Reba came out of a family of large northern sled dogs and I got her as a tiny puppy. I soon realized I had a large, highly intelligent, fiercely independent dog who became my constant companion for over 13 years. She fascinated everyone with here blue eyes and her natural instincts were very strong and could test me. Her abstract thoughts and actions always amazed me. I really miss her.

Dave from MN

When I moved to Hawaii from Texas in 1992 I had to leave my mixed breed dog, Sadie, behind. She was part dachshund and part something else that gave her a long body but with long legs that enabled her to run like the wind. At that time, Hawaii had a four month holding period for all dogs and cats entering the islands. The cost for boarding the animal was very high and starting out at a new job at the University of Hawaii I knew I did not make enough to pay the boarding fees. I was comforted in the knowledge that I was leaving my little pal in the loving arms of my sister and her family in Dallas. I missed my best friend and was saving up enough money to bring her over to Oahu.

But at Thanksgiving time, about a year after I left Texas, I was talking to my sister on the phone. We talked about a number of things and it was getting time for me to end the conversation so I could get to my church Thanksgiving dinner celebration. Just before closing the conversation I asked “Oh, how is Sadie doing?” There was a pause and my sister said “I have been meaning to tell you about Sadie.” My heart sank, I knew it could not be good news.
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We took in a kitten from a known feral cat and named him Billy-Bob, and joined him to our two other cats. Later we were able to take in that feral cat, and named her Petunia.

Petunia was jarred greatly by the experience of domesticity, but she soon stopped hiding in the cupboards all day, and then dipping her head defensively when we pet her. In fact, after she got the idea of what love was all about, she found herself in heaven, never getting enough love and affection. The look in her eyes of gratitude and the dearest affection is now seen whenever she is pet. She proved to the world that all of God’s creatures, whether in the wild or not, at some place in their heart are quite made to experience love and share love dearly in return.
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“Pudge” is a Jack Russell Terrier that came to us 2 weeks ago. He was found sitting in the middle of a busy road at 5 am . A wondeful woman named Janice picked him up and moved him to the grass. A half hour later,she drove back and Pudge was back in the middle of the road,so she took him home. It was when she took him to the vet the next day that she found Pudge was blind,deaf,and had a back leg that had been broken,fixed,and re-broken. she kept him for 3 weeks,desperately trying to find some kind of Rescue that would take him,no one would. Pudge is also 13 years old.

Janice knew from the way he acted that he had been someones dog. She put up flyers in her neighborhood,contacted vets,and the HSUS to try and place him. In the meantime she spent 0.00 vetting him.Finally she found our small Russell Rescue and called me. We now have Pudge here in our home with our other 4 JRTs and our chihuahua. He will be here with us untill he has to go to the Rainbow Bridge. Pudge gets along well,except for bumping into a few things,he hops along like any other dog.We have grown to love him,and he deals well with his deafness and blindness. He fits in,and barks as much as our other dogs. If it were not for Janice,who knows what horrible fate would have found poor Pudge. We think he was dropped off,maybe his owner died,but we will never know the past of this brave little JRT that has overcome all odds to continue to live. Pudgey has shown us that you don’t need eyes or even ears and four legs to have a good life. Something for us all to learn,we think.

Maddie from MI

Some things are meant to be. Speedy a little back and white border collie mix waited at the dog pound for nearly a month for us. The girl who brought him out of the pen said no one was interested in him and his days on earth were numbered.

One day out of the blue about three years ago my husband brought up the idea of getting a small dog for the house. Infact by the time he shared this news with me, had already done a preliminary visit to the local animal shelter and had picked out three candidates. I remember thinking that it was an unexpected idea. I had no clue that it was fate. He told me to look into the eyes of the border collie. That he was special.
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Several years ago I was touched so deeply in a way I never expected to be touched. I remember being on vacation in Branson Mo, where there are so many forms of entertainment around you, so many things to do for enjoyment. In spite of all the avenues of entertainment there, due to a back problem, I lay in a motel room watching a television special…”War Dogs”.

One story on this show chronicled how a United States Army dog handler was placed with his new partner…a German Shepherd. If I remember correctly, he had no choice in his partner, the dog was assigned to him. The handler was very apprehensive about the dog, since during the training of the dogs, his new German Shepherd partner had gained a reputation for being somewhat mean and aggressive. The dog handler and the dog trained together for a time, then were sent to their duty station.
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