Where Are They Now
NASRN has worked to place numerous ASDs into new homes.
While some are working and some are companions, they are all new
beginnings for the dogs and owners.
April, 2002
Emma Lou -- We first found out about this little 4-month- old pup
when we saw her picture on an internet shelter list. The shelter told
us that she was literally thrown over the 6 ft fence of the shelter
over night when they were closed.
Emma's front legs were slightly malformed due to poor nutrition, but
that didn't slow her down. Although she was rather shy and withdrawn at
first, she began to come out of her shell while in her foster home.
She made a long journey from southern WA all the way to Orange County,
CA.
Today Emma lives with Ted, a 12-year-old rescue ASD, a menagerie of
birds, and her human family.
Fiona -- This is another little 4-month-old female pup. She was
found in an Idaho shelter. We pulled her from the shelter and sent her
directly to a vet clinic for vetting and a weekend boarding.
The vet and his family were so taken with this sweet girl that they
asked if they could possibly adopt her. So, today, Fiona is the new
mascot at the vet clinic, coming to work in the office with her new
mom, and going home each night to her new home on their ten acre
ranch.
Mac -- Another young pup, Mac is about 5 months old and was found
on an internet shelter list, labeled as a German Shepherd, Saint
Bernard cross. :)) Mac made his journey from Austin, TX, all the way to
Colorado Springs. Today he is home with his new family, going to
soccer games and learning how to be a good boy.
Kit -- This fellow came from the same Idaho shelter as Fiona. He
was picked up as a stray. We had his new home lined up for him, ready
and waiting, and then his owners came to the shelter to reclaim him.
After talking with his owners, they asked us if we could go ahead and
place him with this other family, as they had no fence to keep Kit
home and safe. So, Kit jumped in the car and made the drive down to
Portland. Today he hangs out with the two resident ASDs and enjoys
patrolling the property and going on trail rides.
Titus -- Titus is a 7-year-old gentleman whose family moved and
no longer had a place to keep him. He was staying in a small pen and
was not very happy. Before long, he boarded a plane and flew to
southern FL. Today Titus lives on a 10-acre avocado grove and patrols
the property for his owners, who think he is the greatest.
Missy -- Missy was a three-time return at a no kill shelter near
San Diego. That means she was adopted and returned to the shelter
three times.
Luckily for Missy, a wonderful family in the Bay Area thought she
deserved yet one more try, so they flew down south to adopt her. Missy
is still adapting to her new home and surroundings, but is doing well
and enjoying her newfound freedom.
Metin Bey -- Turkish for "handsome man" (rough
translation), this young boy was pulled off death row from a central CA
shelter. His owners were moving and didn't want to take him along.
Metin is now on a ranch outside San Diego and is doing his best to
adjust to his new life.
March, 2002
Vahsi -- This 180-pound boy found himself tossed from home to
home to home in his short 3 years of life. He was sold in a bar for
$50 by his original owner, and from there he was tossed about for the
next year. In March, Vahsi jumped in the car and headed off for his
trip from Tucson to Spokane, WA. He was a great traveler, and all of
the drivers loved him. Today he lives in Spokane with his ASD
girlfriend and watches over the family's two acre herb garden. Vahsi
is home to stay this time and doing great.
Kira -- This white fur ball is one out of a litter of ten
Anatolian/ Great Pyrenees cross pups from TX.
Our group, along with TX Great Pyr Rescue took these pups and their
mother when they were about 4 weeks old. Kira made her way from TX to
her new home almost 1500 miles away in PA. She was a "Goodwill
Ambassador" for both breeds, as most of her volunteer drivers had
never met an ASD or a Pyr. They all fell in love with her. Today Kira
is big sister to Molly, a 7-week-old Golden Retriever puppy and Owen, a little
black kitten. Kira is about 6 months old now and is doing her best to
keep her new family on their toes.
Bette -- Bette is Kira's sister. She hopped a plane from Houston
to Boise and is now living on an alpaca ranch in Idaho. Bette has a
big sister ASD, Tzadi, to teach her the ropes and keep her in line.
While in foster care in TX, Bette and her sisters were introduced to
goats, so little Bette is well on her way to being a good LGD.
Belle -- Belle is the mother of the above-mentioned litter of
ten pups. Belle is half ASD, half Pyrenees. Her owner did not feed her
enough for her to produce enough milk to feed her babies.
Consequently, when we got them, all of the pups had no hair on their
toes or tails. They were all suckling on one another, trying to feed
their hungry bellies.
Belle was very shy and scared when she came to our foster home. Soon,
she was put in with Bear, the male ASD/ Pyr (who himself was a rescue
last year) in the goat pasture. Within a couple of weeks, Belle's tail
was up, her head was up and she had a bounce in her step that was not
there before. Belle is home now. She will be staying right where she
is, as her foster home is now her forever home.
Katy -- This pretty little girl was pulled from a DFW area
shelter. She was on death row, but has found a new leash on life with
her new family outside of Austin, TX. Katy is a typical ASD and can
prove to be a challenge, but her new owner loves her very much and is
doing great, making progress.
Roy -- When we first found out about Roy, he was in a shelter in
IN and was recovering from a gunshot wound. He was found on a
roadside, shot, and left for dead. This young pup bounced back and
soon found himself on the road headed for New Hampshire. Roy's new
owner called me a few days ago to say how well he was doing.
She runs an in-home pet sitting business, and Roy is taking all of the
coming and going in stride.
Claudia -- This young ASD cross girl spent almost a year in a
shelter in WI before she finally found her new family. Claudia
recently went into foster care in Minnesota and was adopted into her
permanent home in just a week. So far things are going great and she
is adapting well to her new surroundings.
