Skippy (Now Scruffy)

Skippy came to our shelter as a stray and he was very old! He needed his teeth cleaned and a cyst removed from his side. We had no hope for anyone adopting him because of his age. He stayed with us for about 2 months when Ruth Gray, our dedicated dog walker, decided that Skippy needed a home. She took our Skippy (now Scruffy) home and has not looked back since! Scruffy is in heaven!

Here is Scruffy.

He's been with me 3 weeks and has fit in well with his feline family. He is very good about not touching their food and has actually been with one of the cats on the couch. We walk in the am with Diane and our neighbour's dog Bailey. Bailey often isn't good with dogs but Scruffy's such a gentle soul that this is also working out. He lets her lead the "pack" and all is good. In the pm walk there is just the three of us and he loves being out. We visit Diane for tea after. She recently adopted a cat left behind in our complex. His name is Murphy and they have met once and both were very mellow.

See you!

Ruth

Grayson AKA Mitz

We wanted to let you know that we adopted Grayson (who renamed Mitz, due to his 4 white "mitts") in February of this year.

Mitz is doing well and is very much a part of our family!

He has such a personality, talks to us all of the time, and is so loveable!

Family and friends who come over to visit love Mitz, too.

His favourite sleeping spot is on our pillows between our heads!

We can't imagine our lives without him.

This is a photo of us that was taken two weeks ago (on Halloween).

-Rich, Natalie, & Mitz.

May

Hello there!

We just wanted to let you know how grateful we are that May has joined our family. She is an amazing girl and has fit perfectly in to her new home. The cats have adjusted to her antics and even the rabbit has established that he is higher on the totem pole than the dog.

Our strategy the first month was to make sure she was really tired at the end of each day so she didn’t have any excess energy for getting into mischief. This, along with a 2 hour home session with trainer Ann Jackson was the best thing we did. Ann sat down with the family and helped us iron out all the basic house rules and do’s and don’t for us as new dog owners. This was really helpful to ensure we weren’t making mistakes with her that would be difficult to fix later on. We also signed up for beginner obedience classes with Ann that the whole family attended. They started mid September and just finished up and May was voted most improved in the class! A lady assisting with the class has a purebred Kuvasz and was able to give us some valuable insight into the breed and would smile and nod knowingly when she saw May being silly.

We are so happy to have May with us; she is a wonderful addition to our family. I suspect we will have some trying times ahead but we have signed up for more obedience classes in the new year and can call Ann at any time if we have and questions or concerns. Thanks so much to all of you at the shelter for taking such great care of her and having the confidence in us to take her home.
Thanks again, Sandie, Bjorn, Rachel and Julia

Chico -- Now Pogo

Chico (now named Pogo) was a 1.5 year old Dogo Argentino that was surrendered to our shelter because the owner could no longer afford the veterinary bills. He came to us with infected skin and ears and he had severely ulcerated eyes. On top of this, Chico was deaf! Despite all of his ailments Chico was an extremely friendly dog that loved people and doggy playmates. The first time we put him in our front play yard he was in heaven! He ran his 95 pound body at full speed around our yard knocking over anything and everything that was in his path! Chico was a purely happy gentle giant! Even though Chico had such a great personality he still wasn't easily adoptable because of his special needs. He needed a lot of training, constant medical attention and a loving, patient home. We were so lucky when MyraJean and her family walked through our door and told us they were ready for the challenge. They knew they had A LOT of work ahead of them but for Chico they were willing to give it a go.

Pogo is an absolute dream. He has become a BIG part of our family and he is so well behaved. He is going to Canine College where he is already in intermediate classes as well as finishing up some private lessons, mostly to deal with some residual habits from his previous life experience. He is better behaved than any hearing dog I have yet shared my life with. Although he is technically the younger brother, his mellow presence has helped his new best little friend Huxley with his behaviour and attitude. Our friends and family have all fallen in love with him and our vet now considers him a favourite visitor. He is off his eye meds and along with some food modification seems to have resolved his eye issues fully. He has absolutely filled the BIG DOG hole that I had in my heart. On a side note - Thank you for what you're doing at RAPS. I know that Pogo would not likely have survived a more traditional shelter experience. We love RAPS!

