the neighbors. And I am excited to say that Boomer handled that like a champ. This year we went as two skunks and a critter control man (pictures included).

Boomer is a wonderful add to our family. He is now eleven months old and loves his life. My husband and I love him and are enjoying tremendous joy with our new little buddy.

Sincerely,

The Brown Family

Gus and Bella's Happy Ending

I had an empty house in January 2014 after sadly losing my 2 cocker boys in 2013.  A house without a dog just doesn't seem like a home. I adopted from CSAC before and had been following Gus, a puppy mill rescue boy with no teeth. Gus was lucky to go to a foster home on Christmas day and was still looking for his forever home. I decided to meet Gus. I was unsure how he would be around kids since I had no exposure to a puppy mill rescue, so off I went with my nephews and godsons to visit Gus at his foster home. 

From the minute we walked in the door, Gus absolutely loved the kids and we all loved him. It was heartwarming to see this happy and playful pup running around the house. Much to the kids' surprise, Gus went home with us that day! Gus has adapted so well to every situation and has brought so much joy and love to my life. He loves everyone he meets and is such an angel. I am so thankful to give him the home he deserves.

Fast forward to 2015 and I was thinking of adopting a second dog.  I learned of Bella who had just come into rescue after being turned into a shelter in Maryland. Bella had some possible medical issues, and I decided to foster her first until we knew more. She was diagnosed with Cushings and started on meds when I brought her home. She has made amazing strides and looks and acts like a new dog. It didn't take long for her to work her way into our hearts, and she officially found her forever home in September. Then our vet discovered tumors which were removed, some cancerous but fortunately all of the cancer was removed during surgery.  It has been an eventful 3 months for little Bella, and she has come through it all a happy, loving, snuggly pup who loves to play fetch almost as much as she loves to cuddle and get belly rubs.

Gus and Bella love to take car rides and go for walks together. They often will sit next to each other (especially waiting for dinner!) and occasionally even snuggle together. Funny thing is, both times I was first interested in a different dog, but fate brought me to Gus and then Bella. Such sweethearts from sad prior situations, they both are a great testatment to the resilient spirit of dogs.  Thank you CSAC for helping dogs like them find the new homes they deserve. I am so blessed to have both Gus and Bella in my life and can't imagine my family without them.

The Dullen Family

Romeo's Happy Ending

We rescued our chocolate Cocker Spaniel, Romeo, in February of 2015.  He joined a family of other dogs, as well as a cat, and fit right in immediately.  He is sweet, affectionate, and a wonderful addition to our home.  He is loving and well-loved in return.  Here he is, hanging out with one of his new-found buddies, Princess. Thank you CSAC!

The Zappulla Family

Oreo's Happy Ending

Oreo has become the top dog at our house, as her housemate Jessie the Bichon died in September. We thought Oreo would miss her but we haven't seen that yet. She continues to love her afternoon walks, except when it is raining. She still has trust issues and must be watched closely during noisy thunderstorms, or if we move too quickly when she is anxious.

Oreo has learned to "gut" her toys which has been a challenge. New toys stay whole approximately ten days, then we must remove the remaining fill. We are hoping to find a behavior specialist to help us deal with her nipping, as we are not clear why she strikes out.

We love having Oreo and are looking forward to her adjusting to our routines.

The Rost Family

Kayleigh's Happy Ending

We adopted her in September 2010. We are so happy we were chosen for Lucy. She is such a sweet girl. She is a cuddler, and we LOVE it!  She is well behaved ....docile and so loving. Even our vet tells us how lucky we were to get Lucy.  She is even a good girl when she is groomed...which is every 5 weeks because her hair is so thick and grows so fast. And, she has gorgeous long eyelashes!  We truly believe she was meant for us and can't thank you enough for allowing us to be Lucy's parents. We often think of this agency and how good everyone was to work with!  Keep doing what you do for these dogs.

The Sebastian Family
 

Sundance's Happy Ending

We brought Sundance (AKA-Sunny) home on July 19, 2015 to join his sister Holly (formerly Pooky, another CSAC alum who we adopted on December 23, 2012), and he has been a wonderful addition to our family.

Our journey to Sunny began when we lost our much loved cocker spaniel (Grace) after a wonderful 15 years. Sometimes its hard to know when it’s the right time to bring another dog into your life after losing one that was so special, so it was important that we find the right fit for our family, including big sister Holly and our 21 year old kitty Monday. I originally emailed CSAC about a different dog—Shadow—who was a puppy mill rescue. When the CSAC volunteer called me back to talk about adopting Shadow (so happy to see that she was adopted recently!), she skillfully asked me questions about what we wanted in a new addition and how they would best fit into our family. And then she suggested that Sunny might be a better fit, and he was available immediately. And when she told us his story, we were hooked almost immediately.

Sunny’s journey to us began on May 2, 2015 when he was brought to a shelter in North Carolina as un-neutered stray, so matted that he had to be shaved. Here, he was labeled a cocker mix (despite the docked tail!) and marked with the label “Bites!” and “Aggressive with Males.” Seriously. These were stickers in his paperwork from the original shelter. He also tested positive for heartworm. Needless to say, things did not look good for “Louie” as he was named at the shelter. 

I’m not sure what chain of events happened next, but a very nice person named Janni Cone (I only have her name from the paperwork, but we owe her our eternal gratitude!) picked him up from the shelter on behalf of CSAC and transported him to a vet where he was treated for heartworm and boarded until a foster family could be found. And somehow that perfect foster family (Kathy Carl) was located just about an hour and a half away from us. Kathy and her husband did a wonderful job caring for Sunny and testing his temperament and were able to give us great advice on how to ensure a smooth transition. And as soon as we met him, we fell in love.  He is the perfect dog for us!

Was he nervous at first? Of course. Did he act tentative around us? Absolutely. Was he afraid of our cat for the 1st week? Petrified. Were we a little nervous the first time we left him alone? You bet.  But you know what? It made every “first” success even sweeter: the first time he jumped up on the couch to cuddle, the first time he rolled over for a belly rub, the first time he and his sister Holly chased birds together in the yard, and especially the first time he crawled into bed and laid his head on my shoulder and sighed the contented sigh of a dog who knows when he is home. Who knows what he experienced in his first home, on the streets and in a scary shelter? But he was so trusting of us and within a few days, he knew he was home.

There are too many wonderful moments to pick just a few—he is adorable, photogenic, unintentionally funny, crazy smart, obsessed with squeaker toys, loves belly and ear rubs, sleeps with his head on the pillow like a person, figured out how to let himself out of the back door (no doggie door needed!), is fascinated with everything during neighborhood walks, likes to crawl and dig under the deck, is a great car traveler, and if butt-wiggling is a sign, he absolutely loves his new home as much as we love him.

I can’t say enough good things about the volunteers at CSAC. So many concerned dog lovers had a hand in bringing Sunny to us-- it’s like all of the planets aligned to make sure that this dog was ours.

Sincerely,

Tricia Fonzi and Scott Simonds