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Below are Happy Tails from people who helped save the lives of some great pets. Did you also adopt your forever friend from our shelter? If so, we'd also love to hear an update from you (or your pet!)  Email us your story (250 words or less) to Sarah@humane-livingston.org along with a digital photo and it could be published here on our website to share with others!

Annabelle

I want to let you all know how well Annabelle is doing. She was quite big when I adopted her, but is down to almost 90lb now. She has turned into the most loving, affectionate gorgeous girl. She is much loved and I'm so happy I have her. Thank you for such a nice dog!

Mary Burke                                    

Molly

I adopted Molly (Gracie) on June 18, 2010.  After not having a cat for over 20 years, Molly is an amazement.  She is the sweetest most docile cat that I have ever encountered.  She is very much a people person and greets my guests and me as we enter the home..then she will roll-over at our feet for a belly scratch.  When I have her brush in hand she will follow me to the chair and jump up for a good brushing. She has her own room with which she became comfortable the first couple days but now she has roam of the house.  Someone loved her very much as she has no signs of anxiety..I am glad that I will have a chance to love her the rest of her life.  She is special.

Pam Andrews

Libby

We adopted Libby last year in July. She was 2 years old and is now 3.  When we got her everyone was unsure if she and Annie would get along. They are best friends. They play with each other all the time and they sleep together on our couch every night. When we first saw her she had very coarse hair on her back, with several white strands in it. We think it was linked with the stress from being a stray but after 2 months of having her she now has a very thick and smooth coat. She loves playing fetch with our tennis balls and always brings them back to us without us even training her. We have a fair amount of property that the dogs can play on, with a pond that Libby swims in almost everyday :) We can't thank you enough for her. 

Thanks again,
Ryan Bridgers

Boscoe

Hello,
My name is Heather Franklin and my family and I adopted a Boston Terrier about a year ago.  He is so adorable.  We have named him Boscoe.  He gets along with both of our other Bostons, and everyone in the family.  He loves to sleep in the window, catching some rays. He loves to be held, pet, and kissed.  He is a wonderful addition to our family.  He makes my day along with my other dogs, running to meet me by the door when I come home from work or out with my friends.  He loves to go on walks and he loves to watch out the window for the wildlife.  He is the best addition to our family!  Here are a couple of pictures of Boscoe!

Heather Franklin

Fanny

We wanted to give you an update on Fanny (on left).  Fanny was real nervous for the first few days she came to live here and spent much time in the closet and under the couch.  She now is loving as much attention as she can get and is not afraid to "meow" and ask for more.  She has an orange and white cat "brother"  who is about the same age and they get along very well.  They love to play tag in the middle of the night running from one end of the house to the other sounding like a herd of elephants.We are so very happy to have Fanny in our family.      

Jeanne and Gayla

For more on Fanny's story, click here>>

Max

We adopted White Paw in December 2009.  His new name is Max.  We wanted a companion for our cat, and when you were offering no adoption fee for senior cats, we jumped at the opportunity.  We were put in the "get acquainted" room and I asked to see all of your declawed male cats.  The young lady brought me seven or eight cats.  Max was the one who jumped up on my lap right away and started to purr.  He made our decision for us.  He is a welcome addition to our family.  He quickly became friends with our resident cat, Jeezy.  I am including a picture of them.  Max is the striped cat and Jeezy is the black & white cat.  Max is also very tolerant of our two dogs.  I am also sending you a picture of Max with our puppy, Brillo.  When we first brought him home, we were told to isolate him for a day or two until he got used to his new surroundings.  That didn't last long at all, by the next morning he was scratching at the door - he wanted to be a part of the family as soon as possible.  He is very playful and affectionate, and he loves to curl up on my lap in the evenings while I'm watching TV.  I'm not sure what his past was like, but it sure seems like he was well taken care of because he is very loving to our family and very friendly with any visitors we may have.  You can rest assured that Max has found his "forever home" and that he is a happy cat again.  Thank you for all that you do for these animals.  Sometimes all they need is a second chance.

Debbie D .

Rocky

We are the family that adopted Rocky, the German Shepherd. We wanted to let you know that he is doing great!! We are working on him being less dog aggressive, and we have made a lot of progress!! He can be around one other dog at a time. It takes him a minute to get used to them but when he does he is ready to play which is a great step from not being able to be around any dogs at all!!! He is very loving and caring and he loves my daughter. He will follow her around the house whereever she goes, and he is so gentle with her it amazes me!! He loves to play with his tennis ball and go for long walks through the woods with my husband and I. I have attached some photos of him enjoying his forever home!!! We would like to take the time to thank you very much for giving us an amazing dog!! He can be wild at times, but he is getting better about controlling his excitement. He is a beautiful dog inside and out and we love him so much!! Thank you again!!!!

