Elden & Danica

Elden & Danica LOVE their new family!

We wanted to let you know how much we are enjoying Elden and Danica (aka Dani). They both love to play with our little boys’ cars and this of course delights the kids! Elden and Dani also play with each other, groom each other and snuggle up together. So getting two kittens was indeed a great idea! Both of them are wonderful, sweet and affectionate cats. Thanks for all the care you have given to them and for helping to bring them into our lives!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Stephenson

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Update on Doodle

This is Doodle, here!  Remember me?  7-month old black short-hair?  I was adopted on May 16 and I’m just writing to tell you that I’m really settling in.

    I’ve been given the new name of “Zipper” because I can zip from one end of the house to the other, and that’s just what I do!  I grab a toy mouse, and I’m off. I’m a race cat!

    I have a cat tower in front of the kitchen window so I can watch the blue jays come to the bird bath or watch Dad mow the lawn.  I also have a big cat tower by the living room windows where I watch the “animal circus” come to the bird feeders: all kinds of birds, chipmunks, squirrels, even wild turkeys (Yike!).  I also have my own super-fuzzy blanket on Mom and Dad’s bed.  It’s a pretty amusing place.

   I went to the vet last week.  I liked my hard cat carrier – I like to play in it and sleep in it.  The car was fine, too.  The vet says I’m very healthy and sweet (but everybody already knew that.) I’ve got Mom and Dad pretty well trained, I think. They like to play and pet me.

    Thanks to all of you for taking such good care of me for the first 7 months of my life.  I’m sending along some pictures of myself so you don’t forget me!

    Love,…Zipper (formerly known as Doodle)  and my people, Lisa and Mark Lishner say “Thanks,” too.

The Family that Booker Rescued

Purebred Chessapeake Bay Retreivers had always been our dog of choice.  But in the summer of 2002, about a year after our last Chessie passed away, our daughter wanted my husband and me to meet a tan and white sharpei/pitbull mix that she had taken a shine to at the CRARL where she had been volunteering.  So we did, and after we had exhausted every excuse not to adopt him, Booker came home with us, joining our family of six.  

 During the first two weeks he chased our chickens, ripped clothing, pulled sheets and towels off the clothesline and charged full speed into each one of us, knocking us to the ground.  We thought we may have chosen a dog that was more than we could handle, and the day came when we were ready to return him to the shelter.  But the kids convinced us to give him another chance.  He may have had a few terrible habits, but he was also jaunty, loveable, handsome and smart as a whip.  So we kept him, and it wasn’t long before he stopped chasing the chickens and began protecting them instead, barking and chasing any fox, hawk or coyote away that came near them. 

 He also loved to learn and was easier to teach than any other dog we had known.  He learned the usual sit, stay, and lie down commands, and then some additional, more unusual tricks, such as to nudge with his nose, sneeze, yawn, growl, bow down, jump through a hula hoop, among others.  He was always eager to perform for anyone, filling the kitchen with applause and laughter.  A well-behaved passenger, he loved to join my husband in his truck, especially when he plowed the driveway, and would brace himself on the seat with perfect timing.  The love we gave him was returned twofold, and he would welcome the kids home from college with a tennis ball in his mouth and tail wagging doubletime.

 We were very sad when Booker passed away last month, and miss him so very much.  But we are also thankful we decided to give him a chance.  In his honor we would like to say that if you haven’t tried adopting a dog or other animal from the shelter, you may want to give it a try.  You just may find an unexpected, wonderful surprise like Booker.