Happy Tails

 Little Miss Stormy is doing fantastic! We love her to bits and are so glad we had this amazing opportunity. 

She loves her furever home.

Shelley and Brent 

We've just passed the 5 year mark since adopting Belle. Hard to believe it has been that long already.

You'll be happy to know she is doing really well, now at 10 years old.  It's been a journey to get her healthy, but I think she is at her healthiest and spunkiest ever now. It took a while to figure out that certain antibiotics are hard on her, so now we avoid those. She's had a fair bit of dental work, and it appears that was her biggest issue. She is a lively dog now, and basically demands 3 long walks per day.   We think she was mostly ignored before, because although it takes a little longer, she does learn games and commands.  Late learner I guess.

We found an amazing dental specialist (Dr. Judy Rochette of West Coast Veterinary Dental Services) in Vancouver who has done wonders for her health, when local vets kind of threw up their hands.  Even managed to get a fair bit more range of motion in her jaw.

She's a sweet little dog who likes everyone, very well behaved, and fun to be with. A frequent flier to Vancouver to visit family...they'd probably send us back if we didn't bring her!

Bryan and Laurie

I thought you might like to see some pics of Darby (A.K.A. Elvis!), and know how he's faring!

Darby's doing really well and has settled right into his new home.  He might have a food allergy that we're still working on identifying, and has a stubborn ear infection but we're working on that too.

Despite it all, he is a happy little guy and is SUCH a treasure!  So sweet, kind, funny, cuddly, smart, loves to play with his toys, go for walkies and best of all....CAR RIDES!!!  I do believe Darby is his happiest self when he's in the car!  It is impossible to get my keys out of the drawer without Darby hearing it and running to the garage door with great anticipation!!!

Thank you again so very much for this little guy...we were meant to be together  :)

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Cyndi

Donna 

Laney is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known.  She accepted my other dog Coco as her sister incredibly quickly.  Now it's hard to find one without the other.  They sleep together, play together, and love sitting in the sun.  They sure each have their own personalities though.  Laney lets us know she wants to go outside by alternately looking at us and spinning in circles, thankfully, not by barking.  She settled into our routine very easily.  We adapted to her thing for sleeping under a blanket instead of on one.  Astoundingly, she did beautifully when my grandchildren 12 and 7 came to visit early in July.  

I wasn't sure about her name at first.  I know many people change their rescue's name when they adopt.  Laney seemed to respond to the name she was given, so I googled names that were similar in structure.  In the search, I learned Laney is sometimes a nickname for Elaine.  My mom's name was Elaine and she was the centre of my universe until her passing just over 2 years ago.  I decided Laney was a fitting name just as it was.  

All rescues come with some baggage and Laney has a few quirks that took some time to adjust to.  But then again, we all have some baggage in one form or another regardless of species.  We are incredibly happy with Laney and would recommend Little Mutts to anyone.  

Betty came to us from a hoarding puppy mill in California. Her rescuer who told us she had never been to worse conditions in the 20 years of her rescuing dogs.  Our little Betty is an 8 year old Maltese and is the light of my life. Her rescuer - a beautiful woman name Sandra explained it took 4 months to bring Betty to the point where she was adoptable. When she rescued Betty she was extremely malnourished and sickly. Her wonderful team cleaned her, fed her, operated on her and brought back from the brink. I believe these people have a special place in heaven reserved just for them!

Our little Betty arrived in our home not knowing how to climb up stairs, go potty on a pee pad. She had never been to a park, on a leash, in a car, she didn't understand simple commands because I believe she had been treated as a "thing" her whole life. She still doesn't know how to play, if I throw a toy at her she watches it go by and totally ignores it. Luckily I can bring Betty with me to work so she is with me constantly. She doesn't do well when she isn't near me. I am working on her confidence to be without me but as my vet explained, I am the first safe loving person she has had in her life (beside Sandra of course)  

We have an alpha female Westie named Callie and a rescue cat named Oliver. From the moment Betty entered our home both animals treated her with kindness. Callie lets Betty push her out of the way for food - and never barks or nips at her.  Oliver never hissed or hid from her. We always say it's like they could tell she needed be treated gently by them. When we take Betty to the dog park (which isn't often because the dogs are so big). The dogs come up, sniff her and walk away. The too seem to sense she needs to be treated gently. Amazing. 

She absolutely loves going for walks. It's the highlight of her day but it wasn't always that way. We started by carrying her on our walks because when I put her down she was so nervous she didn't know where to walk. After a few weeks we put her on a leash and walked her as far as she was comfortable. At first it was a half a block, then the whole block and then finally in the park. She just loves it. She runs and sniffs and finally started to go potty outside (only when we're on our walks) but I believe it's a good sign. She's figuring out she doesn't have to go potty where she lives. 

I don't care that she makes mistakes and doesn't always go on her pee pads. I have never given her trouble for her mistakes because she is so gentle, I just point to her pee pad and repeat - go pee pee on your pee pad and I lift it up for her to see. Commands to actions are very new to Betty. She has never learned a "language" so it's a bit slow going, but she's catching on. I expect it will take a least a year before our house is not covered with pee pads. My goal is to have one spot she goes to for her pee pads. The reality is that I see the big picture of where she came from, how far she has come in such a short time.  I know we have the rest of her lift to teach her. Really - what's a little mess here and there? It cleans up.

Betty was very very easy to fall in love with. Every day I tell her how much I love her and am so grateful she is in my life. I tell Betty's story to anyone who will listen in hopes that some other kind family will hear her story and adopt a beautiful rescue dog of their own. 

Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to love Betty for the rest of her life.

Kim + Jay 

Thank you some much