Jose

Hello there,

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to adopt a wonderful dog. I was at your Pet Adoption Day on Jan 9 /09, and met all the wonderful dogs and amazing people in your organization. Once I got to know Josie a little, I knew that she was the match for me. She has bonded with me quite well, and has virtually never left my side since I adopted her. She is a wonderful dog and is learning quite well. She does have a few bad habits, but with patience and time she is getting rid of those. I am grateful to have been able to help her out and your organization. I have attached some photos of her and will keep you updated on her progress.


Thanks Again,

Brian

Belinda

Good evening,

My name is Nicole and we just adopted Belinda yesterday. I wanted to express our gratitude to you, your volunteers and others that help the animals in need. Please read a little about us.

Eleven years ago my husband and I gave up trying to have a baby and set out to adopt a dog. After several attempts we didn't find one that suited us. Several months went by and a friend mentioned that someone they knew was just going to take their dog to the SPCA due to a move they were making in their lives that made keeping their dog impossible. I sent my son, Michael, and husband to take a look and they returned home with our first family dog "Goldie." Shortly after we became pregnant with our 2nd son "Arthur."

Goldie was so much a part of our lives it was hard to think of her ever leaving but the time came and as painful as it was to let her go, we had to. This happened October 26th with not much warning. Michael, myself and a close friend came and we laid with "Goldie" while she fell fast asleep in our arms. Arthur was reasonably upset and wanted to do a fundraiser for cancer awareness with dogs. As much as I wanted to encourage him, I felt it was important to support already established needs such as SCARS and I showed him the web site. I even told him that perhaps after Christmas or in the spring we would adopt a dog from SCARS.

Christmas came and went. On January 20th my husband and I started the journey to search for another family member to join us. We walked into a pet store with several puppies in the window (which caught our eye while driving down the street) and spotted a few that might suit us. The decision needed to be made right away from the store and we didn't want to feel rushed... and perhaps a pet store purchase just didn't feel "right."

January 22, 2009. My son Arthur has a dental appointment and I tell him afterwords we are going to the Vet Office where "Goldie" was put to sleep to pick up her paw print, which we had made for our Christmas tree. We walked in and saw the SCARS calendar for sale and Arthur looked at me knowing full well we were going to buy it - no ifs, ands or butts. Then walks in Deb from SCARS holding this precious black bundle of love. I couldn't help myself and I ask how old "her" dog is. She tells me the age and that the dog is looking for a home. All of a sudden Arthur and I looked at each other and that was "it." I held her and then Arthur held her. No going back now. We knew then it felt "right." We then finally spoke with the receptionist and explained why we were there. Upon receiving the "paw" print, I asked Deb for her card and phone numbers, took a photo of her with Belinda and then rushed home.

When we got home, I showed my husband and older son and we were all in agreement. I called Deb and told her there was NO doubt that we already loved Belinda and our home was ready for her. It has now been 24 hours and she's not been a minute out of my sight or my heart. We've renamed her "Abby" and she sure seems settled in.

I want to, again, express my gratitude for doing what you and everyone else does for these animals. If it weren't for you, our family would not be complete again. You will always have our support, if not financially then with our voices and hearts. We hope to see you more on Global.

Sincerely,

Nicole, Art, Michael, Arthur jr. Taz (the cat) and of course... Abby.

Ronan (Panda)

I am writing this letter as a thank you for the wonderful family members that SCARS has provided for us over the last couple of years. It all started when my fiance and I were searching for a purebred dog to join our family. In the process, we stumbled across the SCARS website. Over the next few months, I would look at the website almost daily dreaming of the day when we could finally get a dog (we we’re waiting for our house to be built). Shortly after moving into our new home, the website posted some puppies brought into SCARS care. I immediately fell in love with a little puppy named Panda. Once he was old enough, we brought him home and named him Ronon. He was an excellent starter puppy, very willing to learn and loved our other four leggers (two cats and two lizards). Ronon was such a joy to raise that, once he was a year old, we began the search for another puppy to join our family so that Ronon could have a little baby brother. After the wonderful luck we had with SCARS we thought we’d begin our search there again. Well it didn’t take long before another adorable puppy caught our eye. His name was Salem and he was born into the care of SCARS. We called immediately to inquire about him and a couple weeks before Christmas we were able to bring him home. We named him Rodney. Training Rodney has been even easier then training Ronon. Rodney is Ronon’s little shadow and wants to do everything that his big brother can do. At three months old he can already sit, wait, come, lay down, shake a paw, bedtime, and if he was big enough he’d jump in the car when he was told (although he tries to very hard). When Ronon was 6 months old we did a long drive to BC and spent a great week camping, hiking and enjoying the water. Now we are looking forward to doing it again this year with both of our wonderful boys. Long story short… Thank you SCARS for letting us have the joy of having Ronon (formerly Panda) and Rodney (formerly Salem) in our lives. I can’t imagine life without our fur babies.