Sincerely,

The Bolen Family

Nala

Nala continues to love her new home.  She gets walked in the big park twice a day.  Yesterday, the weather was snowy and cold and she was like "us" and was in the house most of the day sleeping on her new dog bed. She is getting to know our routine.  Our two cats are not afraid of Nala and keep trying to be friendly with her.  All Nala does is just look.

Pepper

We adopted Pepper (formerly Mr. B) from HSLC in December 2003.  He was due to be euthanized just before Thanksgiving weekend at a shelter in Indiana, and he was rescued by a Shih Tzu rescue and taken in by HSLC.  He was underweight, dirty, full of burs, and his hair was long and very matted, but I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.  Because he came from a shelter, no one knew where he came from or how old he was, but the vet guessed he was about 5 years old.  He has a quirky little personality and is aggressive when provoked, but he soon learned to get along with our golden retriever (whom we got through Golden Retriever Rescue of Michigan) and quickly found a place in our home and our hearts.  We have loved Pepper for over 6 years (hard to believe it's been that long!), and I am grateful everyday for the rescue organization who saved him from death, and for HSLC who took him in and helped him find his way to us. 

Mark and Jackie  

Grayson and Beulah

Hi There!

We wanted to send you a note to let you know that Grayson and Beulah are doing GREAT!!! We love them so much and couldn't be happier to have them with us in our home :) They are such sweethearts and it's very obvious how grateful they are to have a new and permanent home. We have so much fun with them in everything we do together.

Grayson is SOOO lazy. Won't listen worth a damn unless it's important to him and it cracks us up!! Beulah is so spunky and such a little sweetheart. Always listening to what we say, always so curious about what's going on, and always anxious to snuggle with anyone and everyone who is willing to let her! They are such a good team and we love them dearly.

Thank you so much for letting us adopt them - we are forever grateful!!!

Attached are some pictures for you to check out - enjoy :)

Thanks again!!

Sara and Steven

Buddie and Piper a.k.a. Thomas and Dee-dee

Yesterday we got a phone call from the Livingston County Humane Society, asking for an update on the two kitties we adopted on January 2, 2010. They are a brother and sister, who are very happy to be together. The names you called them were Thomas and Dee-dee, but we changed their names to Buddie and Piper. They have the run of the house during the day, but I believe that they spend most of the day sleeping, so that they can romp around all night! Although they are brother and sister, they clearly have different demeanors and unique personalities. He is going to be a big cat and is already almost twice as big as his little sister. He is very loveable and purrs loud and often. She is a pistol, thus the name Hyper Piper. She sneaks up on him and tries to tackle him and the two of them will tear around the house. In the quiet times they curl up together and sleep, or groom each other. We are very happy to have Buddie and Piper as additions to our family, and I think that they are very happy to be together in a home and not a cage. I have attached a couple of pictures of the two of them. You will notice that they both have grown a lot in a couple of months. Thank you for bringing Buddie and Piper into our lives.

Kelly Hunt and LuAnn LeuVoy

Jubilee ak.a. Toffee

Last night, my husband answered the phone and found someone from the Humane Society on the other end.  Being a man of few words, he quickly answered that our adopted kitty is working out but I accepted the telephone call as invitation to rave about our little girl. "Toffee" has been renamed "Jubilee" in honour of the fact that she was born on July 4 th and as a nod to the X-Men, my boys' favorite cartoon.

She is AWESOME.  Ju-Ju is an awful lot like a puppy.  In the morning, I spend the first hour of every day making breakfasts, lunches and throwing her toy bird.  She seriously retrieves for the better part of that hour.  At night, when I am reading, she brings her bird or mouse and drops it in my book.  Its just so darn funny. Well, funny for the first 20 times! My oldest son, Aidan, even bought her some new toys with his own birthday money.  He bought her a fishing pole with a mouse on it.  Of course, her claws sliced the mouse off but she LOVES that mouse.  It goes all over the house with her.

She is blossoming physically as well.  I have no idea what her history is but I am guessing that she spent the bulk of her 6 month life in that cage.  She couldn't jump up on the bed.  She couldn't make it on the 3.5 foot counter BUT I noticed just last night that she can and does jump directly onto our bed now. 

She eats like a horse and only the best of foods so we' ve seen her coat gain luster and it's downright velvety now.  She has even started using her little meow.  When we got her, all she did was purr and we were beginning to wonder if she had a voice at all.  Like all kittens, it's the sweetest little sound.

WE LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL.

But we still think about Yul.  Hope he gets adopted before we cave and take him.

