Thanks for the invite. Our A Forever Home dog, Kauai, recently passed away at the age of 15. We adopted her in 2007 as a puppy. We miss her so much. She was an exceptionally loving dog and even won most beautiful dog award in our community. Thanks for bringing her into our lives.

Carolyn

I adopted Hambone from A Forever Home about 7 years ago when he was 10-years old. He would have been 17 next month. Hambone was the silliest, sweetest long-haired dachshund and basset hound mix. In those 7 years, he has been with me through 3 apartments, the purchase of my first home, my dad’s death, my grandma’s death, many successes, many failures, and everything in between. He taught me so much about patience, guilt, forgiving yourself, thinking about the future, and, most importantly, unconditional love. He has seen me grow so much, and he had a lot to do with it. No matter how much I felt I messed up in a day, how much I hated myself, how much I fussed at him for misbehaving, whether I was gone for 5 minutes or 5 hours—he was there, tail furiously wagging, a gift in his mouth (usually a shoe—sometimes socks, gloves, blankets, and even a 3-lb barbell once), greeting me with love, always. Always happy to see me. I know I am fortunate to have gotten so much time with him, and it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to have loved and been loved by him. He was diagnosed with kidney failure in January 2021, and then we enjoyed a wonderful remission period. However, he told me it was time to go last night, and I knew I had to be merciful with my last act of love for him. He passed very peacefully this morning. We had beautiful weather as we helped him cross the rainbow bridge, surrounded by the people who loved him most.

We are here before our dogs are born, and we continue after they are gone; they must think of us as timeless, immovable, like mountains or gods. I can only try to live up to the person Hambone imagined me to be. Hambone, if love alone could have kept you alive, you would have lived forever. Rest In Peace, my beautiful, silly boy. The best nap partner, the worst guard dog, and the most loving companion I could have asked for. We both came into each other’s lives right when we needed it.

He is survived by his adoptive golden retriever and chow chow mix sister, Casserole, who is also a senior rescue. Adopting Hambone inspired me to continue adopting seniors.

Dear Forever-Home Rescue Foundation,

I lost my sweet Roxy July 16, after 16+ years of loyal love and companionship.  Part of my heart went with her.  When I lived in Middleburg years ago, I adopted Roxy from a Pet-Smart in Chantilly during an adoption event sponsored by A Forever-Home Rescue Foundation (5.10.2006). Though my time in Middleburg was short, Roxy came with me when I moved back to my home town of Chesapeake, VA.  Anyone who is a pet owner knows that this type of love has no boundaries.  I gave her the best life I could, and she gave me many, many times more to me.  In May Roxy was diagnosed with Lymphoma, and she did well until July.  The Lap of Love foundation came to my house and helped transition Roxy to the other side.  Roxy went very peacefully. It will take a long time for me to get used to not having her presence in my life, but she is and will always be in my heart.  I have so many great memories of Roxy and I will always support and be ever grateful to FHP rescue for giving me the gift of adopting her.

So from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Sincerely, Elizabeth

Good Morning,

My name is Katie…and my family rescued a puppy from A Forever Home in 2007. Her name was listed as Molly, but we knew she was our Harley Girl. Harley was a lab/hound mix and her nose could track just about anything. Harley loved to go on walks, run, go on boat rides, and just spend time with her family and friends. To all of us, she was our once in a lifetime soul dog that you hear people talk about. She was there for all of our highs and lows and we were there for hers. We found out recently that she had cancer and it had spread everywhere and we didn’t have much time left with her, which is so unfair. We kept her comfortable giving her all the foods and
treats she had wanted and just showered her with love. Sadly, we lost her last night. My reasoning writing to you all is just to thank you for giving us the best dog we all could have ever asked for. She was the missing part of our family puzzle that we did not even know at the time was missing. I am attaching some photos of her below. She made such a difference in our lives and again we as a family would just like to say thank you rescuing this pup from West Virginia and bringing her here. We owe you all a lot for finding our soul dog.

Thank you again, Katie

Perhaps the first thing you would notice about Rosie was her obvious sharp intelligence, quickly followed by her deeply sweet, good nature and zest for life.  That smartness, which led us to assume she was part Border Collie (until a DNA test showed that she was very much a mutt—no Border Collie but Australian Shephard, American Eskimo, and Yorkie to name a few—was on display from her very first puppy training class.  With Rosie, it was never a question of could she learn to obey a command, instead she seemed to delight in obeying when she wanted and showing when she didn’t that she clearly understood what was wanted and had considered it before politely declining.  Her intelligence led her to express agitation if she was not in the front row of the training class or not the object of the teacher’s attention.  Never has a dog invited more anthropomorphizing! For 16 years, she had a great energy for walk and play, and when sated, a great capacity for love and snuggling.  At 25 pounds, she was smaller as an adult than we had anticipated, but this fact ended up changing our concept of the perfect size for a dog.  For three years, Rosie lived with us in Vienna, Austria – a city known for its love of dogs. She frequented many restaurants and businesses, and in one case, delightedly joined a restaurant hostess in seating customers—with seemingly a full understanding of her role.  More than once vets commented on her strong heart (“the heart of an athlete”); near the end, her eyesight and hearing dimmed and with pain in her limbs, that strong heart beat on.

