Our family adopted our sweet dog, Maeko, from A Forever Home 8 years ago.  He was 8 years old at the time, and had had a difficult life.  He was very shy at first, not even lifting his tail to wag for the first two weeks.  His gait was stooped, and he would walk as if he didn’t want anyone to see him.  I knew he knew how to play, because he came with a soft, stuffed toy.   Around the third week, I tried throwing the toy to see if he would get it.  He suddenly jumped up, ran to get it, tossed it in the air with his teeth, whirled around, ran back to his bed, and gave a happy bark!  He looked as startled as I did after he did that, and didn’t seem to know where the bark came from!  I was curious to find out “who else was in there.”  He continued to progress, beginning to lift up his tail and wag it as he walked.  Over the following years, Maeko grew more and more social, would approach strangers to sniff them when they came in the door, would let my music students who came to my house pet him, and he loved to be carried around and pampered.  He kept some of his independent streak, but overall, became a “lap-pooch.”  He had such a sweet disposition.   At the beginning of March 2022, he became very sick.  This was not the first time as he was beginning to age.  He passed away at the age of 16.  Our family was blessed by his presence and saw him as a gift from God to be enjoyed for a season.  We are thankful that we were given the opportunity to have this sweet pup as part of our family.

In March 2007 my Daughter and I adopted our 10 week old puppy, named Hailey from AFH. We chose her first name, “Olive” Hailey. The cute pup was alone. Held back and separated from her four WV litter-sibs due to a mild illness. AFH described her as a Blue Merle Aussie Shepherd. This baby was meant for our home. The tiny dog with oversized ears, grew to be a Pembrooke Cardigan Corgi! Olive, incredibly smart, was often described by others as a “person, not a dog!” Olive loved to run with her herding instincts. From the start, Olive hid her treats to savor them at a later time. Olive loved training sessions with toy rewards. She trained in her younger years to run “Agility” for fun. Her favorite game that delighted everyone was “hide-and-go-seek” with her toys. We would hide a toy, she waited, on command, would go find her toy! Olive loved hiking and her most favorite activity was swimming to retrieve her favorite bright green floating ring. She would bark and swim with excitement, not stopping, till Mom made her rest. Olive was a water dog and even loved her baths especially the towel dry, followed by towel bundling in her dog bed. Olive was trained in Good Citizenship with AKC. She listened patiently to children reading. Olive traveled many places with Mom by car and flying, in-cabin, to share love with relatives with disabilities and health issues. Olive shared love and joy with so many people. She will always be loved by myself and her family. Olive is my “girl”, my “baby”. I miss her many communicative nudges, such as, to remind me to fill an empty water bowl, her bark of excitement or alert, her eye contact to signal her needs, her kisses, her snuggles, her play, my hiking partner, my bed buddy, my steadfast love. I miss Olive. Olive passed at 14 ½ years. I thank AFH for saving my Olive Hailey and allowing me to have her in my life. Olive will forever be in my heart.

Hudson said his final goodbyes to us on February 3, 2022. He was just over 15 years old and we considered him to be our first child. My wife and I found Hudson at a puppy adoption event in 2007. He quickly adapted to his new home and made us part of his pack. Even when we accidentally left the door open after leaving the house, Hudson knew it was his job to wait patiently for our return—even if that meant waiting in the middle of the driveway for a few hours. Who’s a good boy??!! 

Our first “human” child, a boy, came in March of 2008. Hudson wasn’t sure what this new cry-y thing meant to his house, but he quickly took on the role of protector: sleeping by whatever chair his boy was sleeping and his crib at night. They also had a bit of sibling rivalry to get into one of the parent’s laps or even when Hudson hip checked his learning to walk toddler. Ultimately, the child was admitted to the pack but clearly the pecking order was still up for debate.

When Hudson was almost 8, his second human sibling arrived. No one in the house was more excited when we brought her home. All four paws leapt off the ground trying to get a sniff when we first carried her in. He again took on the role of protector.

Hudson was the most gentle creature. He could have the most juicy bone in his mouth, but if you put your hand on it, he would let it go. He knew when you were sad and would come put his head on your lap. Only two times in his life did I hear Hudson give such a snarl, such a growl, such a bark that even I was taken aback: both were when he thought some other dog was threatening one of his kids. He was fiercely loyal.

