It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our loving dog and best friend, Jeter.  Jeter was born in October 2004.  We met him at an adoption event in Serling VA.  As he crawled into my hand and I lifted him up he curled up under my chin.  My wife and I established an immediate connection Jeter.  It was love at first sight.  Jeter lived an extraordinarily happy life.  He loved to run around the yard and play.  He never met a person he didn’t like.  Jeter was also extremely smart.  He learned any trick very quickly and loved his Milk Bone rewards.  Jeter passed away peacefully in our arms on 23 May 2024.  His amazing almost 20 year life was filled with love and happiness for both us and him.  We will miss him dearly.  God speed my little friend.

Sincerely, Keith and Lori

Hello,

My best friend passed who I received from you all at your rescue. She was a litter of weimeraner/coonhound pups. She loved music, being off leash honestly (sorry) and me whistling and her coming back from wherever she was like a jet plane anytime I called for her.
She was there for each of my kids to meet.

Thank you! Alec

Our story begins on Saturday, January 31, 2009 at an adoption event at Petco in Chantilly, VA. We had gone to other adoption events before this and we’re still searching for ‘our’ dog. We had looked at several dogs that day when our daughter Chelsea sat down on the floor beside the foster mama’s daughter who was holding Copper. After a couple minutes, Copper got up, walked over and sat down in our daughter’s lap. So, Copper kind of picked us. He was known as Valley at that time. We were told that he and his litter mates (The Tribe) were found on the side of the road during a rainstorm. He was such a laid-back dog so I started calling him ‘Old Man’. That was his speed. We couldn’t wait to be able to bring Copper home. February 15, 2009 was that day. The funniest thing about copper was how picky he was about eating. We bought him little puppy snacks which were a little bones. He would not eat one of them. So I gave him a Cheerio. He played with that cheerio for almost 15 minutes and then finally ate it. Over the past 15 years, copper has given us the most unconditional love and brought joy to our family and everyone he met. He had many adventures going up and down Short Hill mountain where we lived in Northern Virginia. I can’t believe the little guy survived Bears, coyotes, snakes and the like that were on that mountain. He loved his big brother Koda until his passing in 2017 and his little brother Fleury until his passing in March 2022. He leaves behind his brother Kenai, who already misses him a lot, as well as all of us. My grandchildren will miss him, especially 20 month old Colin. RIP little Copper. Have a good time running in the fields over the Rainbow Bridge with Koda, Fleury and Arapaho. 💙💙💙

Thank you, Marsha

My sweet friend, Molly the wonder mutt passed away May 14, 2024. She turned 15 in April. Adopted from AFH as a 10 week old beagle mix puppy we had so many great years together. She was 35 pounds of happy. Molly was my walking buddy, my pal once kids moved away, and my constant companion during the pandemic. Thank you AFH and Molly’s foster family for bringing her into my life. Donation coming your way. Keep up the good work. 

Thanks, Ann

Dear Yuki, thank you for the time and love you gave our family for nine beautiful years. Your loving gaze, calm presence and steadfast presence were a balm to our souls. We will miss you terribly. Yuki came to us in March 2015, very skinny with recurrent ear and teeth infections. We got that mostly under control over the years with diet and persistence and the support of Chantilly Animal Hospital. She was best friends with Teddy, our Safe Harbor german shepherd rescue from Kansas. Teddy and Yuki loved to go on walks together as well as playing ‘doggie WWF’ with a couple of the neighborhood dogs. Yuki’s nickname was ‘Flash’ as she could sprint at amazing speeds once she got her back legs underneath her. It was poetry in motion. Yuki was also the sniffiest dog I’ve ever seen. No smell was too insignificant to be ignored, and many smells required extensive minutes long bouts before she was fully satisfied she had extracted all information from the 2 inch spot on the ground. In the morning she had to smell our breath and when we came home from work or shopping she had to sniff our faces, hairlines and clothes. We always asked “Dr. Yuki” if we had the all clear.  She loved the park, chasing small furry animals (we had to be on alert for that), and being in proximity to either Teddy, me or my daughter. Yuki knew what time it was and if we were teleworking she circled us to herd us to our desks and computers. If we walked out for coffee or food she monitored our return, the epitome of the work supervisor. We all knew who was in charge.  She liked to do “upside down dog” with her head hanging off the dog bed, laying under my work desk, and generally being in the family mix. Yuki was so shy when we first got her she hid in the pantry. She slowly warmed up to us although she was always very shy around men and children. She seemed conflicted; she wanted to be petted but didn’t quite trust anyone to do it right. She did not like her raincoat (seemed resigned) or snow boots (those never stayed on) but absolutely adored rolling around in snow like a big white fluffy puppy.

