Links to Happy Tails Web pages

Hi, I recently found your website and thought I'd share my story too:

In 2004 I adopted a very skiddish, little stray cat named Robin. I renamed her Willow and after months of offering her endless amounts of love she finally warmed up to me. Even when times were tough I never gave up on her, I knew she was capable of thriving in the right environment. Over time Willow and I became inseparable and she also began to change as a cat. She became a warm, loving, and cuddling lap cat.

Willow and I have since moved to Florida and adopted her brother SoBe (a stunning black cat). Years later she is a talkative, playful, healthy, snacking, napping, LOVEABLE cat, who is nothing like the little scared kitty I adopted on that cold January day. I will always have warm memories of the Animal Care Center in Lobo and will be forever grateful to them for taking in stray animals (like Willow) in need of a forever family and a fresh start. Attached is a picture of Willow taking a nap on my lap.

Thanks again for everything! ....AW

This is Oliver the beagle, formerly "Hobo". We adopted Oli in May of 2007. He was an abandoned hunting dog. He was thin and scared of everything and everyone. It has taken some time to earn Oli's trust but nothing a little peanut butter and some doggie treats couldn’t fix. Oliver loves to run and play on our 200 acre farm. He likes to steal shoes and chew them all up, and his favourite thing to do is snuggle and hang out. Oliver has truly made a wonderful addition to our family. Thank you so much ACCL for bringing this little pooch into our lives....S

I thought I would share with you an update on two kittens I and my boyfriend adopted from your centre on September 22, 2007. A litter of 4 kittens was dropped off that morning (all ginger and white) and we adopted a male - Oliver and female - Stella.

They are very happy kittens and love to play with one another. They have had their first vet appointment (2 weeks ago) and are in extremely good condition. Oliver at the time weighed 1.8lbs and Stella weighed 2.2lbs - I'm sure they have doubled in size at least since we brought them home!

Thank-you for helping us extend our family, we are very happy to have these little guys in our home - please find some pictures of our babies attached......AW

Note from Gertie: "These babies were very young and fragile when first adopted. It sure is good news that these two did so well. We didn't find homes for the other two for several weeks and it was touch and go with them but they did finally get adopted. Kittens do so much better in a home environment."

We adopted "Spanky" on October 12th, of this year. We weren't really fond of his name, so we changed his name to "Herb", as we found it had more personality, and was distinguished, much like he is. He fits right in with our family, the girls really love him, and figured he was the best birthday gift they ever got. We all enjoy having him here, it's like he was what was missing before.
He is the most awesome cat ever! He likes to snuggle, and play, and sleep, and eat!!! He has a good temper, and is really laid back. It's very easy to fall in love with, not to mention he is naturally charming, talented, and a very good looking cat We also found that he likes water, and tries to "fish" in the toilet, and likes to be around when you bathe. he's is hands down one of the best cats I have ever owned. Thank you for everything, we love Herb, so much! Please see attached picture of Herb in his kitty house, that converts into a kitty bed! THANKS! .....M,R,B &L

In November of 05' my fiance and I were desperately searching around for a four legged buddy. We both have disabilities. My husband is legally blind and I have bi polar and it seemed that while I was away at work a friend and companion would be great for him, but would double for when I went the places that my fiance just couldn't go, like walks in the park where the ground just isn't stable enough for him to walk on, a four legged furry friend would be great for me too. We felt it was the right time to offer a new friend a new home, with a 12 yr old daughter there was also that extra help. So I was searching on the net and came across your site and saw "Puppies...black lab X 7 weeks old" It was Sunday, but I yelled from the room excitedly to my fiance, "I found some puppies" He said, "where?" "Lobo shelter" I said shaking out of excitement. He called and the girls were great at the desk. We live in London so the drive wasn't to long. When we got there we were greeted by 3 little puppies 2 males and 1 female. Mostly black, but all with a little bit of white on them. The female was already bought and waiting to be picked up, it was a choice between the 2 males, the first male came along in front of us and peed and I giggled and said, "well, maybe he doesn't like us too much?" But the other puppy kept parading around us like a Christmas float.

He was the one! We named him Otis after my fiance's favorite baseball player Otis Redding. Otis has been an amazing dog! He turned out to be 67 lbs and holding his weight awesome! He is lean and in perfect shape. He is intelligent, he gives great hugs, shakes paws, he loves to chase squirrels in the back yard, and he loves laying around outside on the deck. He specially loves going on his long walks with me and going to have playtime at the country paws pool. (Which they now know who we are and rent us the pool any day we like!) We have since added Otis his own buddy her name is Sable she is a chocolate lab and they get along great! I want to thank you so much for adding the most amazing friend to my life!