-Amber, Rich, and the rest of our four legged family

Dexter

Hi SCARS family!

I was at the last adoption event at Petsmart with Dexter (who I adopted this past July) and someone mentioned to me that I should send in my story. I don't think I ever told the SCARS people the whole gist of me and Dexter's story either, so here it is:

I've wanted a dog for as long as I could remember, but was never allowed. So instead, I ended up being the child who brought home the stray dogs all the time, went to the pet store and bought a hamster on my own when I was 11, and told other friends to buy budgies, bunnies, kittens, and if they could - puppies. Ha-ha! Anyways, once I got my own house, I started researching dogs immediately. I researched on breeds and training and costs and everything for almost 2 years. I knew about all the horror stories of people just buying a dog out of impulse and then because they didn't do their research and were not prepared for the responsibility, the poor dogs would be abandoned on the streets or surrendered to the SPCA and possibly put down. I wanted to make sure that I never did that.

I was looking at purchasing a puppy from breeders when some friends of mine told me about SCARS. They had adopted a beautiful puppy who had a really hard life early on. After seeing him and how well he had healed and adjusted to their home and family, I looked into SCARS. During this time, I had also just found out that my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and would be starting chemotherapy as well as having surgery later on. I was stressed and worn down from all the extended family worrying and also from my own thoughts of "what if". But even with that going on, I was still set on adopting a dog. So I contacted SCARS and then went to an adoption day at Tailz and found my blessing.

When I met Dexter I just knew that he was meant to be mine. I went around to take a look at the others but I then noticed another family looking at Dexter and my heart yelled out: "No! He's mine!!". So, I put in my request and he was truly mine a few days later. Dexter was the absolute most amazing dog I could have ever hoped for. He was already so well trained and was so affectionate right off the bat. I took him to the dog parks almost every day and we had great walks and talks with other dog owners. He truly was exactly what I needed and getting Dexter has been the best decision of my life. I really believe that God blessed me with Dexter inorder for me to be strong for my mom and family and to ground me in my life. I find that taking care of him is actually taking care of myself as I don't work crazy long hours anymore and actually have food in my fridge and cook and eat at home. I also love going for those walks and the dog parks have given me serenity and a new found appreciation for this city. Dexter is always a hit with other dog owners and he has this way of playing with everyone! I've been told by numerous amounts of dog owners how good Dexter is and how he's helping to "train" their dogs to play and be gentle or that they're amazed that their dog is playing, etc. He's also a hit with all my friends and I'm constantly complimented about how amazing Dexter is and how handsome he is, and things like that.

Now I just adopted another puppy (who I named Reese) and he and Dexter get along so well. We're a family! Well, I'll send more about the new puppy soon. Along with pictures.

Thank you so much SCARS for all your hard work and the difference you are all making in this world! I am proud to have adopted a SCARS dog and appreciate you all so much.

Cheers and God Bless!

Sarah

Leo

Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Without your wonderful society we wouldn't have our Dog LEO. We adopted Leo in January 2006. 12 weeks old at the time....he is now 3 years old. A smart, spirited, high energy dog who loves to run, hike, swim and anything else that has to do with the outdoors. This is great for our lifestyle! During days that aren't great for the outdoors, Leo loves to do tricks for treats or play hide and seek in the house. He enjoys to cuddle and a nice massage or being groomed is great in his mind. I never thought it would be comforting to have a dog share my pillow.

Anyways, thank you again for the wonderful work you do.

Stephanie, Jeremy and Leo

Asylum (Layne)

Hello SCARS,

Thought we would drop you a line as we welcome in a brand new year.I adopted Asylum (formerly Layne) on Cinqo de Mayo 2008, and our bond began immediately. His adoption report indicated he was aggressivetoward other male dogs. The neighborhood I lived in at the time was surrounded by other dog owners, mostly males, and Asylum was having some difficulty. I had to overnight out of town for a couple of days on business and found a great boarding service to entrust Asylum to. I explained his aggressionto the facility and they assured me he would be in great hands.When I picked him up 2 days later, he approached me wagging his tail so hard that his body was swaying, and, surprisingly to me, was joyfully romping around with other male dogs. He hated to leave there, but I knew right then that he was going to return for some more fun. I booked him andI in for some training. In under 2 hours, Asylum already knew all the basics.We have moved since but still work on our training. He doesn't listen 100%of the time but I am so encouraged by his progress. He is so friendly withdogs, cats, babies, and adults. He loves meeting everyone and seemsflabbergasted when he meets a dog that doesn't want to play with him. Maybe he is a tad narcissistic.I have since taught him to run alongside my quad and we go for runs (well,he runs...I drive and laugh) often. We currently live on the northwestcoast of BC, where he has had his first salt water experience, and rode inthe elevator for the first time. He chases the seagulls, and as we are onour daily walks, we meet many so many people. He is a chick magnet !!!

Anyway, we will update you again in the future, but thought this photo ofAsylum might demonstrate how he loves hats. LOL.Curtis