Alison Kenyon

Barney a.k.a. Radar

A few weeks ago I adopted an adorable long haired Chihuahua named Radar from HSLC. He had kidney stones that needed to be fixed surgically, and is on special food. I just wanted to let you guys know that he is doing wonderfully. I call him Barney because there is already a dog named Radar in the family. Barney is sweet and loving, and calm enough that most days he can come to the office with me. He has a goofy, sweet, spunky personality, and wants to spend every possible moment in my lap. He has only been with me for a few weeks, and already I can't imagine not having him around. He is getting a little spoiled, and already has several of the cutest sweaters I have ever seen.  I just wanted to say thanks for taking such good care of him. If you could please let your veterinarian know that he is doing well and happy, and thank her for all the work she did as well I would be grateful. He is a special little guy and I am glad that you were able to provide the medical care that helped him get healthy enough to come home to me. 

Diane

Chance

Hi, I just wanted to send a quick note to thank everyone at the shelter for all of their help and support in adopting Chance (aka "black" Chance). As I type this he and his new "brother" are curled up with the cat sleeping soundly on the bed. I have no doubt that the work that Kyle specifically, but all of the staff and volunteers put into Chance have prepared him for this moment in his life, but I am still amazed at how quickly he is adjusting to his new life. He has not been without his quirks... It took him almost a week and a half, but he did chew a collar off Gryphon , his Boxer brother (as he had done with Bernice at the shelter) and as he gets more comfortable in the house, he's taking more liberties and is being more stubborn about getting down off things, or letting go of things he wants, but these are all things that you get when you adopt a bully breed in general. The biggest reason I am writing is to reiterate how thankful I am for the help and support I received throughout this whole process. Without the ability to introduce Gryphon and Chance, and allow them to slowly get acquainted I doubt that this process would have gone as well as it has. For that I am ever thankful. Gryphon is having to adjust to life with "shared love" again, but he enjoys it and I'm thankful for him to have a playmate in Chance. Attached are a few photos from his first week or so with us :)

Thanks again!

Toby S and Jeff A, proud parents of Gryphon ( Boxer rescue )
and Chance (APBT mix rescue)

See Chance's full story>>

Sasha   

My wife and I wanted you all to know that "Sasha" is happy and healthy living with us.  We got her from the shelter 2 years ago (one of the rescue dog)....she is a great part of our family and frankly she runs the house now.

Dave Riemenschneider

Dear HSLC,      

We have adopted 5 cats since my daughter and I have started volunteering at the HSLC.  We absolutely love all of them!  They are such a wonderful addition to our family (we have an 18 year old cat and a Corgi dog too).  On April 11, 2009 we adopted Diesel as a birthday present for our daughter when she turned 8.  He is such a mellow and laid back cat..  Then on June 23rd we adopted Cupcake.  Soon her and Diesel became buddies.  Then on July 4th we adopted Ladybug, she is my special kitty.  She loves to sit with me while I work on the computer or watch TV.  At this point I thought our "furry" family was complete.  That was until I saw Oreo on Nov 5th while volunteering and knew he had to be a part of our family.  He is so funny and playful with a lot of energy!   But who can have an odd number of cats?  When I saw Jovi with his sweet face and cute "meow" my heart melted.  I left work early after making the decision to adopt "just one more cat" and went straight to the HSLC and brought him home.  Needless to say, as a kitten he has gotten into his fair share of trouble (and that was just the first night!).  He is such a sweetheart and will let my daughter carry him around on her shoulder. Thank you so much for all the care and love you give these animals while they are at your shelter!  Having worked with all the staff, I am grateful for all of their hard work and dedication to these animals.  Again, THANK YOU!

Sincerely, Beth & Abigail Peterson 

Pudge

First of all, thank you for letting me adopt Pudge. He is clearly a perfect dog and a perfect match for me & my family. Although he whined a bit on the trip from HSLC to his new Ann Arbor home (probably because he missed you guys), he adjusted to his new home quickly. He soon learned that couches & chairs make fine beds (as do beds), picture windows are designed for watching outside activities & squirrels, and greeting visitors at the door with a spunky bark & tail wag is the proper thing to do.

Pudge has been adopted into a large extended canine family & has been warmly greeted by all. These new cousins include Betty, Butch, Goochee & Bobo, Min Pins, Taco, Lincoln, Barbie, & Lacey. It turns out he does like to play with his cat cousins (Chaps & Tex) too, but only if he can do the chasing. When they chase him he jumps on the closest human lap.

Pudge has had no "accidents" in the house & got the hang of dashing from the back door through the gate to the fenced yard after the first day. A very smart fellow! I continue to feed him the Hill's Science Diet 2/D you provided with some homemade D/D mixed in which he loves, loves, loves. His new vet suggested a regimen of venison or ostrich or emu meat, and then gradually adding other foods to determine whether food allergies are what cause his itching.

Thanks for all the info and care you gave Pudge. And don't even think about asking for him back!

Steph Lang

                                                                     More Happy Tails>>

Last Updated 07/03/10