I am a huge fan of Forever Home and all organizations that help rescue animals in distress. We adopted Cinderella 15 years ago, about 6 months after our previous rescue dog died at age 14, Princess was such a love. To be honest I wasn’t sure I was ready for another dog but when I met Cinderella it was love at first sight, and my children already had her playing with them in the backyard before our in-home interview was over. Through the years Cinderella was a joy, even when she was naughty I couldn’t stay mad for long. Cinder is now also in doggie heaven checking out those pup angels for her Prince Charming.

We are writing to thank you for making possible our adoption of Petio (nee Elvis) back on April 6, 2007. Petio passed away on Saturday, February 12, 2022, at the estimated age of 17½ years old, surrounded by his loving family and attended by his lifelong veterinarian, but not before sharing nearly fifteen (15) joy-filled years of unconditional love and faithful companionship with us. While we are still disconsolate and miss him so deeply we also recognize that we were most privileged to be with him for as long as we were, although when you truly love someone anything short of forever is destined to end in sorrow & sadness. Every day with Petio was a gift, and we’ll never forget when we first met at an adoption event, when he walked up to me and just sat down between my feet. It is said that the people pick the dog but we really believe that it was Petio who chose us that day. We still recall his foster mom saying, “Wow, he likes you already!”

When we adopted Petio it was not merely as a pet, but our first child, which he will always be. At that point we were childless and decided that we wanted to share our life & love with a living being in need of a good, well, forever home, and within two months we became pregnant with our son, Hugh. After all the doctors, all the pain & suffering, all the tears, and the multiple miscarriages over a decade, who would have thought that it would be this sweet little dog who would make the impossible possible, which makes Petio even more special to us, because of everything he brought us. Petio was bi-lingual, understanding both English and Japanese, and watchful over Hugh like a mini-big brother, even though we never taught or expected that of him. As a member of a Japanese household Petio loved his sticky sushi rice and sashimi, especially his favorite, maguro tuna, something which he knew was special and truly relished, sans the wasabi, of course.

We still have his original A Forever Home profile in which he was portrayed as an “absolute sweetheart” and “a wellloved little dog” who would “make a special pet for a loving home.” We used to enjoy taking him out on walks when he would just focus straight ahead, all the while strutting & prancing in his poodle high-step, which was always a delight to watch and would always bring others to a smile. From dirty dust mop to high-stepping Prince Charming among poodles, he was graceful, handsome, and athletic, with long legs and a shiny white coat, and whenever we took him out others would ask if he was a show dog, especially after a fresh grooming. They were always shocked to learn that he was a rescue. He absolutely lived up to the billing in his profile and we believe that Petio was an angel,
Heaven-sent, to help us, heal us, take away our pain, and maintain vigil over us. If he was here on a mission, which we believe, he certainly accomplished it in style as our little miracle maker. We are not ashamed to admit that we are still mourning his departure for the hills & meadows before the Rainbow Bridge.

…We also would like to thank and compliment Petio’s former family on how Petio was raised and treated in his early life, as noted by the description that it “is obvious that Elvis was a well-loved little dog. He is gentle, playful, [and] non-aggressive,” all of which was absolutely true. Petio never growled, snapped at, or bit anyone. Additionally, he was the single most intelligent dog that either of us lived with, and we are talking six or seven dogs going back to our own childhood. We never had any trouble with his behavior or health, and his vet observed that his health was exceptional, not even a cold, cavity, or a lost tooth, until his final months.

He was not an incessant barker and only raised his voice for good reason, such as when Hugh escaped his playpen as a toddler and made a run for the stairs. While we never trained him to guard or protect anyone he was discerning enough to alert us when something was awry with the loudest barks that we still can recall. Even our neighbors agreed – they all knew that if/when Petio spoke it was for good cause and took notice. That’s how discreet and intelligent he was. We will look to condense all of the above material for a future issue of Forever Tails but the volume we have written may just reflect the deep love, affection, and sense of loss that we still feel for him, and the fact that we did not want his passing to go unnoticed and his life uncelebrated.

In memory of our most beloved Petio, whose spirit, we believe, lives on, forever in our hearts and in our most priceless & precious thoughts & memories, we thank you for your time, consideration, and all you do on behalf of animals in need who are helpless and often suffer at the hands of humans, and always, by no fault of their own. With deepest sorrow, but also much gratitude,

Sincerely, Phil, Genna, and Hugh

A donation …in loving memory of Zeus, adopted by Jess and Michael…Thank you for taking a chance on a couple still in college and allowing them to adopt that sweet puppy. He knew love everyday of his life. His life ended way too soon (cancer of the spleen) but everyday was a happy one for him (and for them!) He accompanied them to brunch, on hikes, on camping trips, and to the beach. He was loved by all who met him (family, friends, neighbors, and strangers on the street) and tears were shed by many when he went to the rainbow bridge. I’ve included a few pictures. Hopefully they capture the joy and love in his life. Kendra, Mike, and Shannon.