P.S. Remember the other male puppy who peed in front of us? Since the day we have had Otis at 7 weeks old and he is now going to be 3 in Nov. He has only ever once went to the bathroom in the house and it was just pee and that was the 1st night we had him home! Seems like the time was perfect and Otis knew in his own way that he would have a great life with us too, so looks like he has done his pleasing just as much. A relationship of appreciation and give - give. So we will give whatever it takes to make your gift to us have a great life and in return when we give to him and he gives back 10++.....M

We adopted a little male ginger kitten from your Centre on Saturday, 6/16.
He is coming along just great and our large male isn't sure what to think
about the kitten or even us.

We were all very impressed with your Animal Care Centre. It was spotlessly
clean and no bad odours.
We would certainly recommend your Centre to anyone else.

Our vet Dr. Steve Wilson gave us your brochure. ....JM & DJ

Darby

Just to say thanks for all your hard work. This is "Nipper", now "Darby", she was an abused pouch neglected and scared. We got her from you five years ago this month. She was skinny and lifeless, we were also advised by the vet that she had an attitude. They were right. Just to let you see what love and commitment can do. Thank you once again.....DA

 

"BATISTA"
In March of 2006, on a routine trip into London, we passed by ACC Lobo as usual. Only this time, your sign caught our eye. "Husky X" it read, and as we passed by, I glance at my husband and said to him 'Didn't you want a husky?". He replied yes of course, but why. I replied,"The animal shelter has a husky X, and since w'e've discussed getting a dog, why don't we go have a quick look at it? it won't hurt and it doesn't mean we have to take it home." So we turned around and came in, with our 3 kids in tow. Jodie brought him out and he was adorable! He was very energetic and playful - not skittish or frightned at all! he allowed us all to pet him, but he certainly was more interested into getting the staff to feed him treats. He had been caught outside during the end of February - when it was very cold. He suffered some frostbite on his ears becasue of the cold, but it is minimal and you can hardly see it. what drew me to him was his large, round beautiful brown eyes (they remind me of a Lab's, which is what he is believed to be crossed with). he was roughly 2 years old, but sadly enough, many people wish to adopt puppies, not older dogs. Us on the other hand, had 3 kids - 2 still in diapers - I WAS NOT CAPABLE OF HANDLING ANOTHER "CHILD" TO CLEAN UP AFTER!! I think I would've gone completely nuts! He was housebroken which was music to my ears, plus he was past that puppy stage so I didn't have to worry about the kids toys becoming "chew toys"! Another plus - the staff say that he rarely barked (a bonus in my case!). We visited, then said to the staff that we'd think about him, and continued on our way to London. Not even 45 minutes later, at the Hyde Park Walmart, I quickly went to the payphone and called to say that we would be back tomorrow morning to get him. We showed up at 10 am and took him home. The staff had named him "WINTER", becaause that's when he was found, but we renamed him "BATISTA". Well, for a dog that never barked, I tell ya...he sure lets you know when there is a motrocycle or a transport truck coming! He broke 3 collars on us becasue he chased one of those while we were walking him - hence why he was given a chain link collar (and never walked when those were on the road - if we could help it!). He was nervous when he first came home - he would never stay still! Now he is content to lay on either our bedroom floor or one of the kids at night. he has become an awesome dog and I just can't believe that someone could let him go away. i trust him fully with the kids - he allows our 13 month old to climb all over him and to "inspect" his ears, teeth and nose. He is more than I expected and I will gladly adopt another dog from you guys when I have the chance!

"SHEP"
Well, that "chance" came in January 2007. Driving by again on our way to London, I saw your sign. This time you had a Dobe X, a Pitt Bull, A Husky, A Hound X and a Shep. I was interested in the Shep, my husband was interested in the Husky. I had a Shepherd puppy in my early teen years, but tragically he was hit and killed by a truck on December 23, 2000. He was almost 2 years old. I had also had Dobermans all my life. Well, we asked the staff to bring the husky and Shep out. The Husky was too timid and skittish - with the kids that's not a good combination. The Shepherd came out - she was friendly, but not like Batista. She was about 5 years old the staff thought. We said that we'd think on it and we left. Later on, I came back before the shelter closed, 3 kids, one dog and myself, to see how the two dogs got along. Well, Batista leearned a thing or two that day! She put him in his place and she doesn't let him forget it either! When I took her to the vets a couple of days later, they informed me that she is about 8 or 9 years of age, and that she has arthritis in her hind legs. She has since gained 4 lbs and has a healthy shine to her coat. She is taking Glucosamine everyday to help with her arthritis and she loves playing in the snow and going for a walk! You'd almost think that she was a pup when you say the 'Walk" word! She is an excellent guard dog - lets just say that if someone was trying to come in, they'd be dealing with a mean German Shepherd, whild the Husky/Lab is in the background wagging his tail and saying "You bring any food?". She tolerates the kids - she lets them know that she will not tolerate them climbing on her (she moves or goes downstairs) and she is a "one person dog". She is attached to my hip and whines when I leave for work. She is content to walk to the mailbox without a lease and comes when she's called. I'm so glad that we were able to give her a loving home, I couldn't imagine not having her now. The older dogs truly do make the better pets because they have more wisdom and experience than pups. Pups are great, but there is just as many great older dogs as there are great puppies.