Kira -- (another Kira!) This Kira was pulled from a TX shelter
an hour before she was supposed to be put down. She actually cheated
death, as she was supposed to have been put down the prior Friday, but
as luck would have it, someone didn't show up for work and the shelter
was short handed -- they didn't have anyone to do the killing that day.
Kira was handed an extra three days and it was long enough for us to
get her out of there. Our foster parents made the long drive to
Albquerque to meet the transport driver and pick up this skinny and
frightened girl. With a lot of patience and kindness from her foster
mom, and some good food in her belly, Kira came out of her shell and
proved to be a devoted, hard working LGD. Today, Kira is at home on a
goat ranch in northern AZ, working with Blue, her male ASD companion.
Her new family reports that she is bonding with the goats and is doing
a great job for them.
Sadie -- This girl was pulled from a WA kill shelter. The
shelter was going to put her down because they felt she was showing
aggression to the kennel workers. As it turns out, Sadie likes to
"smile" at people. You know, she pulls he lips up a bit and
smiles! The kennel workers mistook her smile for a snarl and was set
to put her down.
Lucky for us, we were able to find a wonderful foster home nearby and
she made it out safely.
Sadie was very thin and rather traumatized from her stay at the
shelter. She spent about two months in her foster home, regaining her
strength and blossoming into a sweet girl who likes to smile and yodel
her "woo woo woos" to anyone who will listen. Sadie's
foster family was ever so generous and actually drove her all the way
from WA to Albquerque, NM, to her new home!
Today Sadie lives with her male ASD companion, Sharif, and her new
family adores her. Now, nine months later, Miss Sadie has broken
out of her shell and has become much more social, both with
people and with Sharif -- he couldn't have wanted for a better play
buddy than Sadie. Sadie initiates play with Sharif every day and
runs circles around him -- they are really great for each other.
She is a real "talker" and makes all kinds of different
noises and takes her guardian duties very seriously. The sad
look is just about gone now, and Sadie knows she has her forever home.
February, 2002
Gilda -- This lovely girl was turned into the kill shelter in
Redding, CA, by her owner. Their reason -- they had no fence and she
wouldn' stay home. Gilda was covered with ticks, emaciated, suffering
from a viral infection, and also tested positive for heartworm.
Gilda spent 3 months in a wonderful foster home while she was treated
for her infection, heartworms, and fattened up, as well. When Gilda
first came to her foster home, she was quiet, withdrawn and depressed.
Within weeks, she blossomed into a loving, self-confident Anatolian.
As her health improved, she developed into an excellent guardian and
companion.
Gilda now lives on a ranch in Idaho, and her new family reports that
she is doing excellent.
Annie -- Little Orphan Annie was found as a stray in northern
Illinois. We found her in a shelter, scared and confused. Within a
week or two, Annie had her forever home in CO waiting for her.
She began her trip from IL to Co and soon found herself in the middle
of a huge snow storm -- the run had to come to a screeching halt. Annie
bedded down for the night and was on her way again the following day.
She now resides in Colorado Springs with her new family and canine
companion, Arnie. Annie is a stubborn little thing and as with most
dogs her age, she is always testing the rules. Her family is diligent
in keeping order and so far things are going well.
Odin -- this handsome young fellow was found wandering the
streets in NJ. We believe he is an ASD/Caucasian Ovcharka cross. Odin traveled
north to NY to his foster home. Within a week, he had
endeared himself to his foster family and they decided to keep him.
Today Odin lives with his ASD girlfriend, Storm and his new family,
which includes a lovely green Parrot as his buddy.
Duke -- Duke is a truly noble-looking ASD that was found tied to
a light post in a shopping center parking lot in NY. He was taken to a
shelter, where he stayed for a few months until a shelter volunteer
sent us his picture. Within a few days Duke was on his way to his new
home. He and his female ASD companion romp on their fenced in acreage
in northern NY state, and his new owners report that he is a wonderful
dog and doing great!
Austin -- This fella' has a new name (Bruno) and a new life. He
was taken out of an Austin, TX, area shelter, and it was discovered
that he has hip dysplasia. A wonderful couple drove all the way from
GA to pick him up, sight unseen. Things were a bit rocky in the
beginning, but Bruno is adjusting to "the good life" and
they are working on ways to improve his quality of life with his HD.
January, 2002:
Chloe -- this pretty girl came to us from an Austin, TX, animal
shelter. Chloe spent 3 months with a wonderful foster family before
flying to her new home in Florida. She now resides with a family on a
horse ranch and has a male ASD as her canine companion.
Sam -- this young ASD cross pup also came from an Austin, TX,
shelter. After a few brief days in foster care, Sam found himself on
the road to Tennessee. Sam is doing well in his new home and keeping
his owners busy, schooling them in what it's like to share your home
with an ASD pup.
Kato -- Like Sam, Kato is a young ASD cross pup that came from
the same shelter in Austin, TX. Kato spent a brief time in foster care
before he left on his 1400 mile relay transport to his new home in
Florida. Kato's family reports that he is doing great in his obedience
class and is growing up to be a wonderful companion and guardian.
Wolf and Kahki -- These two boys belonged to an elderly couple
who could no longer care for them as health issues consumed their
lives. When we first heard about the boys, they were living on chains
with little human interaction. Today they are on a working sheep ranch
and learning the ropes on being proper LGDs.
Hoss -- This
9-month-old pup proved to be too big for his original owners to
handle. Hoss is still growing, but his new family doesn't mind. He is
at home in Chandler, AZ, with his buddies, Elvis, the ASD, and a cute
little Cocker Spaniel, too.
