A Forever Home Rescue Foundation

It is with great sadness that I write this letter to inform you of Mercedes’ passing.  Mercedes (Buttons/Cede) was adopted with her brother Sarge, in 2010.  After they were returned, I was her foster and we officially began our journey together in March 2011. Mercedes was my bestfriend and sidekick every day since.  We went hiking, swimming, running, biking, kayaking, paddleboarding, and boating together.  We would even spend the occasional afternoon lounging at a winery after a morning hike.  During the winter months, she would keep active by running on my treadmill, playing frisbee or learning to ride a skateboard.  She was my number one fan as we travelled to Chattanooga, TN so I could compete in my first Ironman.  Even thought it was mostly just the two of us, my entire family loved and cared for her.  She enjoyed spending many weekends with Grandma and Grandpa chasing squirrels, rabbits and skunks (she never learned!).  As she got older, her favorite pastime became cuddling.  She made the best cuddle buddy and I found so much comfort in her soft snores. But as all dog owners know, we will outlive our furbabies, and we must face one of the worst days of our lives.  Mercedes fought cancer, liver disease and Cushings as long as her little body could, but then she let me know it was time for her to rest.  We said good-bye January 3, 2020.  Roughly twenty-four hours later, as she was always such a good girl, she sent me the most beautiful, vivid rainbow across the entire neighborhood to let me know she was finally at peace.  I miss her every day, but find great comfort in knowing she had the best life I could give her.  Thank you for all the wonderful memories, laughs and endless energy Mercedes, I am forever grateful that you chose me to be your human.  – Kimberly

TJ’s Hair Studio in Alexandria collected $1725.00 in donations from their clients for A Forever Home! These donations will go to helping dogs from our Brownie’s Fund which helps dogs with extraordinary medical costs. Thank you, thank you all so much. We really appreciate it.

Every September, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church participates in a church wide community service day where they work together to help in the community. We are so fortunate that St. Andrew’s organized a collection of dog items for A Forever Home! They collected 71 towels and cleaning supplies. Two dozen toys, leashes and collars were purchased at a pet store. A group of awesome teens made 60 homemade treats for the dogs, too! They even listed ingredients in case the dogs have any allergies. Gwen Ihde, 14 years old, was the team leader for the project called, “All God’s Creatures” which was partially funded by a Thrivent “Live Generously” grant. Thank you to St. Andrew’s and the Ihde and Pawson families who came to drop off the items on September 14th!

A Forever Home just wrapped up our Santa Photos for the year. We made nearly $1,000 thanks to Olde Towne Pet Resort and Chantilly Animal Hospital for sponsoring our events. Also a big thank you to Mr and Mrs Claus (Susan Flashman and Dick Bissell), our photographers Greg Brummett and Kristen Shields, and Patti Burke for all their hard work! — with Olde Towne Pet Resort and Chantilly Animal Hospital.

Oh the gifts gifts gifts! Jazzercize Haymarket had a Christmas donation drive for our doggies and did we get gifts! Dog beds, dog toys, leashes, collars, harnesses, bones, chews, treats and more. Thank you all so much!

This is poor Pendar who came to us all the way from Iran after facing certain death had he not been rescued. He recently started to limp and we just found out that he broke his foot. All this baby wants for Christmas is to get better so he can get his little cast off! Poor little boy. We hope you will consider donating to our Brownie’s Fund to help A Forever Home give dogs like Pendar all the medical care they need and make this a special season for others. Donate: http://to-afh.org/PayPal

A Forever Home received a very generous donation from the human brother of Reese (Butterscotch). He raised money selling dog treats to family and friends for his Mitzvah project. We are so grateful!