I just want to thank you guys at ACC Lobo for our two great dogs and I look forward to our many years with them! Thanks so much again! .....BM

I adopted Sally in January, we have been together for a month now and I just wanted to drop a line to say she is doing well. She did have a bit of a surprise for me (five actually). We are all doing well and even have homes lined up for a few. The pups are ten day old and already I think they are going to be a handful, but if they turn out anything like mom it should be ok. She is a really sweet dog and very good with all people.

Thanks again.....P

After the loss of our 16-year-old retriever spaniel mix, Cocoa, we thought that we would never have another dog companion. A year after our loss, the house seemed so empty…we decided to test how we would feel around other dogs. We began our search on the Internet…and looked at a couple of breeders, but nothing was really appealing to us. It ia difficult when you did decide to actually meet a dog or puppy, and find out that, in most cases, they had already been spoken for. We don’t agree with Pet Store purchases of dogs and puppies…we basically gave up.

We woke up on a Sunday morning in mid-October and decided to travel to London Ontario…. considering we live in Pickering, we thought that maybe we would have a better chance in a totally different vicinity. There was an advertisement for a “Meet and Greet” for puppies and we thought this would be a good opportunity for us. We drove 2 and half hours without any great expectations and a good thing. We arrived and ended up in the same situation. Puppies available for adoption and most, if not all, have been spoken for. Another disappointment and at this point we figured it just wasn’t the time. We decided to go and eat lunch and spend some time in London…we had driven so far, after all.

Over lunch, we thought that maybe visiting the local shelter would be worthwhile. We went into a pet store to find out where the nearest shelter was however, the London shelter was closed on Sunday. The owner did mention a small shelter outside of London…and we thought why not? We are here…..we might as well.

We were greeted at the car by the worlds’ friendliest and biggest black shepherd I had ever seen…. who actually walked me to the shelter. A friendly young girl showed us to the back where they kept the dogs up for adoption. They were nice dogs, some were not yet ready for adoption, however, much older then we were interested in. Normally, we would take an older dog but because of our loss and the fact that we both hadn’t actually raised Cocoa from being a puppy, I thought this would be a good time to do that.

After deciding there were no puppies or younger dogs that we would be interested in, we headed into where the cats were…. and suddenly, in walks this beautiful puppy. The last one apparently…and she was just the cutest with the best floppy ears…and lovely eyes. After we found out that she was available…we stayed for about 2 hours to get to know her…and observe her…the way she responded to people and other animals…. her disposition…her tail wag…but most of all, her walk. The walk of confidence…. she was just the cutest puppy, with a wiggle. We were really nervous now…because here she was…. the puppy we had waited for…. right in front of us…and when we heard her story…we thought it was perfect…she was meant to be with us. It was timing. It was fate.

Cali is now 14 weeks old…and enjoying life. She just graduated from puppy pre-school with two ribbons….”Puppy Around Town” and “Top Dog”. We are so very proud of her. She is growing very fast and is healthy and happy. She loves showers and ice cubes…and her favourite toy is a moose slipper…. she eats the largest sized edible bones on the market and loves to play tug of war. She has been able to ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘come’, shake both paws, down and stand and drop it since she was 10 wks old…. very, very smart…and she knows it.

We want to thank Acclobo for bringing Cali to us…. for giving us the opportunity that day to meet with her and enjoy her until we made our ‘lifetime’ decision. We have no regrets and want you to know that she is being well cared for. We will always keep you updated on her progress and send pictures. She is now in puppy gymboree and we are hoping to get her into agility in the New Year. She loves to retrieve balls and Frisbees…. and she loves to play with the cats. Please send our best to the wonderful couple that gave Cali’s mom a safe place to have her pups and taking such good care of them. It is because of them, that we now have Cali.....L & M.

