Rescue ~ Rehab ~ Rehome

Toby

12/5/11: Hello Cindy & Sharon! I just wanted to forward the following pictures of Toby (white) and Sophie in their new winter sweaters. Both were shivering so bad on our walk yesterday that I decided to have "Santa Paws" come early this year :) Sophie was used to wearing a sweater, but I was surprised that Toby not only let me put it on, but made himself quite comfortable in it. He was almost prancing on his walk, holding his head high! So far both dogs are getting along. Sophie has taken to Toby's feeding schedule and is now willingly going into her crate like Toby! Toby is walking perfectly on a leash and hasn't had one accident. He is still running away at the word "come" (I jokingly call him Brave Sir Robin from the character in Monty Python and the Holy Grail), but he has "sit" down pat and usually I can get him to sit, then approach him. And the best news of all. . . .yesterday Sophie and Toby played chase together! It was so awesome to see them playing together :) My heart just melted We couldn't be happier with Toby in our family. Thanks again to both of you for making this possible for us! Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New year. I will continue to send updates! Sincerely, Oksana Laprade

Madison

11/28/11: Madison, happy at home with her new sibling.

Fran

Hi Haven-to-Home friends,

This is Abby here…I’m getting used to my new name which was changed from Fran.

First of all, I still can’t believe how my new family found me. So many things came together just right for this to happen…it just had to be more than coincidence! Zach, the boy I now spend lots of time with, met me at a campground that I was at for a few days with my very cool foster family, the Willoughbys. I was with the Willoughbys because the folks who were supposed to take care of me had too many dogs already, so they were holding me for a few days. Zach didn’t want to go camping because he wanted to stay home and check dog pounds for a dachshund but his parents convinced him to go anyway. They told him it could be months to find the “right” dog, never dreaming that they would find me on that vacation! Well, the night we met there was an outdoor movie at the camp and we ended up sharing a picnic table. Zach’s family almost didn’t come to the movie because Zach’s dad knew they saw it already and was thinking of staying by their campfire. Fortunately, Zach’s dad didn’t catch up to him or his mom to suggest the campfire and we were already getting acquainted. It was a beautiful night, in more ways than one.

Now let me tell you about my new home since Labor Day and what’s been going on.

My first challenge was to become housebroken. Being one year old, it’s not so easy to break old habits you know, especially when it’s rainy outside. I don’t know what I’m gonna do when the snow starts falling.

I’m the only dog in this house, which kinda good sometimes and not so good other times. The good thing is that I found that I don’t need to rush eating my meals ‘cause nobody is going to eat from my plate. This also helped me gain some of my weight back and get my nice figure back. There aren’t any other dogs to play with in the house but my owners play with me a lot and we chase each other around and play with some neat toys. I even get to go kayaking on a lake with them. I get to be the navigator…just point my nose in the direction I want to go and the captain paddles us there. There is a neat dog park nearby that they drive me to, so I get to play with lots of other dogs there. I like to show off how fast I am and hear everyone remark how surprised they are at my speed since I am a dachshund with shortish legs. I have to outwit some of the big dogs by faking them out and dodging. When that doesn’t work, I just stop short…then they stop… and then I take off again. My owners keep thinking I have had enough running and being chased but then I go instigate another round of tag with the big dogs. I don’t think they’ll ever get it.

Then there’s work. I’m in charge of being the squirrel/chipmunk police. Trust me, it’s a big job; they’re all over the place. Seems like they really let this situation get out of control before I got here.

Well gotta go now, time for bed and get ready for tomorrow.

Abby (Fran)

CoCo Puff

10/23/2011: Here is one for the Happy Tales. CoCo is so excited (can't you tell with those soulful eyes) for his trick or treaters. He already done his rounds and got lots of treats in his neighborhood from his buddies. I heard MOM say he is so sweet he has to go as Kandy Korn... I really don't feel any sweeter than before but I believe everything she says.:) you know Mother Knows Best... I hope everyone has a great howl a ween night. We are all pumped up here. I love my new home and hope and pray all my friends at Haven to Home get as lucky as I got. Sloppy sloppy slickey licks to all.

Daphne

Hi Roe;

I suppose you think about all the dogs you place and sometimes wonder how they're getting on. Daphne's been with us for 4 months now, and it's like she's been here forever.

She is at the office with me 4 out of 5 business days most weeks - any time I don't have to be on the road. She's quiet, and rarely barks, but does like to fish out of the trash cans and go to the shop at lunchtime and breaks to mooch food from the guys. She's the defacto shop dog. In the office, she lays around on the prints and keeps them from blowing away.

Daphne had gotten quite wooly in the past couple of months, so last week I took her to Petsmart and got her trimmed. Now she's all groomed up, like she was when we picked her up from you. May be all the treats and begging in the shop are taking a toll on her girlish figure, but she's good and healthy.

She still actively dislikes other dogs - especially little ones - so we have to be careful about that when we're out. But with kids, she's great. I typically drive home, park the car, and walk her over to school to pick Tara up, so she gets lots of attention from 3rd graders. She gets lots of attention on the street too- she's a very good looking dog. Aside from all the walks, she seems to like being indoors more than out, and likes to bound up and down the hallways and shake her toys to death. Most of the time, when we give her treats, she flings them up in the air and bats them down the hall and rolls around on them before eating them - I guess it's all part of the 'kill'. She likes to wrestle with me, and grabs my forearm and pulls me around. Fortunately, she'll stop if I put my hands up and surrender. She's decided to sleep in our room at night - which makes Tara happy, because Daphne kind of likes to eat her stuffed animals. She's not really too destructive, but she does get rammy at times.

In a nutshell, a real winner!

I hope this finds you well, and that your upcoming adoption event is a big success.

Brian