Alumni Stories

Hi Karen - have thought of you warmly for months and kept meaning to touch base and tell you how Joey (Eddie now) is. We loved the name Joey, but our 16 year old did not, so he is now Eddie.

When Eddie came to live with us all we ever saw of him was the end of the leash as he would dash around corners. After two weeks of only seeing him when he would jump up in bed with us at night, and when we could catch him to take him out during the day, we were sad.

Fortunately, his brother Lexus (now Mickey) recovered from his surgery and was being fostered by a friend of ours. It was meant to be. Eddie immediately became a cheerful (if not very approachable) dog and we were very happy. We have met many milestones with Eddie since then - walking on a leash around the block (six weeks of encouragement), meeting people without pulling hysterically (3 months of friends with treats in their pockets and dogs), tricks (sit, stay, shake, lay down), and travel (recently we went to Michigan for a week where he learned to swim in the lake, ride the front of the speed boat and fish).

He has gone from a timid dog with separation anxiety to a goofy cheerful guy with many friends. He has become a real lovebug as well. He and his brother Mickey have been the greatest additions to our family.

We want to know how much we appreciate your taking him on his hour of need - without your willingness to take him and his baggage on, and bring him to those adoption events, we would never have had the chance to know him and give him a home with his brother.

Diane

We adopted Coco in Jan. 2009, and have been thoroughly delighted with her. She accompanied us on our recent vacation to Maine where, altho a little anxious about the change in her routine, she coped well. Our first evening, since we didn't want to leave her alone in a strange place, we took her for a short ride in the kayak! (Okay, she didn't like the boat, but it was preferable to staying behind.) She behaved beautifully, as always.

Jo and Gene Kinnaly

Dear HART,

Lucky unexpectedly came into our lives in March 2008 at a HART adoption day. We went expecting to foster another dog, but found she would be better suited in a home without cats. Then Lucky caught our eye. My daughter immediately said he's the one for us! We took him home, and right away knew we wanted to adopt him. He came with the name Lucky which we decided to keep. It's perfect.

Lucky is the sweetest and most mellow dog! He gets along great with our 2 cats, Cosmo and Violet - even takes an afternoon siesta in the sun with them. He's attended "dog school" at Petco and graduated with flying colors, went to a Fairfax County "Doggone Fun Summer Fun Camp" with my granddaughter, Rachel, and has been to Nags Head twice. He doesn't really like the ocean - he prefers to chase the gulls and sand crabs. He dearly loves his weekly playdates with Daisy, my sister's dog, in their fenced acre yard.

Lucky's photo will be in the 2010 "For the Love of Rescues" calendar. Look for him on the January page. We want to give a big "thanks" to all the volunteers and people who work at HART. You are the best!

The "Lucky Ones:" Susan, Lisa, Rachel, Cosmo & Violet

Dear HART,

We adopted Terri just about 1 year ago in August 2008. She has been a great addition to our family, bringing us lots of love and companionship. She usually follows us everywhere we go at home, gives hugs and kisses, and loves to snuggle on the couch.

Terri has a fenced in yard where she can chase squirrels and other critters that come running by. She has lots of soft squeaky toys and has 2 soft doggie beds, one upstairs and one downstairs. The highlight of her day is her daily walk when she can sniff around to her heart's content. Terri doesn't always get along with the other neighborhood dogs but she has made a good friend "Sam" who is a fun little Min Pin mix.

Thank you so much for rescuing Terri and taking good care of her before she came to us. She was definitely a life worth saving. We love her very much!

Renee and James McMichael

Charlene,

Wall-E and Eve are doing very well. They are getting lots of hugs and are playing together. And I think they enjoy their walks but not as much as their naps.

Wall-E was groomed today. He’s quite handsome!

I can’t tell you how much they have added to my life. They are an absolute joy.

Karen

Eleven months ago I met you all, and Ted. And next month it will be one year that he came to live with me, and I wouldn't trade a day of it for anything.

We call him Yogi... for Yogi Bear (and Yogi Berra, for the Yankees fans) and the name seems to suit him, although there at times I don't think he recognizes any name, like when he's watching the squirrels that love to look at him (upside down) from the small oak tree 10 feet from our patio. But then on the other paw (er, um hand), he can hear his name called 2 blocks away by any of the dozen+ neighborhood kids. Since school is out, he misses them at the bus stop. One of the little guys actually thought that rubbing Yogi's head before he got on the bus guaranteed him a better test score. Oh well, Youth... whatever works. But our morning ritual still includes 7 o'clock Katie. She's an agency nurse and we see her every day at 7 am and 7 pm, and when he sees her, his whole demeanor changes: his ears flatten so he can be more aerodynamically faster and he parks himself on her foot - this way he knows when she's getting ready to move. And as much as he likes Katie, he LOVES her Land Rover. When her husband drives away, Yogi wants to follow; at night we'll keep Rader company until Katie comes out, and once when Rader started the car, Yogi went for the tires. I mean "teeth on tread" ...we don't know why, but he does the same thing to my pants leg or shoe when his smaller "fans" has to go home. As they walk away and wave, he will block my path as if to say "what did you say to them that made them want to leave?" and then grab (and I really mean grab) my shoe. The kids love it because I can't walk without looking like Igor with this determined Jack attached to my foot.

What can I say, he has a growing fan club and there are no limits; not age, not gender, not nationality, not even height.

He also has some great dog friends. His pal, Bandito (a Sheltie) comes to the field nearly every day and when Bandito gets to run off-leash, Yogi will chase him like he's got a rocket on his back. The 2 will also play tug-of-war with the ball-and-rope toy. When the lady who found him wrote that he liked to play tug-of-war with her puppy, I did not know the operative word was "war" - he won't let go, not even when I free-weight him a few inches off the ground. If there is any way you can get word to her, please tell her "thank you" for finding him so that I could find him. And also thank Lulu and Lovey for their kindnesses when he was with HART.

A year ago it was my head that decided to adopt him. After all, he needed a home, and I needed a Jack. But my heart has caught up, and I realized a couple of months ago, that I would miss him if he wasn't with me. He's family now. And even though he stills growls in his sleep, although not as often, his eyes look kinder now; more bright and sure. I think he likes it here!

Our thanks to all who helped make this possible.

Jan and Yogi (aka Ted E. Bear)

PS. On the 23rd of each month I give him a new bear toy. Some of them still have all of their feet and 1 still has it's head.

Suki making herself right at home!