Happy Tails

About a year ago I adopted Buddy (formerly Howard) and Buster from Little Mutts.  I had previously had four small dogs and sadly had lost three of them, two quite recently.  I decided to adopt a younger dog in order to bring that life and joy back into the house.  We ended up adopting Howard approximately one years old.  He is a real little devil (a lovable one though) and took over the household right away.  I don't think my twelve year old Papillon knew what hit him!  Buddy took no time at all to stake out his favorite places to sleep and favorite toys to play with.  He learned the dog door in about three hours and now pops in and out to do his business and bark at anyone passing by.  He tried desperately to get the Papillon to play tug and to chase him around the house, but it was just wearing him out.  Hence, our adoption of Buster about a month later.  Buster (approx. 3 years) is the sweetest little boy and fit into the household really well.  All he wants is to be petted and have his tummy rubbed.  He and Buddy play tug frequently and chase each other around the house, especially at bedtime.  Buster took a little longer to learn the dog door, about three days but now really enjoys the outdoors, especially during the warmer days.  He patrols the fence or just suns himself on the patio.

Out of curiosity I had their DNA sent in to see what breeds came up.  Buddy, the black one, was listed as Chihuahua/Corgi cross, he came back as Chihuahua/Jack Russell/American Staffordshire Terrier, so now I call him my little Pit Bull.  Buster(brown) was listed as Terrier Mix and came back as Jack Russell/Bichon Frise/Poodle.  He was quite a scruffy little mutt and as we were shaving our Papillon for the summer we had him cut back too.  As you can see from the before (Buster1, Buddy and Buster) and after (Buster3) pictures, he turned out to be quite a handsome boy under all the scruff.

Everyone has fit in quite well, and though they still have their occasional squabbles (like any brothers), they get along well.  They have definitely brought the joy and laughter back to the house and even livened up my twelve year old.  He never really played with his previous siblings, so he's learning new games and has adapted well to the younger boys.  Buddy makes us laugh as he struts around the house like the boss of everything he sees, until he isn't feeling well or has hurt himself, then he turns into the biggest baby and wants to be picked up and cuddled.  Buster just takes everything in stride and loves to sit beside me on the couch and have his tummy rubbed.  We are truly grateful to Little Mutts for allowing us the opportunity to bring these dogs into our lives.

Many Thanks

Wendy

It’s been almost ten months since we welcomed Violet, formally Chloe, into our home. Violet has blossomed into a
happy, comical, “I Love my life” girl. She wakes up happy, spends her entire day happy and goes to bed happy and content.  She loves playing with her stuffies, tunnelling her way under blankets (we now keep fleece blankets in every room of our house) going on long walks and eating any raw veggies she can get her paws on, she is a California girl after all.  She enjoys car rides in her booster seat and playing tug a war with her “Dad” who has nicknamed her rocket.
  After having her for about 4 months we left her at a pet resort “hot dogz” in Lethbridge. She was there for 2 nights. It was at that point, when we came to get her that she seemed to understand that she had a family who Loved her and a true forever home.  We have no idea what our girl went through before becoming a welcome part of our lives but she will only know Love for the rest of her life and we are so thankful that she is a part of ours.

We adopted Daisy from Little Mutts in February.  We have another dog, Snookie that we also adopted from Little Mutts six years ago.  To be honest, we were not looking to get a second dog, I was on the Little Mutts website looking for someone else, but fell in love with Daisy’s picture and bio.  Adopting a second dog was definitely the right decision for our family. Daisy came from California, so moving out to the Canadian Rockies was definitely a climate change for her.  Once suited up with a pair of doggie boots, she was ready to go!  She loves the snow!   And tolerates wearing a winter jacket.  The first night at our house, Daisy was in the family room with us all, but chose to sit in a chair by herself.  That was the last time we’ve seen Daisy sit by herself, she is now always curled up on someone’s lap or sitting close to Snookie.  Daisy is a very affectionate dog and is great with our two kids aged 11 and 13.  We have also noticed that Daisy has become very protective of Snookie, the two bonded right from the start.  When on walks, if another dog tries to get into Snookie’s space, Daisy quickly steps in

We do not know very much about Daisy’s past.  I am baffled how this little sweetie ever found herself needing a home, but the important thing is that she is part of our family now.  I do know two things for sure.  One, Daisy is now in her forever home and we love her to bits!  Two, a dog proof kitchen garbage is required with Daisy in the house!

I would also like to add a BIG thank you to Michelle, her foster mom (also Snookie’s foster mom).  It is because of people like you that these dogs find their forever homes!

I've attached two photos, one with her and Snookie cuddled together and one with a pair of sunglasses on Daisy -- I love this one b/c the reflection in her glasses shows the view from her forever home :)

We are happy to say our fur baby is doing extremely well. It was a big adjustment for him but he has settled in with my family quite well. His name is Marvin, we kept the name he came with. He has come a long way from the first day we brought him home. He was afraid of going up and down the stairs, but after a few days he got over that fear. He still don’t like to go on walks, but he’s getting better. He loves to sit with us and have his belly rubbed. His favorite thing. He has brought so much joy to our family. We all love him dearly.

I have had a wonderful time with our new little girl who was Mabelline and now answers to the name of Maggie. We had a wonderful introduction to our little girl from Cynthia and we fell in love straight away, since then our love has grown and grown. Maggie is a wonderful little girl very loving and playful, she settled in with her older brother Scruff so easily. Maggie has given us so much love its unbelievable considering what she must have gone through. No words of thanks would be enough to thank you all. We are a very happy little family and looking forward to our summer of trailering and long walks in the woods. Thank you Cyndy, John, Scruff and Maggie

Cuddles and I are doing great! She's very much at home now and is getting used to her extended family, canine and human. She also loves her walks and all the wonderful people and dogs that she meets on them. People are always very surprised to learn that she is a rescue and that she's so obedient and affectionate. Thank you so much for bringing Cuddles here!

I'm very happy to have Chester as part of the family. He's only been with me just over 5 weeks, but I feel like he's been here forever :)

He has a lovely disposition and is getting along with his sister, Daisy, really well! I'm actually surprised at how accepting Daisy is of him. I was worried about the transition, but it has been very smooth. He loves belly rubs and just being close to people. He's met a few people outside of the family and has been wonderful with all of them.

Chester has some challenges, with incomplete cataracts in both eyes so we are exploring our options with the vet to make him more comfortable. He is making progress every day and learning to move around with confidence!

He's not able to go down steps, but is making progress going up steps (deck steps and inside the house). He is learning to navigate around the house pretty well. I make sure to have the stairs blocked off as he's not always aware when he's close to the edge. No falls so far!

He's finding his voice - loves to bark when he's outside or when he hears birds or other animals. Also, now that the snow has melted, he loves to kick up the grass and dirt, it's so funny to watch him!

He loves his new food. He has a hard time eating anything crunchy, so he is responding well to soft homemade food (chicken/beef and veggies, cooked). According to the vet, he will need a few more teeth extracted (his incisor teeth were removed prior to his adoption) in the coming months. I'm working on brushing his teeth! He's actually responding well to that, doesn't give me too much trouble :) The vet said he had a cleaning recently, so that was good news!

Here are some pictures of him. He was groomed his first week, so he looks quite different with short hair!