He was a rare lab that didn’t gobble down all of his food, eating only when he was hungry. If a bowl was empty, he would paw at it to let you know to fill it so that he could sniff it and walk away. He learned to ring a bell to go outside and he loved to play fetch and adored running in the snow. It was running in the snow when he first tore his ACL. He didn’t like the “cone of shame” after the surgery, but he recovered well, but was a little more cautious in the snow after that. It was a snow storm a year ago that signaled his decline. He injured that leg once again at the age of 14 and a year later, at 15 and with arthritis, his health ultimately declined.

He was our first child. He was a lovely soul. He will always be in our hearts.

Hello Maribel, Just a quick note to let you know our beloved Peaches passed away last Thursday Feb 24. She was with us for 13.5 wonderful years. While we are presently heart-broken, we have so many wonderful memories of her during the short time she was with us to get us through her passing. Thank you so much for letting her join us!

Gary & Linda

I was the lucky one to adopt “sassy britches” from your organization 11 years ago.  I should have known I was in for a wild time with this pup. I changed her name to Maggie Moo (see the resemblance in the photo) but always thought her original name captured her personality. To the people that were lucky enough to call her a buddy she was the sweetest dog who had a whole body tail wag that could practically knock you over. Some dogs have a smile and hers was one of the biggest. It would always brighten the day.  She just wanted to be around us – whether it was a long hike or lazy afternoon. She will be missed terribly. Thanks to the organization that connected me to such a companion.

Hi, I just wanted to thank you all. My dog was with me 11 years and cannot imagine all these years with out him. We had some great experiences together. He was my best friend and truly has had a forever home in my heart  thank you. Javier

On a beautiful sunny spring afternoon in 2008, I met Ash for the first time. He was so shy and quiet, and I fell in love with him immediately. I grew up with dogs, and had always wanted one since I had moved out on my own. My oldest daughter, Lily, was born Oct of 2007, and I wanted her to experience growing up with a dog.  Together Ash and Lily grew, until my youngest daughter, Abigail, was born Feb of 2011. He was immediately just as protective of her, as he was Lily. He always stayed by their side, keeping an ever vigilant watch of them both. He was always there to play with them, or to cuddle on the couch. He was always there to lick their tears, or great them enthusiastically whenever they came home.

Dear AFH….  I am a big fan of your organization, and have adopted a couple dogs from you over the years….  Emily….cared for Ovie ….until he became ill with an aggressive form of bone cancer.  We had to send him over the rainbow bridge on Dec. 23.  My Vet was unable to come to him when the time came, so we called Peaceful Passage, who sent a wonderful vet to us and helped Ovie pass at home.  He was 14 years old, and was a wonderful protector/pet/soother to Emily for all of those years.  Ovie was dog aggressive, but got along with his pal Holtby (seeing a name pattern here?), and didn’t get along with a lot of people, but those of us he loved, he loved fiercely.  He was a wonderful dog, and I am glad my daughter had him and his loyalty for so long.  I am sure that when she is ready to look for a pal for Holtby ( a stray found along the side of I270), she will come to you guys first.  Thank you for all that you do.

It’s with the deepest pain imaginable that I notify you of the passing of my only son, best friend and companion. There are no words to express my sadness and desolation, I miss him every second 24/7. I adopted Nugget from AFH March 8, 2010. He was the Alfa of the twelve puppies named after the California Gold Rush litter fostered by Marilyn Christensen. 

Thanks again for allowing me to take care of wonderful Nugget!!! 😭

We adopted Caroline (kept her original name) from AFH in February 2012 when she was 10 weeks old.  Our daughter Tara (7 at that time) picked her out of the litter and just fell in love.  Caroline quickly had us all wrapped around her paw and quickly became the ruler of the house.  Shortly after we adopted her our daughter became ill, for which we later found out she had brain cancer.  Caroline knew that Tara needed her and would be right there with her when she wasn’t feeling well.  She let Tara use her as her pillow and stayed by her side throughout it all.  We later added another dog to our family and Caroline quickly took over the mother role and showed Annie the ropes on how to do things.  Shortly before Caroline turned 10 (11/20/2011)  her back hips gave out and she was no longer able to move on her own.  So with heavy hearts we had to let her cross the rainbow bridge on 11/22/2021.  We miss her so very much but know she is no longer in pain.  Thank you to AFH for bringing Caroline into our family.