MyraJean Marshall

Buddy

Just an update on Buddy and his first week with his new family!

I'll start by saying what a wonderful new friend/family member we have. He is kind and gentle and always makes me smile. He came home on Monday evening, Oct 6. He seemed unsure at first, a little hesitant and shy. This was completely understandable - I would be too, in the same
situation. We brought him in the living room where our cat, Stupie waited. She put her back up and tried to be afraid, but when Buddy totally ignored her she soon realized that there was nothing to fear. It took about 20 minutes of his ignoring her before she decided enough of this and snuggled up to him. They have been pals since. The first night went well with Buddy all cuddled in his bed in the living room. All was quiet. When I got up the next morning he was all wiggly-happy with tail wagging a-mile-a-minute. I guess he didn't expect to see the same person again. How very sad I felt for him; the psychological damage was done, he had been abandoned and it had clearly affected him.

My husband (Dan), son (Jeff) and I all got ready for work and headed out. It was to be Buddy's first full day in his new home and he was alone. Dan and I walked to the skytrain to head downtown to work. Suddenly Dan was not feeling well and had to return home. I continued on my way. Minutes later my cell rang - it was Dan. It turned out that our new friend was pretty sneaky and made sure that he waited until there were no people at home before raiding the fridge! Since it had only been about 3 or 4 minutes before Dan returned home, there was not much damage done - only one package of wieners eaten. Dan stayed home that day and installed a bolt on the fridge door. That problem solved! We set up the cam on the computer the next morning to record his attempts at raiding the fridge. Sure enough, the recording shows him going to the fridge and trying, but of course he had no luck.

Of course he enjoys his walks and does well both on and off leash. He is obedient in his malamute way - which means that he will listen and obey, but usually in his own good time! We brush him quite frequently (which he needs) and of course he loves that. What is really neat though, is that Dan discovered that Buddy loves to be vacuumed! In fact, he almost insists on it. If the vacuum is on he comes right up and pushes his way in front of it until you give in and vacuum him too. He is not sure about having his nails clipped though and seems a little frightened by it, but he'll get used to that too.

Buddy still has moments when he looks to be sad and his thoughts are somewhere far away. Those 'looks' are becoming fewer as time progresses and it has only been a week since he came to our home. I can only hope that with time he forgets all about being abandoned and only thinks about how loved he is now.

Dawn Ackles

Cookie -- Update!

Hello everyone!

It’s been a week so I thought it would be a good time to update you on how Cookie’s doing. Well, she sticks to me like glue. We go out for nice long walks three times a day, Cookie already knows when I’m coming home from school so she waits at the bottom of the stairs for me everyday.

She is a VERY quick study; she has already learned Wait, Stay, Come, and Roll Over! Although she DEMANDS treats before she does anything the first time you ask her to. Cookie has decided that she has to be asked politely before she does anything for me, so here I am saying “Cookie, can you sit please?” and of course “Thank you”!

There is a soccer field right across the street from my house; so a few days ago I tried to let Cookie off leash when no one was around (I get up to walk her at 6am before I go to school). She is very good off leash; it only takes me one or two tries to get her to COME and she heels wonderfully both on and off leash. We have met a lot of dogs while walking outside and Cookie has been good with most of them, although there was a bit of a disagreement between Cookie and a husky two days after she came home. On a happy note, Cookie made a best friend yesterday- a three-year-old golden retriever. The two of them were chasing each other around the park for the better part of an hour…

Bye, Alena and Cookie.

Cookie is finally home!

Cookie is a seven year old Rottweiler cross that spent her entire life in a backyard. She was surrendered to RAPS because the owner tied her up on a prong collar all day long. When Cookie first arrived at RAPS she was fearful and sad. She was at the RAPS City Shelter for eight months without a single soul showing interest in her. Until one day a teenage girl named Alena came into our shelter and fell in love with her. Alena didn't care that Cookie was an old dog, she just knew that Cookie was meant for her. For three months the entire family came to the shelter every Saturday to visit and walk Cookie while they waited for their house to be sold. Their new home was purchased just for Cookie, complete with a big backyard for her to run around in! Cookie will never be chained up again and she will spend the rest of her days in Alena's loving arms. She is a true rescue story and the staff and volunteers at RAPS could not be happier.