New Stories Coming Soon! If you have adopted a dog from us and have a success story, please submit it to us. Some of the pictures below may get larger by clicking on them.
January 2006:
I'd like to submit an update on
Casey, a golden that I adopted from GRR.
First, I want to thank GRR for all that they do. They were wonderful throughout
the adoption process. I was especially impressed with how GRR pairs up owners
and pets based on their compatibility. Casey and I are a great match!!
I adopted Casey in March, 2003, when he was 3 1/2 yrs old. While his background
before I adopted him is very sketchy, I do know that he was an outside dog who
had rarely, if ever, been indoors. I was told that his initial owners left him
behind in their back yard when they moved away, and that a good neighbor rescued
him.
Casey is such a wonderful dog! From the first day I adopted him, he has been
very well-mannered and affectionate. He adjusted very quickly to being an inside
dog. He doesn't counter surf and has never even tried to get onto the furniture.
Casey is always eager to please! Casey is a follower - he is always by my side.
If I move to a different room in the house, he is not far behind. He is very
attached - which is great, because I love having him close by. He also is a very
quick study - I have taught him several new tricks.
Casey's Favorite Things/Pastimes:
Affection: Casey is eager to hand out and receive affection. He loves people - especially children. And they love him, too. Everywhere Casey goes, he makes new friends - people just gravitate to him because he is so happy-go-lucky. He has a way of making everyone smile!! He loves to sneak in kisses when they least expect it!! He also loves to sit on his back haunches with both of his front legs resting on one's lap. He actually looks somewhat human from the back when he does this! He even makes friends when we are sitting in traffic. He looks at others in their cars, makes eye contact, wags his tail, etc.
Squirrels: One of Casey's favorite pastimes is chasing squirrels in my back
yard. Upon hearing the word "squirrel", he immediately starts scanning the trees
and fence line for his favorite critters. The squirrels, being the
mischievous creatures they are, love to taunt him and play games. He loves
every minute of it. Thank goodness, he never is quick enough to actually catch
one!!
Town Lake: Another one of Casey's favorite activities is to go running with me at Town Lake. I can actually almost see him smiling when we are out there together. He loves to meet other dogs and people - he is always making friends. And, every chance he gets, he jumps into the water to swim. He loves to try to chase ducks, swans and especially the squirrels. You should see him trying to climb the trees to get to the squirrels!
Cats: Casey absolutely loves cats. He loves chasing them, but when they stop, turn around and stare or hiss at him, he hides behind my legs!! He knows where all of the local cats can be found - he gets more alert and looks for them every time we pass by one of the houses where they usually are. He really just wants to be friends, but none of the neighborhood cats understand this. He's such a funny dog!
Squeaky toys: He loves squeaky toys - especially brand-new ones. If I bring home a new toy, he has a way of knowing that it's in the bag before I say anything about it. Once he sees it, he runs around, makes noises and can't wait to play with it. Once he gets his teeth into it - he throws it in the air, plays tug of war, etc. Then, I usually find him using the new toy as a "pillow" when he tires of playing.
I am so happy that I was able to give Casey a home. He
is a wonderful companion. Attached are a few pictures that I have taken of him.
Sincerely,
Michelle
Visit Casey's photo gallery
As
an avowed opponent of weapons and bloodshed of any sort, I found myself in a bit
of a conundrum being the human for a dog named
Hunter. I had decided that if Hunter was a name that my pup had been given
when he came into foster care, I might possibly change it to something that
sounded similar like Homer or Hondo, or at one of my sisters’ suggestion, Harper
(though the latter was just Bazaar). But Mike - the very special
foster dad (of a wonderful foster family) who Hunter was lucky enough to be with
for his physical, emotional and psychological recovery in transition to his
eventual permanent home - told me that Hunter had been the pup’s given name when
he rescued him. So wanting to normalize his transition into a new life, I kept
the name. However I have added an S, so he is now Hunter S (as in the gonzo
journalist, Hunter S. Thompson).
This incredibly sweet fellow, who lies snoring at my side, head in my lap, as I
write this update, is just the most wonderful pet I have ever had the fortune to
know. His resilience, in overcoming the horrible beginning of his life, is just
nothing short of remarkable. While he was not, apparently, overtly abused in his
original home, the neglect he experienced - being tied up, never allowed inside,
not ever walked, played with nor given virtually any contact at all with other
animals or people, and allowed to almost die from malnutrition and severe anemia
due to all the fleas and ticks which covered him - amounted to what could have
been criminally prosecuted as abusive neglect amounting to a cruelty to animals
charge. Had GRR been called by someone other than the owner to give Hunter S a
chance in life, I am certain that such a conviction could have been secured in
this poor canine soul's case. In any event, Hunter shows no scars of any sort
from his initial circumstances (other than the fact that given his massive paws,
had he been properly fed during his first year, he would probably be enormous;
as it is, he is nevertheless a good size fellow, though a little funny looking
for his large feet).
I said that I wanted to try to normalize his transition from foster care to his
new life as much as possible, and to that end, I tried to keep as much of what
he had come to experience as normal in life (his foster experience) in place as
possible. So I bought him a kennel from GRR just like the one he had been
sleeping in, used the kennel mat he was familiar with at the Chamberlains’
(which they were good enough to give us), fed him the same food at about the
same time, and so on. I also kenneled him to sleep at night as he had been
accustomed to in his foster home. But after about 5 nights of the latter
routine, I offered Hunter S the option of sleeping elsewhere and just left the
kennel door open. He opted, as I expected, to hop up and sleep on my bed. I’ll
admit that I was a bit concerned about this change as I was worried that he
would wake me up on his schedule, wanting to play (something he dearly loves
after never experiencing it before in his lifetime prior to foster care), or
just generally trying to impose his early morning energy agenda on the
household. However this situation proved to just illustrate the sweetness of his
personality as it turned out that he just looks to me, when I move in the early
morning, to see if I am actually getting up. And if he sees that I am only
rolling over to sleep a bit more, he puts his head down and does the same until
I am ready to start the day.
I might add that it seems it is not just my bias towards goldens that
predisposes my perceptions of Hunter S. He just absolutely charms everyone whose
path he crosses, even my mother who has never let me bring another animal into
her house. I go down to her home in San Antonio every year for a few days at
Christmas time; and as I had just taken him in right around then and wouldn’t
consider boarding him so soon, I told Mom it was a deal breaker – either Hunter S
stayed in her home with me or I couldn’t come. She relented and ended up just
falling in love with him. He is truly a little canine ambassador for advancement
in hum
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