Maribel and forever family, It is with a heavy heart we share that our four legged daughter, Penny, has passed away. She was the most perfect puppy to ever exist – kind, gentle, loyal, and truly a rare being. We still remember bringing her home 10 years ago, and she was just as soft and sweet on her last day. We are so beyond thankful for these last 10 years with her – even in the darkest of times, Penny was always our light. Our heart. Our peanut butter licking and cucumber chewing girl. Our traveler and car-ride-lover. And ultimately, the most humanistic and empathetic dog we will ever have, know, and love. I know that Penny is resting well with our Muwa (my mother) and I can only hope that she will come visit us in our dreams. We love you Penny, more than you will ever know. Your snout, paws, and soul are in our hearts forever. Thank you forever-home for trusting us and allowing us to have a beautiful penny with us🙏

Best regards, Prabha 

In 2012 I had bought my first house and I thought that it would be nice to get my first dog, Jude, a friend. I found Sadie at AFH while looking for Rottweiler/lab mix puppies that would look like one of my childhood dogs. It appears now that she somehow found her way in with a litter of real rottie mixes and no one was more surprised than I when she grew into not being a Rottweiler mix at all. It didn’t matter however, because she became my best friend. She was my wife’s shadow, her closest confidant. Sadie welcomed our 2 kids home with open paws and selflessly became their guardian and protector. We said goodbye to our sweet girl just a few days go after a long fight with lymphoma. We loved Sadie, and she loved us.

My husband and I decided that we wanted to adopt a puppy in 2008, when I was retiring from teaching.  One of my students, Abby, waters fostering two adorable boxer/bloodhound mixed puppies, so she brought them to school one day.  The minute she put one of the puppies in my arms, I instantly fell in love with this little girl.  We named her Abby after my student.  This pup was everything we had wanted in a dog: bright, curious, loving, and fun to be with.

We had so many adventures on our country property.  One event that I will never forget was an encounter with a bear family.  Abby and I were sitting on our front porch when we spotted a mama bear and her two cubs strolling by our front field. Before I could grab her, Abby jumped our porch gate, which she had never done before, and raced after the bears. I was terrified for my girl!  I finally found her in the woods under some brush.  She was shivering, but unhurt.  Mama bear must have let Abby know that she was not welcome to play with her cubs!

 Our girl passed away a year ago, but Abby will never be forgotten!  We are so thankful to have had her for 15 years. Thank you AFH and Abby’s foster family for bringing her into our lives.

We came to AFH in 2009 when we were looking for a dog– supposedly for my husband. We decided to look at a dog named Lainey. When we arrived at Julie Kearn’s home Lainey went right to my husband like “you have finally come for me.” Once she weaned her pups we picked her up on my birthday and became OUR DOG. She was so wonderful – never got into mischief like chewing things she shouldn’t. On Christmas she tried to give baby Jesus from the nativity a bath, but when we old her no never did it again. In later years she did get into the kitchen trash so we would if there was something of interest in it! She outgrew 2 sweaters in the first year so we decided that she had to be a 1 year old when we got her, not 2. She loved our 1/4 mile walk through the woods where my husband cut a path for us. She also went to Niagara Falls with us for our anniversary and Florida to visit friends. She always behaved in motels– no accidents. At home she adopted our window seat and would bark if anyone went by. She also forewarned of company arriving. She developed glaucoma in the last few years and the eye Dr. Said she was the best behaved dog they ever tested. We did medication rather than removing her eye due to her age. She also developed an intestinal issue, possibly a tumore, but lived with it for several years. Still she was her usual loveable, friendly self until November 16th. She became seriously ill and died in my husband’s arms at the vet. We will miss her forever. We had her cremated and she has a forever home in a beautiful box.

Our home and our hearts are a little emptier tonight, the latter of which is blown apart. Our sweetest boy, Jack Straw, has left us. After being rescued by A Forever Home, Jack “found” us as a puppy in the fall of 2008 while nestled in the arms of foster mom, Diana Fulton. In that moment, we knew this tiny scruff-muffin was meant to be with us along with our other rescue, a ‘larger-than-life’ Weimaraner, Althea. Raised under her tutelage, Jack grew up to believe that he, too, was a Weimaraner. Despite this, he was a go-along-to-get-along kind of fellow that had no aspirations to be a leader.  He lived a simple life comprised of routines, and he was always happy to get butt scratches and treats, especially oyster crackers.  When Jack became an ‘only dog,’ he joined me on RV adventures across America. Throughout the years, he logged thousands of miles traveling from coast-to-coast, north to south. (How many dogs can say they have been to Area 51?) He brought joy to everyone that met him and found fame with the attached photo that was taken at Bryce Canyon National Park on one of our hikes. For fifteen and a half years, Jack was loved beyond measure, living the very best, most full life possible. Eventually, time took its toll on his little body, and there are just some things that all the veterinarians and money in the world cannot fix, so we made the very difficult but loving choice to bless and release his gentle spirit.  We are so grateful to A Forever Home for trusting us with Jack. He was a one-in-a-million dog whose memory will always live in our hearts. Now, heaven has a new angel, and we are confident he was greeted by his beloved Big Girl Dog who has been patiently waiting to take him on another marvelous walkabout. 

 Jeanne