I am writing to tell you how happy we are to have Slim Jim, now named Mardi, in our family. We named him Mardi after Mardi Gras as every day seems worth celebrating since we have had him. He is such a wonderful boy. He is housebroken, loves to play with his new toys and has even gone out for his first overnight visit with my family in Toronto. He got along famously with my brother's ten year old miniature American Eskimo. They drank out of each others' water dishes and were happy to be "cousins".
He is still very shy and a little skittery with new people but he has bonded with me almost instantly. Sitting at my feet and protecting the house are tops on his list.
Right now he is curled up on his new bed with a full belly and a look of "thank goodness I am finally home".
My only hope is that other families open their hearts and homes and find a real treasure like we have with our new beautiful boy. Thank you for all that you do for all the animals and please continue to find homes for them as they are truly deserving.
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2007.
Regards ... A & B and Mardi
London, Ontario.

Irwin

Introducing IRWIN. He's funny, he's charming, and he's yet another mama's boy. He sits at my feet and follows me around the house...like a puppy dog! lol. He's a basset crossed with a Lab (I think). His coat is coarser than that of a basset, so I think it's a lab or a shepherd

The vet looked at the cyst on his foot (see pic Meet Irwin 2) and extracted some fluid from it (really gross) and will take it off as soon as we can afford to have it done. The vet doesn't think it'll be anything too serious. You wouldn't know he's in the house, unless another living being crosses the front of the yard.

I'll send more out once I have some with the kids. they ADORE him. Especially Amadeo. He walks in the house and immediately calls for him and asks "where's my dog?" Of course Irwin doesn't answer. Me thinks he's deaf. But, I'll have the vet check that too.

At any rate, this is the new raju in the family. King of the house! ...V

New from Irwin...
Just wanted to let you know that the cyst on Irwin's foot was removed two weeks ago. It was benign (thank God) but it was getting bigger. We got in in time and he didn't lose his toe. He also had two other cysts which were looked after at the same time. He is great now. The paw looks grand. He had a great bandage on for about a week. the kids were so excited about his cast. It was bright blue and had 'ouch' written across it. lol.

He has adapted to his new home and is my best friend. He follows me around the house and is never out of my sight. How did I get so lucky to find this guy? He has the occasional pee accident if we aren't home for awhile, but that's ok, we still love him. The kids adore him and are always giving him treats and kisses and hugs. He is a great pet to have around small children. If my two year old bugs him too much, he will snap at her, but will not close his mouth. He's just saying "hey, cool it chick" and she gets the message.

I am curious to know if anyone called to claim him? He seems like an ideal pet. Why would he be discarded? the only thing I can think of is that they couldn't afford to get the cyst removed. Other than that, he's perfect. People annoy me when they do things so callous. Of course, he could've just wandered away and got lost, who knows?

Anyway, that's the lo-down on my beauty. He has found a forever home and is forever in my heart. I can't thank you enough for him....V

Tess

We adopted a puppy from you July 20th , she was 1 of 4 sisters you had and I thought I'd send you a picture and an update on how she is doing. We named her Tess and she's a sweetheart.

She's tripled her weight since bringing her home and her looks change almost daily, no telling what she'll end up like but she's adorable and very smart. She's starting puppy classes in September and is well on her way to being a great dog.

Thanks.......JN

Tess Update

Just thought I'd send a quick update on Tess. We adopted her a year ago and while there were a few challenges with her, ( she's a puppy school dropout) we love her dearly. Since bringing her home we've adopted 3 cats and she loves them, especially Roxie who I think she has decided is her baby. She has turned out o be 43 lbs., a nice medium sized dog, perfect for travelling with. For Canada Day she posed for this lovely picture, she has her summer cut and looks so much like a Schnauzer, she started out looking like a shepherd as a puppy. It's hard to imagine what her parents looked like. Thanks for "our baby". J.N.

Hemmi is finally settled in! He is playing and eating well, no more
throwing up - he prefers canned and wet food, but we are gradually adding dry food again and he will eat it. He is not the cuddler that our other cat was, but that is OK, he will demand attention particularly when I am on the computer - he loves head butting us - he seems to love all family members equally - shares himself between Tom and I and also gives a little of himself to our son Jamie.

He is particularly interested in Jamie when he brings home rodents to feed his snakes!!!! I think, given the opportunity he will deal with any mice that dare to come into our house even though he has no claws. He is playing with toys now too and shows a distinct "child" quality that is very endearing.
Thank you for allowing us to take Hemmi home and keep up the good work...DH

Webster

My friend David who picked up Webster at your shelter fell in love with him, and Webster seems to have fallen in love right back. When I got to Toronto on Sunday, Webster was following David around like a little shadow and David's wife, Cathie, said she thought it might be difficult to break them up.

Webster was very calm, sleepy and quiet and didn't want to play on Sunday but by Monday, when I went to get him, he was changed dog. David had him chasing a ball like a puppy and Webster was practically dancing in circles-- I can't tell you how happy he was.